In this digital age, how can you stand out from the crowd when the average person receives over 100 emails a day? How can you make sure yours is one that they will open and read? First and foremost, it’s about trial and error – working out the best day, time, subject line, whether to use emojis, length or format. There is no magic strategy for each business.
However, there are a few things that you can do to increase the chances of your email being read.
Subject line
How many times a day do you hit delete on an email because the heading tells you nothing, or conversely, tells you too much?
There is a fine line between a genuine catchy headline that grabs your attention and plain old click bait. And no one likes the latter.
Keep it short and sweet. Think about how it looks when it lands in someone’s inbox. Too long and they won’t understand the message at all. If your client is reading the email on a mobile (which over 50% of us do), then any more than 7 words is going to be cut off. Food for thought.
Something personal
How can you break the ice? When you see a friend in the street, it’s all about connecting with them. Talking about how they are doing, what’s happening in their lives, what’s happening in yours. Think about what would be bothering your recipient at the moment.
How can you tap into their pain and make it conversational? Remember, whilst you can talk about the great holiday you’ve just returned from or how easy your day has been, it’s really about them. Not you.
Channel your ideal client
Do you ever read an email and think ‘wow, how did she know that about me?’. Knowing your ideal client should be at the centre of all your content marketing. If you have nailed your client avatar, then writing an email that is all about her becomes so much easier and clearer. It also helps your email get read, as they relate to what you are talking about!
Layout
People typically read in an F pattern. Heading across the top, then skim the left hand side for headings or text of interest. Make your email easy to read and skim. That way your subscriber can quickly and easy find topics of interest, stay with the paragraph and are more likely to then click through to your website (or other links that you have put into the body).
Call to action
Lastly, what do you want your readers to do? If they know that you consistently provide value in your emails, they are going to open them and do what it is that you want them to do! Make it crystal clear what you want them to do, whether it’s clicking to read more or going to your website to make a purchase.
Be consistent
Yep, you need to write to your email list regularly. Whether it’s once a month or once a week, do it consistently so they are expecting your email.
Also be consistent in your format. If you like to add images to your emails, then make sure you do it in every email. If someone is expecting pretty pictures from you and they get a big block of text, it’s likely that they won’t want to open your next email. It’s just human nature. We are predominantly creatures of habit.
So, what are you waiting for? Grab your laptop and start creating your perfect email. If you would like help with your email marketing, we have packages to suit every stage of your journey. Whether it’s a template to get you started or a consistent weekly email written for you, we’ve got you covered.
