Top tips: Always take the weather with you- email marketing tips from the top

Solid trend analysis is critical in understanding how to create an effective email marketing campaign. We recently conducted research into how the weather affects responsiveness rates and the results were compelling for both B2B and B2C campaigns.

We looked at open and click through rates on over 7 million emails and found a clear link between the weather and the type of product and service audiences are drawn to. Seemingly, when the sun is shining and the sky is blue our email marketing audience become much more approachable, particularly in relation to easy-to-purchase goods, and services that have a positive association with either the outdoors or their ‘down’ time.

For example, emails promoting festival tickets are twice as likely to be opened on a sunny rather than a rainy day, and we discovered open rates for campaigns promoting UK based holidays were five times greater, and click through rates three times greater, on these days too.

Sporting events are a natural fit for this category but the findings showed that it’s worth thinking laterally with your product as well. Sat-navs, not an obvious ‘entertainment’ product, actually gained greatly from a psychological association with getting ‘out and about’ in the good weather.

However, you don’t need to start doing a rain dance if you’re trying to get interest in a non-consumer email marketing campaign. The sun’s ‘feel good’ factor can also give a helping hand to events and products being aimed at the business market, with click through rates improving up to threefold during a hot spell.

And whilst we’re generally looking on the lighter side of life on a sunny day, when the weather is cold and grey our thoughts become more attuned to long-term or ‘bigger commitment’ products, and services such as moving home or buying a car. Consumers are actually twice as likely to engage with property related emails on a rainy day than a sunny one.

Arguably, a more intuitive result is that campaigns promoting winter ski holidays will do far better in poor weather because the cold acts as a kind of subconscious link between the here and now and the promised future experience.

In addition to the weather, we’ve also recently assessed the impact of time of day on open rates and again, the difference in target responsiveness is significant and surprising.

Regardless of subject matter, almost half of all email-marketing campaigns are opened after work hours, between 5pm and 10pm, and not at lunchtime. The second most effective time of day for consumer-focused campaigns is 9-10am when we allow ourselves to be momentarily distracted from the tasks ahead.

Finally, the most effective email marketing campaigns will always go one step further and look at the behavioural patterns of individual recipients. Pure360 email marketing software identifies specific trends both within clients’ databases, and around their products. 

Integrating two way Google Analytics reporting allows users to view relevant results for individual campaigns, including the number and value of email goal conversions by email campaign. By monitoring how emails perform after being opened, marketers can respond to campaign specific trends and gain further insights into the overall value of their email marketing campaign.

Despite the prevalence of Google Analytics reporting as the software of choice for sites across the web, currently only a small fraction of companies that send bulk email use Google Analytics reports effectively, if at all.

So before you press send, be sure you’ve factored in key trends such as time of year, weather and time of day, and ask yourself whether you’ve really made the most of all the information that’s available to you.

Adam Bambrough is Product & Experience Manager at progressive email marketing solutions provider Pure360. Founded in 2001, Pure360 provides well known brands and businesses with the technology, know-how and support to run effective email marketing campaigns that have a measurable, positive impact on business. For more information, please visit www.Pure360.com

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