You just spent the last few hours writing the most amazing marketing email. You’re feeling ready to fire it off to your database of subscribers.
The words you crafted are elegant and persuasive without being too salesy. Your words are, as marketers love to say, engaging.
You’re picturing an open rate from your readers well above your industry’s average. You’re expecting a significant rush of customers to your website.
But hold on.
Before blasting your email, rewind a little.
Have you double checked your subject line? Is it engaging? Does it grab? Have you checked your “from” name and “from” email?
Are you using dynamic tags in your email? Are you using preheaders? Are your email lists segmented the right way?
Yes, yes. It’s a lot of questions. It might even be a little annoying.
But think about it.
In this age of information overload, an individual can receive up to 200 or more emails a day. While people become more time poor, marketers scream louder and louder for attention.
With the amount of activity out there, only the people who get their emails right are going to get through. If you don’t get it right, you are one delete key tap away from the trash bin.
Don’t blow it!
Emails are a fantastic opportunity to nurture the relationship between you and your recipients. They’re a sure-fire way to bolster your presence, authority and can lead to a high return on investment.
Keep in mind, the person you’re about to send your email to gave you their email address. They want to know more. To hear from you on a regular basis. It’s an opportunity.
Make sure you take these 10 steps before blasting your email. Or risk having your emails binned.
Take these 10 steps before you hit the send button. #email #marketing Click To Tweet
Before blasting your email —
1) Double check your subject line
When your email lands in your recipients’ inbox, this is the first thing they’ll look at. Right there and then, they’ll determine if they want to read your email or not. It’s make or break!
Keep the email subject line, short (under 50 words), sharp and straight to the point. Address your recipient by their name using a dynamic tag if possible. Make it catchy or your email will end up in the trash bin.
2) Make sure your “from” name and email are human.
Received emails from what appears to be an automated computer? Sure you have. Binned it right?
It goes without saying, recipients of emails want to feel like they’re being spoken to. They want to feel they’re receiving a message from a person, not HAL 9000 or a corporate conglomerate.
By making the “from” name and email a real person’s you’re personalising your email. This will protect your email from getting trashed.
3) Make sure you use preheaders
Preheaders are the text in the email preview. It’s an immediate way to make an impression on your recipient.
It can either grab your reader and have them opening the email. Or it can tell your reader they don’t need to read it. Think about the message you want to drop into this area with care.
4) Add dynamic tags where you can.
Sending emails without addressing your recipient or addressing them as “customer” is dangerous.
Dynamic tags personalise your emails. Drop in a dynamic tag for your recipient’s title, first name or company name. It’s the best way to make your recipient feel spoken to and avoid the trash bin.
5) Rethink your design.
It’s a hi-speed world and people are impatient! People want to get to a core message as soon as possible. Making your email easy to read is of tantamount importance.
Consider your layout. Where are you placing your images in relationship to your body copy? Think about how many images are in your email. Are they all necessary? If not, get rid of them because they’re a distraction.
Get out of the way of your readers!
Get out of the way of your readers! #email #marketing Click To Tweet
6) Galvanise action with call-to-actions.
Call-to-actions are a must. You want your recipient to do something after reading your email right? Subscribe. Sign up. Find out more. Buy now. Join. Get started. Give us a try. Launch. Log in.
Not including call-to-actions on your email is like calling a potential date but not asking them out. Make sure CTAs are in your emails otherwise, the recipient may be wondering why you emailed them at all.
7) Segment your email lists (check who you’re sending to)
Sending emails that try to be everything to everyone is a big mistake. By communicating this way you’ll lose your audience fast.
If you have different things to say to different groups of people, split your emails out as much as you can. Then split the email database up so you can send the right emails to the right groups.
Make sure your content is relevant to the people you’re sending it to. Personalising emails leads to deeper engagement.
Personalising emails leads to deeper engagement. #email #marketing Click To Tweet
8) Test on a variety of devices before blasting your email
This is a simple step but a lot of people don’t do it. Don’t ever assume the email system is going to take care of everything. It won’t.
Test your email to yourself on your desktop. On your tablet. On your phone. Email code may not respond as you expect in different devices.
It may look fine on your desktop but on a tablet, the code may break. And make sure all links, buttons, images and dynamic tags work! Readers will bin your email if it doesn’t function.
9) Make sure there’s a plain text version
As crazy as this sounds, not all email clients render HTML. Not everyone has high-speed internet! If the email client can’t render and you don’t give your reader the plain text option, it might go in the bin.
10) Proofread, proofread, proofread!!!
Check your content for spelling and grammatical errors. People get cranky when your content is difficult to read because of small mistakes. It makes you and your business look unprofessional.
A quick proof and edit can save your email from the bin.
Check your content for spelling and grammatical errors. #email #marketing Click To Tweet
Are you a marketer? Is there anything you’d like to add? Other email marketing strategies to deepen engagement with readers?
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