7 Tips to Improve Your Email Marketing Strategy and Increase Your Customer Engagement
Do you ever feel like the second you step away from your computer, 100 emails appear in your inbox? Of course, you do, and so do your clients and prospects. Worse than receiving 100 emails is the drugery of reading long emails during which you think, “Get to the point already!”
Save your marketing emails from the cyber trash bin and get them read in 7 simple steps.
Target Your Audience
Even large-scale email campaigns should be relevant to the recipients. Customers will perceive your failure to relate to them as an inability to understand their needs, and mark your email as “spam.” Tailor email content to reflect the interests of your target audience.
Create a Snappy Subject Line
The subject line provides you with approximately 65 characters to relate to the customer or potential customer in a meaningful way…and grab their attention. Tall order? You bet!
An old culinary adage states, “We eat with our eyes first,” meaning that no one orders a dish that doesn’t look appealing to the eye, or worse, that they cannot identify. Your clients won’t open and read the emails you send them if the only taste of it they get, the subject line, looks unappealing.
A great subject line summarizes the purpose of the email in a single, short sentence. Use powerful, interesting words. And because the subject, or title, summarizes the email, many people wait until the end to write it.
Lead with Your Conclusion
Don’t bury the purpose of your email. Get to the point immediately by beginning your email with the conclusion that you want the reader to reach.
Support Your Conclusion
The body of your email should educate the reader and provide evidence that supports your conclusion. The conclusion you wish the client to make is often a decision to do something. Your body paragraphs should be short, easy to ready and use a natural, conversational tone. However, the information should be compelling enough to generate interest. Statistics, for example, help the reader to see you as a trusted advisor willing to share insider knowledge.
Keep It Simple
Even the most compelling information will be hard to digest if it reads like a textbook. Break up important information by using short paragraphs, bullets or subheadings. Keep your emails crisp and on point. Reading an email should never require multiple sessions. Spell out items that require action.
Avoid Spam Words
Some words are just so “sales-y” that they trigger most spam filters. Don’t throw away your perfectly good email before the prospect even has a chance to read it. Avoid the junk mail folder by avoiding words such as “sale,” “free,” “buy,” or “call.”
Close with a Call to Action
End your email with a clear call to action that restates what you said up front. If you want the client to schedule an appointment, say so.
With Every Email, Don’t Forget Email Etiquette…
Be Discreet (with the recipient list)
If you must send the same email to a large recipient group, address the email to the first recipient, and then blind carbon copy (BCC) the remaining recipients. Your goal is to safeguard your clients’ and customers’ email addresses.
Do Not “Reply All”
The use of “reply all” goes hand in hand with being discreet. In most instances, it is unnecessary, even annoying, when you reply to everyone on the recipient list. Send your responses directly to only those people that need to see it.
You expect nearly every email you send to motivate someone toward action. You can just as easily apply these tips to your personal emails or the emails you sent to the soccer club or dance school parents. Relate to the audience. Spell out the purpose. Ask for action. Then, watch your read rate soar.
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