Email marketing is a critical aspect of any successful marketing campaign. From generating new leads to maintaining relationships with customers, proper email marketing is a powerful tool that can communicate brand identity and drive growth.

Alternatively, a mismanaged email marketing campaign can result in a waste of precious time and money — and even worse, an abundance of clicks on the dreaded “unsubscribe” button. At Bizzabo, we believe that email marketing is essential to having an effective marketing strategy. And according to an ExactTarget report, 68% of marketers say that email marketing is the core of their business.

Below are 5 email hacks supported by stats from email marketing specialists to help you build better and smarter email marketing campaigns.

1. Set Goals

Before you begin your email marketing campaign, set achievable goals. A good place to start is aiming to outperform the average. According to a report from MailChimp, startup-sized companies (1 to 10 employees) average an email open rate of 22.1 percent and a click through rate (CTR) of 3.5 percent. To track and compare performance against your goals, consider using an email marketing service. Providers like Mailchimp, Hubspot, or Constant Contact, allow users to see helpful metrics that make it a snap to keep an eye on the performance of your email campaigns.

2. Mobilize

In a study released by Litmus, it was reported that 48 percent of emails are opened on a mobile device. In addition, 69 percent of users said they delete emails that are not optimized for mobile. This means that you must make sure all your emails are mobile device friendly! All text and visuals should scale to any sized screen, and copy should be concise so that it can be easily consumed on the go.

Only 11 percent of emails are optimized for mobile devices, which means that if your emails are smartphone friendly there’s a good chance you may be already ahead of the competition!

3.     Segment

Sending the same exact email message to current customers, potential customers, new leads, and partners is a sure-fire way to get ignored. Emails should be segmented so that the messaging can be tailored to the wants and needs of disparate groups. It was recently reported that email marketers got nearly 15 percent better open and click rates when they segmented their emails for different audiences. A 15 percent improvement in opens for an email could help you form meaningful customer relationships.

If you’re feeling slightly ambitious (and have the right tools), you can segment emails based on user website interaction such as checking out your pricing page or a specific product. You can then set up a triggered email that directly addresses this interest.

4.     Personalize

Think about it: When you’re scrolling through your mailbox, are you more likely to pay attention to a one-size-fits all email, or to one that appears to be tailored to you? Personalization is key in a world where 838 billion marketing emails are sent annually. Email marketing firm Adestra discovered that emails with a personalized subject line were 22.2 percent more likely to be opened.  Consider inserting the recipient’s first name in the subject line, keep email content casual and friendly, and recommend products and services based on previous interactions with your website or sales team.

5.     Be Brief

Keep it short! This infographic by MarketingProfs indicates that highly downloaded pieces of content contain 20 percent fewer words than the average marketing email. Lengthy emails will be skimmed-over at best or sent straight to the trash bin. Save lengthy content for your website or blog. Instead, create a brief message with a visually interesting CTA (Call To Action) button that will drive email recipients to your website for meatier information.