Shareable links in Email marketing are among the most effective ways businesses communicate with their audience. It allows companies to directly engage with their subscribers, build relationships, and promote their products or services. However, how do you ensure your message stands out with inboxes constantly flooded with emails?
The answer lies in using shareable links within your email marketing campaigns. Shareable links can enhance the effectiveness of your emails by increasing engagement, boosting reach, and helping you track valuable metrics. In this blog post, we will explore shareable links, why they are essential for email marketing, and how you can use them to enhance your campaigns.
What Are Shareable Links in Email Marketing?
In simple terms, shareable links are URLs included in emails that allow recipients to share content with others easily. These links can be embedded within text, buttons, or images in your emails and usually lead to a specific page or content, such as a landing page, product page, blog post, or offer. Shareable links are a great way to expand your reach by encouraging email recipients to forward or share the link with others in their network.
For example, you could include a link to a special promotion in your email and encourage your subscribers to forward the email or share the link on their social media channels. This is a great way to enhance brand visibility and reach a wider audience.
Why Shareable Links Are Important in Email Marketing
1. Increased Engagement
The main benefit of using shareable links in email marketing is the potential to increase engagement. Engagement is crucial to the success of any marketing campaign, and shareable links give you a direct way to encourage interaction with your emails. When recipients click on a shareable link, they engage with your content and offer or promotion.
Furthermore, shareable links often allow recipients to share the content with others, further increasing engagement. For instance, if your content resonates with a subscriber, they might share the link with their network, thus driving more traffic to your site.
2. Extended Reach
Shareable links also extend the reach of your email marketing campaigns. Your content is exposed to a broader audience whenever a subscriber shares your link with someone else. This could lead to new customers, clients, or followers who might never have seen your content.
Sharing content is especially valuable in today’s social media-driven world. When your content is shared on social platforms or forwarded to a friend, it gains more visibility and credibility, significantly increasing your brand’s reach.
According to MarketingProfs, 81% of small businesses use email marketing as their primary customer acquisition channel. Shareable links enable your business to tap into this powerful channel, increasing your reach beyond your immediate email list.
3. Improved Conversion Rates
A well-placed, relevant, shareable link can help improve conversion rates by leading your recipients to optimized landing pages, promotions, or other content to encourage action. For instance, if you’re offering a limited-time discount, including a shareable link to that offer in your email will drive traffic to the promotion page. Once on the page, your visitors are more likely to convert—whether by purchasing a product, signing up for a service, or filling out a form.
By strategically placing shareable links to your most compelling offers, you can guide your subscribers through a streamlined process that ultimately results in higher conversions.
4. Increased Social Proof
The power of social proof can’t be underestimated in marketing. Social proof is the psychological phenomenon where the actions of others influence people. When someone shares your email content, it acts as an endorsement, signalling to others that the content is valuable. This form of social proof can build trust and credibility for your brand.
Email recipients are vouching for your brand when they share links to your content. As more people share your content, it becomes more likely that others will also want to engage with it. This helps to increase trust and makes it more likely that they will take the desired actions you are encouraging.
5. Trackable Analytics
One of the most essential benefits of shareable links in email marketing is that they are trackable. With the help of UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters and link shorteners like Bitly, you can monitor the performance of each link within your emails. Tracking the performance of these links will help you understand what types of content resonate with your audience and which campaigns drive the most traffic.
By analyzing these metrics, you can refine your future campaigns and ensure you continue creating valuable and shareable content for your subscribers.
How to Use Shareable Links Effectively in Email Marketing
1. Make the Links Stand Out
The key to using shareable links effectively is ensuring they are easily noticeable. You can do this by embedding the links in clear call-to-action (CTA) buttons or bold text. Your email recipients need to know precisely what to do with the link, so it should be easy to find and understand.
Example: If you’re running a special promotion, you can include a bold and visually appealing button that says, “Click here to claim your offer.” The recipient knows exactly what to do when they see the link, making engaging them easier.
2. Use UTM Parameters to Track Performance
To track the success of your shareable links, use UTM parameters. UTM codes are tags added to the end of your URLs, which allow you to track how traffic interacts with your website. By including these parameters in your shareable links, you can gain insights into how many people clicked the link, where they came from, and what they did once they arrived on your site.
Using UTM parameters ensures that you can accurately track the performance of your shareable links and optimize future email campaigns based on accurate data.
3. Encourage Sharing on Social Media
Encourage your email recipients to share the content by including social media sharing buttons. These buttons make it easy for recipients to share your email content on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can even add a line of text that encourages your subscribers to share the content with their network, such as:
Example: “Share this offer with your friends and help them save too!”
Encouraging sharing helps extend the reach of your email campaigns, which can result in new leads, more traffic, and higher conversion rates.
4. Ensure Your Landing Pages Are Optimized
Shareable links often direct recipients to landing pages, so it’s essential to ensure these pages are optimized for conversions. The landing page should align with the content in your email, providing a clear message and a smooth user experience. Ensure the page loads quickly, provides relevant information, and includes an easy-to-follow call to action.
By optimizing your landing pages, you maximize the effectiveness of your shareable links, increasing the chances that visitors will take the desired action once they arrive.
5. Keep Links Short and User-Friendly
Long and complicated URLs can be intimidating for users. To make your links more shareable, use link-shortening tools like Bitly. These tools make your URLs more user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. Shorter links are also easier for recipients to remember and share.
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Shareable content generates 4 times more engagement compared to non-shareable content.
Source: Content Marketing Institute -
92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family more than any other form of advertising.
Source: Nielsen -
Email marketing has an average ROI of $42 for every $1 spent.
Source: DMA Insights
These statistics emphasize the power of email marketing and highlight the importance of shareable content in increasing engagement, reach, and conversions.
FAQs About Shareable Links in Email Marketing
1. What are shareable links in email marketing?
Shareable links are URLs embedded within emails that allow recipients to easily share the content with others, either by forwarding the email or sharing the link on social media.
2. How can I track the performance of shareable links?
You can track the performance of shareable links by using UTM parameters or link-shortening tools like Bitly. These tools provide insights into the number of clicks the link receives and where the traffic is coming from.
3. How do I encourage my recipients to share links?
Encourage sharing by adding social media sharing buttons and writing compelling text that invites recipients to share the link with their friends or followers.
4. How do I make my shareable links stand out in emails?
Embed shareable links in visually appealing buttons or bold text to make them stand out. Clear and concise CTAs help guide recipients toward the desired action.
5. How do shareable links help increase conversions?
Shareable links direct users to content that encourages them to take action, such as purchasing a product or filling out a form. They also guide recipients to optimized landing pages or special offers.
Incorporating shareable links into your email marketing campaigns effectively increases engagement, expands your reach, and improves conversions. By making it easy for recipients to share your content, you can tap into the power of social proof, boost your visibility, and drive more traffic to your website. Optimize your shareable links, track their performance, and encourage sharing to maximize their effectiveness. With the right strategy, shareable links can take your email marketing campaigns to the next level.