Traffic is the lifeblood of any online business, flowing from sources like search engines, social media, and paid ads. Yet, one often overlooked but incredibly potent source is email traffic. Many businesses tend to focus on other channels and miss out on the significant potential email traffic holds.
Unlike search engine traffic, which relies on users actively seeking information, email traffic is more proactive—it brings your message directly to your audience's inbox, prompting them to take action.
Compared to social media traffic, which can be more fleeting and dependent on platform algorithms, email traffic often results from a deeper connection with your subscribers who have opted to receive updates and offers from your brand.
No wonder email traffic leads to purchases 4.24% of the time, whereas search traffic only converts at 2.49% and social media traffic at just 0.59%.
This comprehensive guide will delve into what email traffic is, why it’s essential, and provide actionable strategies to boost your email traffic organically.
What is email traffic?
Email traffic is the number of visitors who arrive at your website after clicking links in your email campaigns. It actively guides your email recipients towards taking desired actions on your website. This action can be making a purchase, signing up for a webinar, or downloading a resource.
Why is email traffic important?
This traffic is crucial for several reasons:
1. Email traffic is high intent
Recipients who click through from an email are already interested in your content or offer, making them high-quality leads.
2. Emails are cost-effective
Email marketing typically offers a high return on investment (ROI), often outperforming other digital marketing channels.
3. Email interactions generate quantifiable metrics
Email traffic provides valuable insights into your audience’s preferences and behaviors, helping refine future campaigns.
Key factors influencing email traffic
Increasing email traffic requires a nuanced understanding of several critical factors that collectively influence the success of your email campaigns.
Snapshot of factors affecting email traffic
| Factor affecting email traffic | Importance |
|---|---|
| Email list size | High |
| Email open rate | High |
| Click-through rate (CTR) | High |
| Email frequency | Medium |
| Content quality | High |
| Email deliverability | High |
Now, let's delve into how these factors play a pivotal role in shaping email traffic:
1. Email list size
The size and quality of your email list directly impact your email traffic. A larger email list provides a broader reach and potential for more clicks to your website.
2. Email open rate
The email open rate is the percentage of recipients who open your email out of the total number of emails delivered. A higher open rate indicates that more recipients are engaging with your email content, which can lead to increased traffic to your website.
3. Click-through rate
The click-through rate (CTR) measures the percentage of recipients who click on a link or CTA within your email.
A higher CTR indicates that your email content and calls-to-action are effective in driving engagement and directing traffic to your website or app.
4. Email frequency
The frequency at which you send emails can impact both open rates and CTRs. Sending too many emails may lead to email fatigue and decrease engagement. However, sending too few emails may result in missed opportunities to drive traffic.
5. Content quality
The quality and relevance of your email content directly influence engagement and CTRs.
High-quality content that provides value, solves a problem, or meets a need for the recipient is more likely to drive clicks to your website.
6. Email deliverability
Email deliverability refers to the ability of your emails to reach recipients' inboxes rather than being filtered into spam folders or bounced back. Poor email deliverability can negatively impact your email traffic by reducing the number of emails seen and opened by recipients.
How to monitor your email traffic?
Monitoring your email traffic is crucial for optimizing your email marketing efforts and improving engagement. You can use two tools and techniques to track and analyze email performance effectively:
Google Analytics (GA4)
Integrate with your email platform to track traffic, conversions, and user behavior from email campaigns. You have to implement UTM tags in email links to track campaign performance in Google Analytics, attributing traffic accurately.
Email service provider (ESP) analytics
Most ESPs offer built-in analytics dashboards that provide insights into email performance metrics like open rates, CTRs, and bounce rates.
6 tried & tested ideas to increase your email traffic
Here are six proven strategies to boost your email traffic organically, each grounded in psychology and designed to resonate with your audience.
Idea 1: Create educational resources on your website to promote them via email
Why it's effective: Unlike standard content, valuable resources like eBooks or templates provide actionable insights and tools to your audience. Moreover, you can easily add these resources to a section in your monthly newsletter.
SaaS companies often offer use free trials or whitepapers to capture leads effectively. E-commerce companies can create downloadable checklists of, say essential travel items for adventurous travellers, or a free style guide eBook for fashion enthusiasts.
This will only work when you ensure the resource aligns with your audience’s interests and provides genuine value.
Idea 2: Promote resource centres or knowledge hubs on your website
Why it's effective: Centralizing valuable content in one place builds authority and encourages repeat visits from subscribers seeking insights.
You can design an easy-to-navigate resource center on your website. Use content management systems like WordPress or HubSpot for seamless content organization. Keep it updated with fresh articles and tutorials that are SEO-friendly to attract more visitors.
You can then encourage your email subscribers to visit your website to learn more about your solutions, access these resources, or even request consultations.
Idea 3: Showcase new products or features
Why it's effective: Keeping subscribers informed about new products or updates taps into their curiosity and prompts them to explore further.
Ugmonk's pre-order email for their Gather collection stands out with its clean design and personalized approach. It showcases the benefits of their new magnetic desk organizer. Using impactful words in the subject line and headline, like "introducing" and "new," helps attract attention and increase email open rates.
To use this strategy, segment your email list based on interests to send targeted messages. Then send visually appealing emails with clear product benefits and CTAs. Platforms like Mailmodo enable you to send AMP emails with product carousels to showcase new releases effectively.
E-commerce businesses can use product update emails to highlight seasonal collections or new arrivals. Think about offering pre-order discounts on new gadgets or behind-the-scenes updates on upcoming movies or shows.
But don’t overuse this strategy- avoid overwhelming subscribers with too many promotional emails.
Idea 4: Offer limited-time website/app promotions
Why it's effective: Creating a sense of urgency compels subscribers to act quickly to avoid missing out on exclusive offers.
Dr Martens stands out with their email countdown timer at the top of the email, ensuring it grabs immediate attention upon opening.
It’s important to clearly communicate the limited-time nature of your offers to drive urgency. The best method to do this is to include countdown timers in your emails. You can integrate customized HTML code straight into the email editor using email marketing solutions like Mailmodo.
That said, you should avoid using false scarcity tactics that could harm your brand reputation.
You can read about adding countdown timers to emails in detail in our related guide.
Idea 5: Host email-exclusive contests or giveaways
Why it's effective: It's a dual-purpose strategy to boost your website traffic while expanding your email list.
Everyone loves a chance to win something, making them more likely to click through to participate. Select a prize that appeals to your target audience and aligns with your brand. High-value or exclusive prizes tend to attract more participants.
Ensure that the landing page where participants are directed provides a seamless experience. It should clearly outline contest rules, showcase the prize, and include a straightforward entry form. Add social sharing icons to the email and landing page to encourage participants to share the contest with their friends and followers on social media platforms.
Idea 6: Implement interactive email content
Why it's effective: Interactive elements like quizzes or polls increase engagement by encouraging subscribers to actively participate.
Use drag-and-drop email marketing platforms like Mailmodo to seamlessly integrate interactive features such as surveys, quizzes and polls into your emails.
However, it's important to note that while AMP emails enhance engagement within the email itself, they may not inherently drive traffic to your website. To bridge this gap, consider offering discount codes after a subscriber completes the interactive content (e.g., finishes a quiz or submits a poll). Then redirect them to your website to use the discount code.
You can read about creating interactive emails in detail in our related guide.
How to optimize your emails for higher engagement
With billions of emails sent daily, standing out in your subscribers' crowded inboxes requires strategic planning and execution. Here are a few techniques to maximize the impact of your email campaigns, ultimately increasing email traffic.
1. Craft irresistible call-to-action (CTA)
To improve your CTAs, use Action-Oriented Language: Instead of generic phrases, use verbs that prompt immediate action, like "Shop Now" or "Download Your Free Guide." Make your CTAs stand out by using colors that contrast with your email's background.
You must position CTAs where they are easily visible without scrolling. Typically, placing them towards the top or middle of the email works best.
2. Optimize first fold UI for email engagement
The "first fold" is the viewable portion of the email without scrolling. It should encourage recipients to continue reading and complete the desired action.
You can make the first fold more effective by:
Attractive Visuals: Use high-quality photographs or graphics that will connect with your audience and effectively express your message. Engaging Headlines: Craft headlines that pique curiosity or offer a clear benefit to the reader, persuading them to continue reading. Clear Hierarchy: Structure your email content logically, with important information and CTAs prominently displayed in the first fold. Preview Text Optimization: Use preview text that complements your subject line and encourages email opens.
3. Enable mobile optimization with AMP
As more subscribers access emails on mobile devices, optimizing your emails for mobile responsiveness is essential. Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is a technology that enhances the performance of web content on mobile devices by improving loading times and user experience.
Implementing AMP in your emails allows for interactive and dynamic content, such as carousels, forms, surveys and polls, directly within the email.
This optimization improves engagement and also increases the likelihood of subscribers clicking through to your website or landing page.
4. Leverage FOMO in your email campaigns
Scarcity tactics emphasize the limited availability of products or services, encouraging subscribers to act quickly before missing out.
These psychological triggers appeal to subscribers' fear of missing out (FOMO). It motivates them to click through to your website to take advantage of the offer or promotion.
5. Segment your audience
To segment your email list, divide members into smaller groups based on specified criteria such as demographics, purchasing history, or interests.
Effective segmentation allows you to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time, ultimately boosting click-through rates and overall email performance.
Take action now to boost your website traffic
Throughout this guide, we've explored proven techniques to increase email traffic organically, focusing on actionable strategies that motivate them to click through.
From crafting irresistible CTAs to optimizing email layouts for instant engagement, each technique plays a crucial role in enhancing the effectiveness of your email campaigns. By leveraging mobile optimization with AMP and creating urgency through limited-time offers, you can further encourage subscribers to take immediate action.
As you implement these techniques, remember the importance of testing and refining your approach. Continuously analyze metrics like open rates and click-through rates to gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Leverage Mailmodo's AMP-powered emails to deliver interactive content that drives higher engagement. Sign for free now!
