The world of digital marketing changes at a fast pace so you could be forgiven for thinking a tool as old as email is probably not worth bothering about. After all, who sends an email these days when they could be using WhatsApp, Snapchat or multiple emerging platforms?

We’d say ignore email marketing at your peril – this universal communication method is by far the best way of getting a great return on investment of any marketing tool, whether SEO, pay per click advertising or social media.

Email marketing is rated the top channel for ROI.”

Let’s have a look at the stats. Globally more than 360 billion emails are sent each day by four billion+ users. Email marketing is rated the top channel for ROI, with figures from the US revealing an average $42 return on every $1 spent.

That said, getting great results isn’t as simple as firing off a newsletter or two. You need a strategy and you need to keep on top of the ways email marketing is changing.

To help you, we look at seven key principles for your email marketing in 2025 that all come with proven results.

1. Be personal

As with many areas of marketing, personalisation is central to email. On a basic level, this is easy to do by personalising each email you send using the tools that come with your email marketing package – so Dear Tom instead of Dear customer/landlord/home buyer.

A US study found that customising emails like this could boost open rates by 82%. Some of the biggest global companies such as Amazon do it, but around 70% of businesses don’t. They could be missing a trick. Including the customer’s name in the subject line can bring even better results.

2. Segment your audience 

There’s nothing more likely to get recipients searching for that unsubscribe button than receiving emails that have no relevance to them.

Get round this by segmenting your audience to vary the content depending on group – so vendors would get a different email from landlords etc. Statistics show that segmenting substantially drives up open rates, lead generation and revenue for a small amount of effort.

3. Think mobile first

Remember, the vast majority of people are looking at your content on mobile devices. This is true of webpages and property listings but also emails. People aren’t going to sit down at their desktop computer to read your email. More likely, they will casually click through when the notification pings on their screen.

For this reason, it’s essential you incorporate mobile responsiveness into your email design. This is again something that your provider should have covered.

4. Test, test and test again

We can’t this stress enough – test everything. Email marketing gives you the ability to carry out A/B testing of your campaigns, so play around with this and monitor the stats.

There are all sorts of things you can test, from content to segmentation and even the wording or your subject line, the name and job title of the sender and how short emails play against longer ones.

5. Automate for better results 

Automating your emails can have a really positive effect on response rates. If you set up your mailings to be triggered by certain actions, you can catch customers at the optimum time to take the next step – maybe book a valuation or landlord call.

Stats show triggered emails generated five times higher open rates and 15 times higher click-through rates.”

Make sure that any sign up or enquiry form triggers an email response. That way you’re talking to your customer at the point when they are most likely to be open to your messages. Stats show triggered emails like this generated five times higher open rates and 15 times higher click-through rates than those sent at random times.

6. Focus on the subject line

Subject lines may feel like just another thing to do, but they are so crucial. Figures show that more than two thirds of people read the subject line to make a judgement on whether or not an email is spam. Bear this in mind when writing and craft them carefully. They should be inviting, intriguing … exciting even, but without crossing the line into spammy sales pitches.

7. It’s all in the timing 

Consider when to press send or schedule as this can have a huge impact on open rates. Think about your audience and when they are likely to be in the right frame of mind to read and action your message – but look at the stats too and vary accordingly.

In conclusion, never ignore the power of email marketing but remember that merely churning out mailings isn’t enough. As with so many aspects of digital marketing, personalisation is key. So, align everything in the emails – from subject to sign off – to the wants, needs and concerns of your target audience and use testing and monitoring to make sure they are hitting the spot.

Got a question? Need help? Contact www.artdivision.co.uk.