In order to compete in today’s noisy digital world, we need to ensure that every message we create is clear, concise and effective. Trying to be heard amongst the 140 emails the average person receives a day can be near impossible, but here are a few tips to ensure that your email marketing is performing at its best.
Start at the top
Make sure that you are using an engaging subject line and introduction text. With all the competition out there, you need to make sure that you get past the first hurdle and get your recipient to actually open the email. If your audience likes emojis, consider including them in the subject line. Make sure that you’re also giving people a sneak peak as to what’s inside. Nobody likes click bait, so just don’t even think about applying it to your email marketing!
Speak directly to your audience
Have you ever received an email that felt like the person writing it actually knew you? Knowing your audience inside out means that you can create an instant rapport and ensure that they keep coming back for more.
Think about where your audience hangs out, what they like to do in their spare time or how they like to spend their money. All of these factors will give you a clue on how to write using language that appeals to them.
Also don’t underestimate the effect of using their name. Personalise the interaction by not only addressing the email to them, but also placing it a few times within the newsletter. It’s so easy to do with any email marketing platform, but so few people actually use it!
Whilst we’re on the topic of personalisation, you might also like to make sure that your details are distinctly shown as the sender. I like to use ‘Mel from Meld Business Services’ so that recipients not only know my name, but associate it with my business too.
Distinct branding
Be consistent with your branding. This is important so that recipients can quickly and easily relate your style to their communication expectations. It also provides a visual clue to your content. Remember being reliable and consistent with your branding is not the same as being boring!
Have a purpose
Emails or newsletters that provide random waffling are just plain annoying. Nobody likes a time waster and it’s one of the quickest ways to encourage an unsubscribe. Why are you contacting this person, at this time? Is it to increase awareness of a product or service? Drive traffic to your website? Advertise a new blog? Whatever it is, pick one call to action for the newsletter and stick to it.
Add value
Be generous with your knowledge and experience. Don’t sell 100% of the time but rather provide people with tips or useful information that will increase the happiness in their lives! Many experts have differing opinions as to the ratio of salesy to other content. My personal favourite that I try to stick to in both email marketing and social media is the jab, jab, jab, hook analogy! This is three lots of ‘other’ content to every sales pitch.
Keep it simple
In the interests of branding and valuing your audience’s limited time, keep your communication visually appealing and set it out so that it can be scanned quickly. Make it obvious what they key points are that they should take away. The easiest way to do this is through meaningful headings or graphics, a clear call to action button or a list of dot points.
Get technical and test
It may take a little trial and error, but test the best day and time to send your emails to ensure you maximise the open and click through rates.
It’s also a huge consideration with your testing to ensure that you customise your email to be read on mobile phones. A whopping 47% of Australians use mobile devices to read emails, so if yours is difficult to read on the small screen, it may result in a high proportion of unsubscribes.
Make sure you take the time to fine tune your email marketing. A few changes can mean the difference between a long time, loyal customer and an unsubscriber. If you’d like to see an example of my newsletter, jump on the mailing list here. As an added bonus you’ll receive my How to Identify Tasks to Outsource book.
If writing a newsletter sounds way too confusing, or you just don’t have time, have a look at my Service options so see if they are right for you.
