Email Marketing: Engagement Matters More Than Ever With Gmail’s New Manage Subscriptions Update

This blog tells you more about Email marketing and Gmail’s new manage subscription update. Email marketing consistently delivers one of the highest Returns on Investment (ROI). According to Litmus, every dollar spent by a company, receives $10-$36 back. In South African terms, that’s roughly around R185-R650 for every R20 spent. Email therefore remains a top tool in any SME’s marketing arsenal.

Recently, Gmail launched a Manage Subscriptions update that should make many marketers very nervous. This update makes it easier than ever for Gmail’s users to unsubscribe from any and all active email lists, all in one convenient place, with just one simple click.

This isn’t Gmail’s only update to help its customers better manage cluttered mailboxes, and they are not the only platform moving in this direction. These and other steps are necessary to win the war on email phishing, and spam, but it also means that marketers need to work harder than ever to engage subscribers with emails that compel and add value. When users turn to Gmail’s new feature to declutter, it’s going to be super easy to unsubscribe from all subscriptions that just don’t deliver.

Don’t risk losing the subscribers you’ve work so hard to get. This blog offers tips to create campaigns that will resonate with readers and keep them engaged.

RELATED: How To Build And Grow An Engaged Email Marketing List

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Gmail’s new Manage Subscriptions feature makes it easier than ever for users to unsubscribe – SMEs need to up their game to keep subscribers engaged.
• High-quality content, clean design, and strong CTAs are critical for engagement.
• List maintenance, personalisation, and segmentation keep emails relevant and impactful.
• Timing and frequency influence reliability and subscriber trust.
• Continuous testing and analysis improve performance over time.
• Using a private Domain Name and Email Hosting strengthens deliverability and builds credibility.

Gmail’s New Manage Subscriptions Feature

Nearly 22% of the global population (1.8 billion) has an active Gmail account, according to About Chromebooks. The email giant is popular and stays this way by offering its users updates and tools to simplify email management. One of these being its latest Manage Subscriptions feature. Before, Gmail sent a single Unsubscribe Suggestion via a card notification only.

But now, they’ve taken it a step further by listing all subscription emails in one place and organising it by those that send the most emails. Users can opt to unsubscribe from any list with a single click, after which Gmail will handle the request on their behalf. Now that’s service.

For SMEs with subscriber lists they want to protect on the other hand, it could be risky. Are you creating enough value to withstand subscribers in “spring cleaning” mode?

7 Email Marketing Tips To Improve Subscriber Engagement

Social media is great but if SMEs want to stand out on feeds, they need to have a complete handle on algorithm red-tapes or put hefty budgets behind every post. For small businesses this is simply not feasible.

That’s why building a Subscriber List is fundamental to doing business these days. It offers direct access to people that asked to hear from you, and it comes at a fraction of the price of other digital marketing strategies. 

But building an email database is just half of the story. Firstly, you need to ensure excellent deliverability rates so that your emails actually make it into your subscribers’ inboxes. Sending your emails from a private and recognisable domain name, is key for transparency.

Secondly, you need to put together compelling campaigns that will resonate with your readers in such a way that they not only want to open and engage with your emails but also see the value in staying subscribed. Taking the time to setup your email marketing campaign properly, create thoughtful mails to maintain and build lists, will all contribute to your deliverability and reading rates.

Try these tips to improve how readers receive your email marketing campaigns:

1. Create high quality content

What you say and how you say it matters. You don’t want to overwhelm readers with copious amount of copy, neither do you want to leave them with multiple unanswered questions. It’s about getting the balance right.

Write conversational emails – not spammy ones. In fact, avoid spam keywords like “act now”, “limited time only”, “last chance” altogether. Make sure your email takes readers on a journey and adds value. They need to feel they’ve learned something from your mail. Whether you’ve paired an outfit in a way they didn’t know about, shared a secret styling tip, or given an exclusive offer – it needs to pay off for them to continue to be part of your subscriber base.

NOTE:

Subject lines and preview text need to be created with care. Don’t give a teaser about something that isn’t even mentioned in your email. Stir their curiosity and deliver on it!

2. Create beautiful, responsive designs

Looks matter a whole lot in email marketing too. If your design is cluttered, outdated, or doesn’t render properly on mobile, you are going to lose readers fast. Invest in clean, modern templates that reflect your brand and can adapt to any screen size.

Use a clear hierarchy with headlines, images, and white space so that your emails are easy to scan through. Visuals should support your message, not detract from it. Most importantly, test your emails across devices and browsers before hitting send – nothing screams unprofessional more, than a broken layout does.

3. Include compelling call to actions

At the end of the day, the goal of your mailers isn’t just to entertain or keep subscribers. You want them to act too. Use clever, short and action-driven call to actions throughout your mails to help your reader realise what you would like them to do next.

Example of great call to actions:

• Learn how
• Sign up
• Try the demo
• Download
• Buy now

4. Nurture mailing lists

Getting subscribers is great, but you have to manage and maintain your list to ensure that you keep your subscriber engagement high and your bad sender reputation low.

Do this by:

• Activating double opt-in for new subscriptions
• Removing undeliverable email addresses
• Removing inactive addresses
• Removing “Abuse email addresses”

Ideally, what you want is a smaller but more engaged list, because it will always out-perform a large list full of people who never open your emails.

5. Personalise and segment

Personally addressed emails are received better, as subscribers feel as though your email speaks directly to them, they’re far more likely to stick around.

Divide your lists according to the information (i.e. behaviour, purchase history, interests, demographic, location etc.) you may have on the audience, so that you have the option to tailor your content for specific ones.

The benefits of doing this include:

• Higher open and click-through rates
• Stronger customer loyalty
• Reduced unsubscribes
• Improved conversions

6. Get your timing and frequency right

Whatever you do, don’t be inconsistent with your email marketing campaigns as this could reflect poorly on your reliability as a business. Also don’t send too many or too little. One per week topic dependent and if usually received well, one every second week or one per month is good. Anything more or less than this is risky, as you don’t know how many others they are subscribed to.

According to Twilio Tuesdays to Thursdays between 9AM and 2PM are good days for email marketing.

But this differs from company to company and audience to audience.

Track when your subscribers are most likely to engage and adapt accordingly.

7. Test, analyse and improve

What works today may not work tomorrow. That’s why testing is essential. Run A/B tests on subject lines, content, designs, and CTAs to see what resonates best with your audience.

Analyse your open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and conversions to find patterns. Then adjust your strategy to keep improving.

Email marketing is never a set-and-forget channel – it’s an ongoing process of refinement.

Why A Private Domain And Email Hosting Is Key For Marketing Success

While many of your recipients might be using Gmail to read your mails, they don’t generally want your mail to be sent from Gmail, or any other generic address, because it doesn’t legitimise the email.

A private domain (e.g. yourname@yourbusiness.co.za), on the other hand, instantly boosts your credibility and professionalism. Subscribers trust emails that look legitimate, and inbox providers are more likely to deliver them instead of marking them as spam.

This creates a problem for startups and small businesses that don’t yet have a website ready but want to connect with their audience. Luckily, your domain name doesn’t need full-on hosting to communicate via this platform; just sign up for Email Hosting.

Email Hosting ensures your messages are properly authenticated, reducing the chances of them ending up in junk folders. It also gives you more control over how replies are managed, so customer engagement doesn’t slip through the cracks.

At Domains.co.za we offer six different Email Hosting packages, each boasting incredible security features and freebies.

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Other Blogs of Interest

• Email Etiquette For Startups And SMEs
• What Email Hosting For Small Business Can Do For Your SME
• Email Marketing: The affordable and effective platform your business can trust
• Email is not dying – it is Adapting and Becoming Smarter
• Custom Email Addresses: Elevating Your Brand Identity Online