I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of email marketing and according to some recent statistics, I'm not alone. Email marketing not only continues to be an effective way to deliver content to your audience (and drive sales and conversions, too) as email becomes more easily accessed on mobile devices, this marketing medium is expected to increase in use and efficacy in the coming year.

If you've spent time developing an email marketing strategy, you've likely created a some-what formulaic approach to this particular type of content. As you plan and refine your messaging, stick with what works but don't be afraid to try new tactics, too. And that includes the thank you email.

Thank You Emails: An Overview

We've all received such a note that's delivered to us once we take some sort of action perhaps it's an online transaction, downloading a white paper or e-book, or attending a webinar. The great thing about thank you emails is that they can be set up to automatically send once someone has completed a specified action, which means that, in terms of work flow, they're relatively easy to set up and use. And even better, they tend to deliver much higher open and click-through rates than your average, one-off marketing message.

Consider some stats gathered by HubSpot once they examined the results of their thank you and marketing emails. On average, the thank you emails generated a 42% open rate and 14% CTR, compared to the general emails 12% open rate and 6% CTR. Pretty huge difference, right?

How to Optimize Your Thank You Email

Like any other email message, the thank you email can be optimized to deliver even better results. For example, keep your message simple. You want the message to clearly thank someone for taking a specific action and, if applicable, introduce a secondary call-to-action that can help further boost your conversion rates.

Let's say, for example, you've created a landing page on which someone can download a new e-book youve written. Once a book has been downloaded, you can automatically send a thank you email that lets the recipient know you're appreciative of the download, and also introduces a secondary piece of content that person might be interested in. Maybe you could direct them to an older e-book, for example, or a whitepaper, or a presentation, or some other type of content.

Regardless of your email's content, it should be optimized for social sharing and this is especially true for thank you emails, which often get forwarded and shared, resulting in a new audience for your content. Make your social sharing buttons clear and easy-to-use. The harder you make it for people to do something, the less likely they'll do it.

One other tip? When you're creating your thank you email template, remember to say, well, 'Thanks!' Research shows that including the words 'thank you' in your email's subject line will result not just in a higher open rate, but a higher click-through rate, too. And besides, what better time to say thank you than when sending a thank you email?

Once your thank you email is in place, keep an eye on your analytics to see how recipients are responding to this particular type of message. It never hurts to test various components of your email (including subject line, sent time, personalization and calls to action) to see what best resonates with your audience. The data will speak volumes about what's working (and what's not)you just have to make time to not only gather the information, but also analyze it, too.

Have you used a thank you email as part of your email marketing strategy? What sort of response did it generate?