It’s our morning routine – waking up to check our inboxes only to find a long series of email prompts of “SALES NOW!” or “SAVE for a limited time only.” I’m sure I’m not the only one who ignores these emails or relegates them to the junk folder. Heck, as a marketer myself I’ve probably sent a couple annoying sales pitch emails. To be fair, creating effective promotional emails that stand out from all the clutter is not as easy as it sounds.
So, when it comes to creating successful promotional emails that will actually be opened, read and acted upon, what’s the secret? Here are three important tips when launching email marketing.
Why do so many businesses use email marketing? Because it’s a great way to stay connected to your audience and nurture their interest. With automation software, email content can be personalized for specific lead personas, creating a dynamic email with customized content based on your customer’s interests and where they are in the sales cycle. But, as great as automation is when it comes to emails, it won’t magically make clients open them. It’s up to you to use convincing language and good email tactics to drive that success.
- Keep email subject lines catchy and brief
To get your customers to actually open an email, you need to engage them with the first thing that catches their eye — the subject line. To create subject lines that stand out, consider the audience that’s receiving the email. Are you sending them a Follow-up email? Then make it sound like you’re carrying on the last conversation you had with them, try using their name or try putting a question in the subject line; these tactics engage and provide the promise that there is something worth reading in the body of the email.
As more and more people check their inboxes via their smartphone, it’s becoming all the more important that your subject line is not just catchy, but that it’s also brief, as few as 3- 4 words to ensure that it can fit on any screen.
To show that you are legit and to their attention, we recommend that your subject lines:
- Avoid long sentences
- Keep all first text headers in black
- Avoid CAPS and too many exclamation points!!!
- avoid being all lower case
- There’s such a thing as TOO much email content
When it comes to upselling your business to people, believe me, I know that it’s easy to get carried away, but it’s important to remember: now that you’ve got your clients to open the email do not overwhelm them or bore themwith too much content.
Whether it’s a Thank you or a Follow up email, we recommend that you stick to three or four paragraphs. You can provide a more pleasing flow, and a more appealing email body, with a longer head in the middle of your email and shorter headlines at the start and end of the email.
Other important tips on email content:
- If your email body is primarily text, use short paragraphs (approx. 50-130 words).
- Use simple and clear language and try personalizing and making it sound conversational.
- If you plan on using images to emphasize your message (e.g. promotional banners), use multiple images instead of one big image. Spam readers tend to flag emails that use one big image.
- Have one call to action button and personalize it with your company name, instead of “Download now!” say “Download PROSAR’s Email Whitepaper”.
- Timing is everything
Email frequency is always a concern for marketers; send too many and customers will probably choose to opt-out of your services. The key is to be there when your prospect feels they need you. That requires consistency, but optimum frequency varies depending on where they are in the sales cycle.
Obviously, email marketing should not involve indiscriminate sending (check out our Canadian Anti-Span Law Compliance blog if you’re worried about this), it’s about using automation software responsibly and effectively to engage your audience.
With automation you can set online touchpoints that trigger a previously prepared email. For example, if a customer visits a product page three times, an email can be sent out automatically, providing more details or benefits for that product, or notifying them when it is on sale, or even featuring recommendations for similar products. This type of dynamic email helps to ensure that your customers’ needs are being considered and that a sales opportunity is not lost.
Other tips on email frequency:
- Prompt the audience on social media before you send out a new email campaign
- Take advantage of time-off, like holidays, or downtime, like noon, to connect with your audience
- Ask customers when they would like to hear from you, and how often
Email marketing is a communication and sales tactic that has been proven to convert leads.
Automation software, like SharpSpring, assist greatly in implementing, monitoring, measuring and fine-tuning your email strategy. Whether you use software or not, heed these three tips and take advantage of the strengths of email marketing.
Photo credit: Busakorn Pongparnit / gettyimages