Get ready to cruise through 17 email marketing tools that can help make your marketing life awesome, good, decent, tolerable. Whatever’s a step up for you this busy holiday season.
The jury is out on these tools and you are said jury. I’ve tested a few but my role is to dig up the tools. After all, I’ve got a newsletter to pen. A keyboard would free my time up to test all 17 with ya, but I’m old school.🖋
I’ve loaded up 3 categories of tools filled with auto subject line generators, video / audio tools, click boosters, etc. So check them out. Just one may be the gift to yourself that boosts open rates, conversions, and prevents bags beneath your eyes. Holiday photos are coming up!🧀
Tools for Creating Subject Lines
Look, there’s no substitute for epic subject lines. But you can run low on ideas after you’ve pumped them out for months on the same topic. How much can one say about cactus water or pickled eggs?
When you need help with subject lines, turn to a real human. Ask a writer friend for help when you’re out of magic words. Or hire a writer on Upwork when your busy season is screaming toward you.
Subject line auto-generator tools are also a possibility. Check your ESP to see if they have one. Active Campaign’s tool is playing hide-n-seek in their interface, so do a search for your “ESP name + subject line generator.”
Results will vary. I liked the concept of #3 below as it used the entire body of my email to create a related subject line. Was I impressed? Yes… with human writers more than ever.🙂
#1) Active Campaign
#2) WriteCream
#3) CopywriterCourse
*And if you need to add humor to your emails, do not use this joke bot. So bad it’s funny.
Remember, don’t put all the pressure on your subject lines. Inbox timing is proven to be more crucial to getting your emails opened. Demo Inbox Mailers – get up to 70% open rates.
Clicks (It’s the Little Things)
Don’t make the mistake of using a ragtag call-to-action button. Your copy may rock. Your followers may be rabid. Open rates may be outstanding. But if the CTA button is hard to see or difficult to click, how many sales is that costing you?
If your ESP is limited in CTA button creation, have a look at these email marketing tools.
Da Button Factory – lots of options like shadows, bubble effect, and a solid CTA recommendation list below the button maker. Their top tip → Use first person when writing your CTA. “View my account” > “View your account”.
Button Optimizer – recommended by Canva. Oh, and scan these tips from Canva’s detailed advice on CTA buttons. Best tip → “Enhancing the text on your button with a visual cue such as an icon (ex. shopping cart) can create immediate associations and clarity.”
Finding Your Click
Better CTA buttons are one thing. Peeling back the brain of your site visitors is another. Heat maps reveal more about clicks and web page interactions. And if some of your traffic is “bot-brains” faking clicks and costing you money, see tool #2.
#1) Heat up your click tracking with HotJar heat maps. Visuals of how users interact with your pages beat unbearable spreadsheets any day.
2) If you’re dealing with fake clicks on your ads, you may need an online guard dog. Don’t ask why people would set up fake-click systems, just know it’s a fact of life.
*Professor Scott Galloway has reported on studies showing up to 88% of ad clicks could be fraudulent
Up next, get help from AI – the good-guy bots.
AI Email Marketing Tools
The holidays are a mad rush for all email marketers. So set aside time to test out these AI tools that can save you time on content and outreach.
Fliki does AI video and audio. I’ve tested the audio and love it. Sounds more natural than any free AI voice app I’ve tried. A great way to add audio to your articles or even an audio version of newsletters.
BreakCold – a service that helps if you’re using cold email. Plus, it makes warming up LinkedIn leads simplified and automated.
ContentBot – (sexy name) if you’re low on sleep and stuck, it can provide a way out of that content ditch.
*Read this post to find out if you should use a spam checker tool
Email Tools to Expand and Personalize
Personalized emails through AI research on LinkedIn and Twitter. Test this one first → you don’t want to send an email to a CEO about her passion for pirates when her passion is parrots. AI is kinky.
Coolest tool on this entire list and has a high ceiling? Windsor – it claims you can record one video that is then auto-personalized to your entire list. Their example video is impressive and worth testing for yourself.
*41% of marketers report video marketing having a high ROI (Hubspot 2022)
Want to add some animated content so you don’t have to put your face in video content? Test ArtFlow, an auto-animator (also creates avatars).
Everyone wants growth, but how many of us reach out to those who don’t speak our language? Dubverse makes your content multilingual. There’s a waitlist though, plus, you’d need (a human) to double-check the message is accurate and clear.
Email Marketing Tool Wrap Up
I get it. You’re a superhuman doing the work of three people. However, you’re at your best when your energy is high and your time is spent on the most vital parts of your job.
I don’t like to beg. But, Pa-lease! set aside time to test new tools that protect your time, your sleep, and your productivity. While I get off my knees, see two more email marketing tools below. And no, they’re not bottom-of-the-barrel, they’re just at the bottom.
Paperform – big player but you may not have heard of them yet. They create any kind of form you can imagine, not just sign-up forms.
Inbox Analyzer tests your emails so you’ll know if your messages are bound for spam land and the reasons why.
The Knowledge Base
Knowledge isn’t power without motivation so → inspiration for next time you feel dumb.
Do not let updating your ancient content burn you out or drive you mad – see your options.
ESP battle royal – see how 3 major ESPs describe their products vs. their rivals. C-Kit / A-Campaign / Drip
Do you agree that data-privacy changes don’t spell DOOM for marketers? (32% say it doesn’t)
Recommended reading for solo marketing maniacs – reply to this email and I’ll buy the 1st 3 repliers a copy.
Self Help
Saw a study showing finding meaning in work mattered more than salary.
By a fair chunk too. 33% to 23% overall.
Having employees happy to be at work is good business.
But not just for companies.
Finding meaning is good for workers too (you may live longer).
So please, be selfish and find meaning in your work.
Manufacture meaning if you have to.
*Shout-out to Inbox Hacking Subscribers → Colleen @ Halifax (Left Coast place) & Mandi @ Podia (Digital Builders)
Facts & Stats
- 40% of consumers say they have at least 50 unread emails in their inbox
- 50% of people buy from marketing emails at least once per month
- B2B marketers say that new product and feature announcement emails have the highest click-through rate
*Pre Inbox Mailers Quote Circa 2016… “The worst time to pull forward in a drive-thru is when you’re at the pick-up window. ‘Scoot forward’ while they get your food ready is just a trick.” ~ Hannah “In-Park” Hart.
Demo Inbox Mailers for perfectly timed emails that don’t get scooted away from inboxes.
Marketing Musings
Think about the busiest physical business you shop at.
What makes you and others wait in line or fight a crowd?
Famous hot wings? Hard-to-get handbags? Drinks that are priced way too low?
My buddy owns a little store. Breaks even on bottled drinks, but he’s too busy counting money from other profit centers to notice.
Whatever it is drawing the masses, can you use a version of that magic in your email offers to get people through your “front door.”
Today’s Hack
Clean out your inbox today because you may have the average of 50 unread emails I mentioned above. Before you shred them to smithereens, ask yourself why you never bothered opening them.
- No time?
- No interest?
- No name recognition from the sender?
Those questions can lead to tiny insights that prove your human behavior is similar to subscribers who may not be opening your marketing emails.
📝Please click on the quick survey below. No. 2 pencil required.
