Email marketing is still the online marketing channel with the highest ROI. But nefarious types have made email marketing harder.
See if any of these seem familiar.
You open your email inbox and see the usual clutter:
- You’ve inherited a billion rupees from a foreign country’s ailing prince
- There’s an incomprehensible offer for “superior quality writing of the website you know to own” (or something like that)
- Messages from “reputable pharmaceutical companies” offering you prescription drugs for low, low, prices
- Or worse…
As you run down the list deleting all this drivel, one catches your eye. The email’s subject line calls out to you. It’s unusual, clear, and captivating.
So, you open it.
The rest of the email doesn’t disappoint.
It’s clearly written. And doesn’t run on forever – at a glance, you know you can whip through it in seconds.
Congratulations!
You’ve just experienced an effective dose of email marketing.
Ignore all the false claims of its diminishing effectiveness. Email marketing is still effective when used properly.
Below are some simple ways you can boost your company’s email marketing response rate.
Email Marketing Tip #1:
Remember Subject Line Etiquette
The subject is and always will be the most important part of an email.
Without a great subject line, your email will get deleted. It will go into the trash next to the one from that bored Russian housewife asking you for ‘companionship.’
Never write your subject line LIKE THIS. That’s shouting and it’s rude.
Write your email subject line like this. It’s natural and welcoming without standing out as marketing.
Email Marketing Tip #2:
Write in a Conversational Style
People don’t have time to read a dense email loaded with ‘corporate-speak.’
The best emails are written in a simple, friendly manner.
Good emails should be written at about a 5th to 7th-grade reading level. And nothing above 8th grade, which is pushing it.
I remember getting into arguments with people years ago about this.
They’d say to me, “If you think you have to write on such a simple level, it means you think people are dumb!”
Sigh.
When they came to that conclusion, I’d have to explain that, no, I don’t think people are dumb.
It’s just that people are busy. People are distracted. They have their minds on something else.
Three days in a row this week, my mother-in-law (who lives with us) would ask me to get the mail when I took my dog for a walk.
Somehow, each time, I’d forget from the moment she asked me to the moment I went outside.
Time it took that thought to leave my brain? About ten seconds.
Write your emails in, a clear, conversational tone. You’ll show the reader in three or four seconds that your message will be easy to read, and maybe even fun.
Email Marketing Tip #3:
Make Your Emails Easy to Read
This tip ties neatly to the previous one.
When someone opens an email, if they see a wall of text, they are more than likely going to delete it.
One of my mentors, a psychologist known worldwide, sends out an e-newsletter a few times a month.
I rarely read it because it’s usually filled with walls of text.
There’s just something in my brain that creates an immediate feeling of, “Oh, this isn’t going to be fun to read. I’ll check it out later.”
Of course, later never comes and I wind up just deleting the thing.
Write your emails with short paragraphs, no more than a line or two…three at the most.
Having a lot of white space will appeal to your readers’’ eyes and will feel and loo easier to read.
Email Marketing Tip #4:
Make Sure Your Email Works for Mobile Devices
I’m on many e-newsletter lists, like lots of people.
And like many people, I often read my emails on my phone.
I’ll save important emails to read on my laptop, but if it’s a marketing message and the text is tiny, I delete it.
Make sure that the content is clear and readable on mobile devices. And it doesn’t matter whether your emails are text or HTML
Remember my psychologist friend/mentor?
Not only are his e-newsletters formatted as a wall of text, but they look teeny-weeny on a mobile device.
Even with my high-powered prescription glasses, I can’t make out a single word of his content on my phone.
Email Marketing Marketing #5:
Include a Clear Call-to-Action
What do you want your prospects to do after reading your email?
What action do you want them to take?
That action could be anything. Click on a link to visit a sales page. Call the office for a phone or zoom consultation. Enter a coupon code on a website. Whatever.
The point is, for your email marketing to work, you must include a call to action.
Is your e-newsletter intended to stay in touch with your email contacts? You still want to include a call to action will increase engagement.
You need to get people involved with any kind of marketing channel. This helps to increase its effectiveness.
Having a clear call to action means you can track your results to find out if your emails are doing their job.
That Sounds Like a Lot of Work…
Email marketing can be wonderfully effective at monetizing your contact list. But it takes work and deep knowledge of how to write effective emails.
If you want to utilize your email list to its potential but don’t want (or don’t have the time) to do all the work, I can help!
I can create customized emails that move your prospects closer toward a conversion. All without being ‘salesy’ or pushy.
Click HERE to find out more about my email marketing service.