Eblasts: what are they and how can you send effective ones?

Email marketing has an estimated ROI of $36 for every $1 spent. Unfortunately, 36% of all digital marketing emails are sorted out as spam. This begs an important question: 

How can marketers beat the algorithm, cut through the noise, and reach their customers?

There's always the option of sending email blasts (eblasts) to reach more potential customers. Without an effective strategy, eblasts are just spam at scale. But with a great strategy, they’re a valuable way to connect with customers and prospects. 

This article is about how to send an effective eblast without ending up in spam folders. We’ll look at some examples and do’s and don’ts along the way.

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What is an eblast?

Email blasts, or eblasts, are messages sent to a large group of recipients. This could be your entire email list, a portion of it, or a specified group within your email list. Unlike regular email marketing campaigns, emails in an eblast are not personalized. Instead, they come as a single message sent to a broad audience.

The broad, impersonal nature of email blasts limits their application, especially in an age of hyper-personalization and account-based marketing (ABM). This means that customers are less likely to respond to your eblast or take action on what it says unless you deliver it in just the right way.
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How do people use eblasts?

Since eblasts aren’t about giving recipients a customized, super personal experience, what are they about? Here are some of the most notable ways people use eblasts:

Flash sales

Flash sales and eblasts go together like peanut butter and jelly. You don’t need to segment or target a specific demographic in a flash sale since the products or services are universal and offer attractive deals for any prospective customer.

For instance, take this flash sale email Allegiant sent back in January. They used their classic branded header with an eye-catching image and bold text to highlight the cities (which in this case, was all of them), discount amount, and timing of the sale. They also have a clear CTA: “View Deals.”

This email cuts right to the chase and gives the thousands of recipients it likely went to a clear next step. This is what an eblast done well looks like.

Newsletters

Many businesses today use newsletters to keep their customers and investors informed. The ideal newsletter eblast should provide information that’s skimable, filled with links if readers want to learn more, and not over-the-top long. It should also have a captivating subject line to encourage readers to open it.

Consider this newsletter from Fizzle below. It brings content directly to the reader’s inbox and offers the opportunity for them to click on other links to get the information they’re looking for if needed.

Webinars

Hosting a webinar? Why not drive registration with an eblast? Like flash sales, webinar invitations don't always have to be personalized or targeted. They just need to convey the message. A simple webinar eblast that gets at the “why?” behind your webinar, shares the date and time, and includes an easy link to register can yield really strong results.

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Are eblasts effective?

The short answer: Sometimes. The longer answer: Yes, but only when they’re leveraged correctly. When they are, eblasts do incredible things like:

Boost reach and visibility

With any form of email marketing, numbers always win. This couldn't be truer for eblasts. Eblasts offer a seamless, cost-effective means of reaching a broad audience. With one perfectly curated message, you can reach hundreds (or even hundreds of thousands) of people, which increases your brand recognition.

Save time and money

Email campaigns can take hours at best and weeks at worst to write, design, build, and deploy. And that's not accounting for the money so many businesses spend on digital marketing specialists and agencies. 

Eblasts typically reduce the number of people who need to be involved; you don’t even need to individually sort through your email list to create targeted emails. With one well-crafted message, some teams see results that are even stronger than a traditional email drip cadence.

Reach readers in their exact moment of need

When it comes to email marketing campaigns, timing is everything. Certain days, like Mondays and weekends, have lower open rates across the board. So, if you’re sending an eblast, consider hitting “send” between Tuesday and Thursday—and have it hit your recipients inboxes between 9 -11 a.m. or 1 - 3 p.m. in their local time for the highest open rates.

One other thing here: You can create an automated schedule for sending your eblasts at your preferred time. Also, the fact that you don't have to target a specific demographic means you’ll be scaling the reach of your eblasts as your email list grows.
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How to make your eblast land in inboxes, not spam folders

Creating the perfect email is just the beginning. You also have to ensure that people get to see it, let alone read it.

Here are a few tips for sending an eblast that people will see.

Build a rock-solid email list

When most people get into email marketing, their first thought is “I need to buy an email list from a vendor.” Our thoughts on that? Don't do it. Not only will it get you poor results, it might even get you into legal trouble due to compliance issues.

So, instead of buying an email list, try building organic traffic by encouraging people to subscribe with good incentives and valuable content. This can be in the form of access to new products, promotions, or even a weekly or monthly newsletter about something they're interested in.

Segment your email list

Once you have an organic list of potential customers, try finding out who they are and what they’re interested in. Consider factors like location, industry, size of their organization, and purchase history. Segmenting your eblast email list makes it easier to connect with your recipients via personalized emails that better resonate with their interests.

Use an email service provider

An email service provider can significantly reduce the chances that your email will end up in someone’s spam folder. A major perk of having a dedicated email platform is that you get real-time bounce rate, open rate, and click-through rate (CTR) data. This enables you to always be optimizing your process for future eblasts.

If this sounds interesting to you, check out Streak's mail merge. It enables you to send personalized emails as eblasts that can be customized for each recipient. You can also schedule follow-up emails to stay top of mind with your recipients.
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Good examples of eblasts you wouldn't unsubscribe from

Before we wrap up, here are a few five-star examples of eblasts with interesting messages, eye-catching creative, and content that encourages readers to take action. Use these brands as inspiration!

Netflix

Netflix is known for its effective email campaigns. Whether you haven't logged in for a while or your favorite show just got a new season, you can be sure they'll send you a heads-up via email. The company has a simple email approach, with catchy headlines that are accentuated with a good picture and a clearly visible CTA button.

ModCloth

ModCloth is an online clothing retailer focused on vintage and indie-inspired women's clothing. One of the most notable attributes of their emails is they are always beautiful to look at. The company uses interesting wordplay and great HD pictures of the clothing to go with it.

Headspace

Headspace is a wellness brand, and its emails portray just that. Your typical Headspace email features a simple, happy image of tranquility with easily skimmable content that always gets straight to the point. The company also uses subtle, yet convincing sales language to make readers take action.

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Revolutionize your eblast delivery

The greatest threat to the success of your eblast is the spam folder. Fortunately, by simply using an organic email list, segmenting your prospects, and using the right email service provider, you can significantly reduce your chances of ending up there.

If you're ready to revolutionize your eblasts or personalized email campaigns—or even if you just have a few questions on this topic—reach out to us today. We’d love to meet you.