Posted on 16 Sep '20

7 Email Marketing Tips

Reenie Hollis has worked at FindAUniversity for over 9 years and heads up our Client Services Department. Here she shares her email marketing experience and tips with you.

You only get one shot at direct email marketing. Unlike our other adverts, where we can tweak a campaign and make changes responsively, once an email is sent to a potential student, it’s gone.

So far this year we have sent 186 email campaigns to potential postgraduate and PhD students, so we know our audience, and have a lot of data to support our clients with maximising the results of their campaigns. While some of these may seem obvious, here are our tips for email marketing success.

The golden rules for subject lines:

#1 Short and sweet

We advise under 50 characters to ensure the full subject line is displayed, so your message isn’t cropped. 50 characters isn’t a lot, so you may have to get creative here.

#2 Flaunt your funding

If you have funding or scholarships available, flaunt them! But be careful not to trigger spam filters with words like “free” or “money”, which can result in your email languishing in the spam folder.

#3 Name that university (or not)

When sending emails via third party providers, a high profile name will automatically grab the reader’s attention, but a lesser known name could mean your email remains unopened. Instead, consider mentioning your USP, or perhaps your location. ‘Study in Barcelona’ could catch a potential student’s eye more effectively than a small institution they aren’t familiar with.

The winning formula for email content:

#4 Stay succinct

Avoid the temptation to explain every module of a postgraduate programme, or every benefit of your University. Give the reader a reason to click though to your site! We’ll allow up to 500 words in an email, but I’d recommend 300 as a maximum. We’ve even seen some campaigns of less than 100 words perform really well.

#5 Timing is everything

Don’t leave your email to the last minute. We’ve observed a slight increase in read rate in the emails we send mid-morning, mid-week, so ideally, this is when we’d like to schedule your campaign.

#6 Clean, clear CTA

One clear call to action, e.g. ‘Sign up to our Virtual Event’, is going to convert more effectively than an email with lots of links pulling the reader in all directions.

#7 Be bold

Don’t be afraid to try something new. Recently, a client wanted to include an emoji in their subject line – THIS emoji 🤑. I had reservations, but the client was happy to take the chance – and it paid off, with a well above average read rate and click through rate. A classic example of how the client is always right!

If you would like any more insights or advice on how you can maximise your postgraduate campaign results, please email [email protected]

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