Digital marketers have created hundreds of interesting tools, tactics, and mechanisms to attract target audiences, but email campaigns still remain one of the best marketing ideas of our era. Many reports and case studies prove the power of this marketing channel, while the most impressive stat reveals that a typical business earns $32 for every dollar invested in email marketing.
This is not a surprise given the fact that email is a widespread means of communication. There are almost four billion email users in the world today and pretty much everyone considers it to be the preferred method of professional communication.
But the perception of email marketing changed over time as new generations tend to approach it differently. In this article, we want to discuss the impact email marketing has on the generation of Millennials, so keep reading to learn more about it.
Who Are Millennials?
It’s not easy to precisely define the term ‘Millennial’, but the simplest explanation is that they are individuals born between 1980 and 2000. They make the so-called Generation Y and live under the strong influence of digital technologies.
What makes them so special is the fact that Millennials nurture a brand new set of values, especially compared to the members of the previous Generation X.
First of all, Millennials are considered to be much more tolerant and open-minded. They appreciate diversity and enjoy working and living in a versatile environment. Secondly, they are tech-savvy and enjoy the benefits of the digital universe.
Millennials are also goal-oriented and always advocate the importance of work/life balance. Since most of them grew up watching all sorts of promotional messages, Millennials are very skeptical marketing-wise and require a completely unique marketing approach. This is exactly what we want to discuss more thoroughly in the following chapter.
9 Ways to Create Millennials-Focused Email Marketing Strategy
Over 70% of Millennials identify email as their preferred means of business communication, but you can’t rush into campaigns without making a proper strategy. We already mentioned that Generation Y is different and unique, so it’s up to you to find an approach that suits your business goals.
Some tactics, however, proved to be efficient in all cases and we want to explain them here. Without further ado, let’s check out nine ways to create an email marketing strategy for Generation Y.
- Personalize email messages
Millennials are often considered to be narcissists and extremely self-focused. They don’t want you to treat them like the members of the horde, but rather demand a more tailored approach. Personalization plays a major role here because you need to analyze every Millennial customer separately.
It goes beyond simple tricks such as using their first names in written communication. Instead, you need to be more diligent and use website analytics to discover their interests. When you learn what they like, you can customize emails so as to fit the requirements of each recipient individually.
- Write better copies
As persons who got used to marketing campaigns, Millennials don’t fall for promotional messages that easily. You need to write a standout email copy in order to convince a Millennial to engage and for your call to action (CTA).
Again, it is important to follow the principle of personalization, but you also need to be very concise and up to the point. Millennials don’t have time to beat around the bush, so make sure to present your ideas briefly and offer a clear CTA. If you do it well, Millennials will respond positively.
- Don’t be afraid of using special characters
Digital natives such as Millennials got used to special characters, symbols, and emoticons. Therefore, if you feel the opportunity to use an emoji or hashtag, don’t be afraid of adding it to the subject line or email copy.
Jake Gardner, a content creator at EssayHave, says he often takes advantage of emojis and other alternative characters to enrich his email campaigns: “As long as you keep it meaningful, there is no reason to avoid unusual symbols. Millennials are born with it and they won’t mind seeing such copywriting alternatives.”
- Promote values
Another important advice is to focus less on your own products or services and concentrate more on brand values. A typical Millennial is eager to support a higher cause, so you have to align the company’s objectives with their visions and personal beliefs.
Most marketers use the 80/20 percent formula when creating email newsletters. What does it mean? It means they write 80% of educational and entertaining posts, while saving only 20% for salesy and promotional messages. Using this tactic, you can present your offers without being too pushy.
- Offer incentives
Whenever a Millennial receives an email from a business, she/he will ask one simple question: What’s in there for me? Most of them receive dozens of promo messages every week, so you have to distinguish yourself from the biggest competitors in order to drive conversions.
It all depends on the nature and the peculiarities of your business, but one solution is to offer an exclusive discount for first-time buyers. The only important thing is to personalize incentives and offer things you know the targeted Millennial is going to appreciate.
- Mind the timing
Timing is another very significant factor in email marketing because the moment you send a message can make or break open and conversion rates. According to the report, the best time to send email newsletters is any day between Tuesday and Thursday around 8 AM.
This is, however, only a general conclusion and you should definitely analyze the preferences of your customer group before opting for this schedule. For instance, you can learn when users visit your website most frequently – it is only one but very clear signal of their online activities.
- Keep it mobile responsive
A successful marketer will never forget that Millennials are passionate smartphone users who spend most of their days browsing the Web or scrolling down social newsfeeds. What you need to do here is to make sure that your email campaigns are 100% mobile responsive. This is pretty much a technical requirement, but it becomes quintessential if your audience consists mainly of Millennials.
- Enable multichannel communication
Email communication is definitely the preferred method among Millennials, but they take things to another level by demanding multichannel interaction. In other words, you can simply rely on email marketing and expect it to be enough for your target group.
What seems to be the right solution here? Well, you should utilize every channel of communication that really aligns with your business needs. Some of the critical communication methods include the following:
- Social media: It’s hard to imagine a Millennial without a few social media accounts.
- Live chat: Chatbots are available 24/7, which is why Millennials love this solution.
- Phone: They don’t call companies as frequently as members of Generation X, but you still need to give them the possibility.
- Privacy protection
The last advice on our list is to protect the privacy of your subscribers. Millennials want to know why you need their addresses and how you use them, so make sure to explain it clearly. Of course, you have to leave the Unsubscribe option available all the time. Don’t hide it and let the disinterested user leave whenever he/she wants.
Conclusion
Millennials are a dominant customer cohort of our era and they deserve special attention in all fields of work and business. They bring a new wave of personal beliefs and core values, which forces marketing experts to enhance their strategies. One of the major issues is how to rearrange email campaigns so as to fit the requirements and style of the Millennials.
We discussed this topic thoroughly and showed you nine ways to design email newsletters for members of the Millennials generation. Keep our tips in mind and use them in your email marketing activities, but don’t hesitate to leave a comment if you have other interesting ideas to share with our readers.
Author bio;
Michael Gorman is a digital marketing expert and a part-time blogger at an essay service. He is also an occasional contributor at the Custom Essay Service and the Buy Essays agency. Michael specializes in topics like email and social media marketing, but he is no stranger to psychology, self-improvement, and personal growth. He is a father of three lovely kids. Feel free to contact him via Facebook or check his Twitter.