I can’t believe the New Year is already here! My, how 2015 has flown by. It seems like only yesterday that we were all reading the writing blogs about marketing predictions for the upcoming year. Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? What about your email marketing resolutions for the new year? If you haven’t, that’s okay. It’s never too late, nor is it ever a bad time to up your email marketing game. So, to help you ease into the new year on the right email marketing foot, here are 4 fantastic tips for better email marketing in 2016.

1.   Focus on Mobile

The popularity of smartphones is growing, so it is vital that you focus on mobile email optimization. Many marketers have already jumped on making their business websites mobile responsive, but it can’t stop there. In 2016, marketers will need to take the next step into responsive design by making all of their emails mobile responsive. Email reading rates on mobile devices have seen rapid growth in the past few years. According to EmailMonday, up to 70% of emails are opened on mobile devices. It’s easy to see that mobile email is more than a trend. It’s here to stay and will continue to grow as a marketing tool. Making sure your emails are easy to view on a mobile device will significantly increase the number of people who choose to open and read it.

2.   Organize your Email List

To make sure you get the best possible delivery and engagement rates, it is a good idea to keep your email lists clean and organized. Try segmenting your lists into sub-categories so you can use them to create better-targeted content based on your subscribers’ preferences or engagement. You can build a list of your most engaged subscribers by looking at everyone who opened or clicked your most recent emails.

3.   Integrate Email and Social Media

When you combine email and social media marketing, they can broaden your audience reach, spread brand awareness, gain traffic, and help you connect with different types of people. Social media can increase the number of people who receive your email campaigns. Your emails can potentially go viral after being shared through social media, resulting in increased click, open, and conversion rates.

4.   Evolve with Emojis

Emojis have become much more than text messages. With texting and instant messaging cemented as a new form of communication, emojis have become familiar in our everyday conversations. Emojis in emails resonate just as well with the audience and establish a sense of ease and recognition with a brand and it’s message. Using emojis can also make your email stand out from a sea of text-heavy emails. Try using emojis in your subject lines to give make them more noticeable in the new year.

Those who say email marketing is dead are wrong. Email marketing is going to be stronger than ever in 2016. With email marketing being one of the strongest marketing channels for ROI and customer service, email marketing is a force to be reckoned with. Email marketing is not only a great way to build your brand and spread the word about your products and services, but running them will also help you increase sales and bring in more business if done properly.  If you’ve been running email marketing campaigns and haven’t seen the results you’re looking for, try focusing on improving the points listed above. For more information about email marketing, please call US Data Corporation at (888) 578-3282. Happy New Year!