The Who, What, Where, And When of Successful Email Campaigns

The phrase “You’ve got mail” was three and a half words that triggered a revolution. What started out as messages from Grandma and Grandpa and chain letters from friends has evolved, and now every company, charity, philanthropy, and social media is vying for the attention of inbox eyeballs on a daily basis. And as recruiters/agencies—the competition is just as steep.

Marketing job opportunities via email is in the same competition.  59% of marketers qualify email as the most effective channel to reach their targets and consumers prefer email 9 to 1 as to how to receive updates from brands. Just because it works doesn’t mean that all emails perform the same. What does an email marketing campaign need to catch the attention of the target candidates and compel them to click and apply?

• Who: Personalized emails improve click through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%. Going past just using a first name in the copy of an email—the content has to be applicable to the interests of the job seeker. It is best to pay attention to detail to who gets that message. If the email only targets super specific job seekers with one job title in mind—the campaign will likely miss out on a multitude of prospective interested candidates, but sending an email to an entire database, or promoting open jobs without consideration to what career focuses the individuals are interested in will result in spam reports, unsubscribes, and lower clicks. There’s a happy medium.
• What: Every aspect of the message matters. Starting with the subject line—including important industry and job specific material, while keeping the opener short and compelling. Moving to the contents of the message—again, not sending the prospective candidates a dissertation on the full open listing—but sending them a little snippet about the opportunity, a blurb about the company and perks of being an employee of it, and share a current staff members’ quick testimonial. Stick a call to action in a few places in that email–and watch that Applicant Tracking System fill up.
• Where: Where the email list comes from matters in a big way. Buying an email list from a generic lead delivery organization is a gamble that many will advise against in the recruitment marketing world. Be on the look out for niche organizations that have a strong representation in targeted industries. Offer registration on the company career page to a Talent Community—and allow job seekers to select opportunities and career paths they are interested in. The lists from these sources will go a long way in reaching the correct audiences without wasting their time and their interest in the message.
• When: The great thing about email being such a crucial and effective tool is that there is plenty of data to know what times and days are best for sending, and what times and days to avoid. Sending over the weekend or even into Monday—and the message will drown into the countless emails they received over the weekend. Sending early in the morning or late at night runs the same risk. Midweek and shortly after midday are the hot spots for email campaigns. Just as important—integrating a drip campaign that follows up with candidates that did not take action. Sending a follow up email, the following week, month, or 6 months down the line shows the candidate that their profile is a high priority—and shows them the importance of people like them in that role.

And with that we’ve covered the who, what, where and when of optimal email campaigns. The only thing remaining is the why—because to get the best of the best in the candidate pool, you have to outperform the competition.

Nexxt is a recruitment media company that uses today’s most effective marketing tactics to reach the full spectrum of talent – from active to passive, and everything in between. Learn more about hiring with Nexxt.