Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective methods of engaging your audience, establishing brand awareness, increasing your revenue, and building relationships with your customers.
Navigating the world of email marketing, however, can be a balancing act. There is a fine line between a recipient looking forward to your content and scrolling past it in their inbox – or, even worse, moving it to the trash folder.
The people on your email list want to receive your content – after all, that’s why they signed up! Honor the opportunity your subscriber has provided to you by offering valuable content that they’ll be excited to read.
Here are five tips to help your email campaigns stand out.
Start with Your Sender Name
The first thing your recipients will see is your sender name, so make sure it’s unique and easily recognizable, and then stick with it.
One of the risks of not choosing a strategic sender name is that your campaign rating could suffer. This means that if your customers delete the email without opening it first, your next email to those users could go directly to the trash folder, even if they previously had opted in to receive your emails.
When choosing a sender name, your company’s name is a good place to start. After a few emails, your subscribers will begin to recognize who the email is from and be less likely to move it to the trash.
Attract Attention with a Strong Subject Line
The second element of your email marketing is a short, yet intriguing subject line that hints at what the email contains – whether it’s a solution to a common problem in your industry, a giveaway, or a product promotion.
The hallmarks of a strong subject line are audience appeal, correct grammar and spelling, and a maximum of 41 characters so the subject line can be read to the end without trailing off. Get creative with your subject lines and experiment with different strategies. If it’s appropriate for the topic and space allows, try including an emoji to make your subject line more fun and eye-catching.
Provide Valuable Content
Since your subject line hints at what’s inside the email, make sure the content fulfills the promise of offering valuable information to your subscriber. This content may answer a frequently asked question about your product, suggest helpful tips related to your industry, or provide creative ideas for projects or activities. Doing this on a regular basis will demonstrate that you understand your customers and their challenges, which helps encourage them to click on your emails and potentially share your content.
Keep in mind that creating content your subscribers will want to read takes practice and research. As the expert in your industry, you know the most about latest developments, products, and services, so those topics are a great place to start. Figure out who your target audience is and how they like to communicate, then tailor your content to them. Studying real-time analytics also helps you fine-tune your approach to generate a higher return on investment and discover what works based on your audience’s behaviors.
Add a Personal Touch
You may have thousands of people on your mailing list, but when writing your email content, remember to focus on the individual instead of the masses. Using the data you’ve gleaned from the analytics, you can customize your emails for specific recipients. Customers feel good when they’re seen as individuals rather than just a number, which increases the likelihood that they’ll open and read the email. Be consistent with this individualization and you’ll build trust with your customers.
Email marketing tools like MailChimp and Constant Contact make it easy to personalize your messages by inserting a recipient’s name into the content for a special touch. However, think of this as a spice that seasons the dish. Be careful to not go overboard with using the customer’s name, as it could come across as forced and unnatural.
Proofread Your Email
At this point, you’ve put a lot of thought into your sender name, subject line, and content. The final step before you hit “send” is to ask a trusted friend or a professional proofreader to proofread your grammar, spelling, or punctuation to avoid damaging your credibility by sending an email littered with mistakes. Or, simply take a break and look at the email with fresh eyes to ensure your email comes across as professional and credible.
We’re confident these tips will help you create email marketing campaigns that inspire your recipients to click and learn more about what you have to offer. Need some help thinking through your marketing strategy or sending out your email campaigns to your subscribers? Give our team at Stray Media Group a call and let us help you deliver branded content your customers will love.
