Welcome to part deux of Email Marketing Best Practices, read the first here and let us remind you to NEVER BUY AN EMAIL LIST.
You want all the graphics, videos, images and functionality your brand can utilize crammed into an email…right? Maybe. Maybe not. While platforms such as MailChimp have made HTML email development accessible to the masses, a well-written plain-text email can perform on the same level (or more) than a highly designed email with all the pretty colors and pictures.
What really matters is your content. If the email looks great but reads like shit, your readers will move on and stop opening your emails. The last thing you want to see is a rise in unsubscribers.
To keep that from happening, here are some helpful best practices for email marketing.
Subject Line
Writing a compelling subject line is the first step in grabbing your reader (that and your brand’s reputation–which we wrote about here). It needs to be clear, concise, creative, and actionable. Clarity is your number one priority. Once you’ve got that down, then you can move on to making it “catchy”.
Personalize the subject line as much as possible. Gone are the days when readers were impressed by seeing their [FIRST NAME] in the subject line. Now you have to further segment your lists. Look at the particulars of your demographic–location, price points, or repeat customers. Tailor your subject line to smaller segments of your subscribers.
Body Copy
If your subject line convinced your readers to open the email, you now need to pull them deeper.
It’s always best to write in second-person. Identify the reader as “you” and stay away from talking in first-person. This will orient the copy towards the reader, making it easier to engage with the content. The words “you” and “your” should heavily outweigh “we,” “our” or “we’re.” This will keep the focus of the email on the reader instead of your brand. It’s a subtle but effective tactic for creating value for your brand.
Don’t overwhelm the reader with the entire story of your brand. Get to the point! Say hello and move on to the what and why. Drive home the action you want readers to take. If you know what you want your subscribers to do, you’ll have a much easier time drafting a succinct email. Be brief and lovable.
Explain to your readers why they benefit from your offer. Simply explaining the features of your email–be it 10% off any item or a new line of clothing–doesn’t tell the reader the value of your email. How does it affect their day-to-day life? What does it do for their goals? Help your readers help you.
You gotta establish the goals of your email marketing before building a flashy email filled with all the things. We can help, you know where to find us.
