Published January 15th, 2019
by bestwebdesignagencies
The great news about email is that advances in technology are making this old platform new again. Not that email is all that old, but with the popularity of social media and other communication platforms, the continued strength of email campaigns are often overlooked. Even without new tools, email remains one of the most effective digital marketing platforms in terms of ROI. Add Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, and email has the potential to become an even more powerful part of a digital marketing arsenal.
In what ways can AI and Machine Learning make email marketing more effective? The strategies surrounding these advanced tools focus on becoming more personal. It may seem odd to look to machines to personalize communications. However, the time required to create personalized content for each customer manually is overwhelming. The considerable upfront cost makes a healthy ROI impossible. With AI and Machine Learning doing the hard work for us, we can personalize at a level never before imagined.
1. Segmenting Campaigns to Increase ROI
Segmentation, the sending of different email campaigns to different customers based on data, has been around for a while. It is one of the most effective ways to increase ROI. Before having access to AI and Machine Learning tools, our ability to segment was limited. It was possible to put customers into buckets based on age, purchase history, or geography. However, with Machine Learning algorithms, software can automatically review hundreds, if not thousands, of data points to discover new market segments that may not have been visible to human review.
2. Creating Subject Lines that Increase Open Rate
What if you could know what type of subject line was most likely to trigger an opened email for each individual customer? What if you could be sure that a customer always received emails with a custom subject line fine-tuned to their preference? Manually, that would take countless hours, including reviewing the data, composing the text, and continually reviewing the customer reaction. With AI and Machine Learning, you can have the perfect subject line every time for every customer.
3. Creating Dynamic Content that Increases Click-Through Rate
What if you could automatically create copy best suited to each individual customer? By analyzing customer history and other data points, AI and Machine Learning can help create the perfect copy and present the offer or promotion most likely to gain a click-through from each individual client.
4. Optimizing Send Times to Maximize Open Rate
Do you know what delivery time is likely to get the most email opens and engagement? You may have that information for a particular list or segment. However, what about for each customer? Based on information about past actions and preferences, AI and Machine learning can optimize send-time to send at the right frequency on the right day and at the right time.
5. Identifying High-Value Customers
It is essential to know which customers or potential customers are likely to make the most significant purchases. In the past, this has been mostly guesswork. However, what if through data analysis, you could know which customers are high-potential early on in your relationship? Most businesses would offer more time and attention to these customers. Thanks to the power of AI and Machine Learning, this is now possible.
Email Validation and Email Scoring: The Key to A Higher Email Marketing ROI
Besides customization and automation, artificial intelligence also helps marketers maintain their email hygiene. The potential of an email list lies in its quality, and now, some email validation services offer A.I. email scoring, too.
How does that work?
Let’s say you’ve just used an
email validation tool and had your list cleaned. Some of your results may be confusing, such as a large number of catch-all emails. What are you supposed to do with them? How do you know whether they’ll bounce or are actually valid? An email scoring system can tell you that, by scanning your list and returning a quality score on each email address. The higher the score, the greater the chances for that particular lead to be genuine.
Email scoring is the next step you want to take after you’ve used an email verification system, to get an even more complex feedback on your email hygiene.
The power of AI and Machine Learning for email optimization and email validation is just beginning. In a couple of years, using these technologies will be as common as using email itself. Now is the time to start adopting these new technologies to improve email ROI and thereby increase sales and profits.
