We recently told you about a few reasons why email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to generate and nurture leads online. To paraphrase American writer Mark Twain, you could say that the reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated. Email marketing works, and it works really well. But how?
THE ANATOMY OF A TOP NOTCH EMAIL
An effective marketing email should always give the read some sort of added value. It should never ask them for it. It should never ask a lead to do anything. They’ve essentially already done that when they provided you with their email address on your website form. It’s now time to hold up your end of the bargain and provide something of value.
It is now time for you to do us a favour, capeesh?
So what are the inner workings of a blue-chip email? Here’s some best practices to get you started on optimizing your emails and increasing your open and click-through rates:
1.Pinpoint a Specific Goal
Think about why you are sending the email in the first place. Is your goal is to generate new leads? If so, you will want to do things like encourage sharing by adding social media links or buttons. If you’re looking to nurture leads to move them down the sales funnel, you may want to offer additional resources. The goal of your email should dictate what content goes into it.
2. Personalize the Sender Info
Make sure that your email comes from a real person. Nobody wants to receive an email from a sterile, generic sales@company.com address. Sending from a real person or even a combination of a person at a company is known to increase open rates. Do some A/B testing to dial in what works best for you.
3. Personalize the Email
Personalization works. Wouldn’t you much rather receive an email that speaks directly to you instead of reading something that starts with ‘Dear Valued Customer?’ By gathering your contact’s name and other info when they sign up for various offers on your website you can then start using those pieces of information to personalize future emails to them. By adding their name to the subject line and body content, adding their company name, or even their most recent download, you can start increasing click-through rates and conversions. With most emailing tools it can also be automated, so it’s really easy to do.
4. Get to the Point
In today’s digital age, people’s attention spans are shorter than Vanilla Ice’s career. People like to get what they want and move on. That’s why it’s important to start with a clear and captivating subject line that tells the reader – this is what you’re getting and why it’s the bomb-diggity – and having copy that also gets to the meat and potatoes and quickly as possible.
Mmmmmm… meatmail.
5. Speak Directly
Address your email contacts directly in the body of your message by asking compelling questions like “Are you getting enough leads? I thought you may need help with lead generation. Download your guide to effective lead generation.” By using words like you and I you’re speaking on a much more personal level.
6. Get Some Action
Start incorporating activity and verbs into your CTAs. Remember, they are called Calls to Action for a reason. Let them know what they can expect to accomplish and the benefits by clicking through and taking the next step with actions like ‘Save 20% by Reserving Your Seat Now’, or ‘Start Your Project Now and Begin Closing More Sales’.
These six tips will hopefully get your motor running toward effective email marketing. We’re off to a great start, but we’re really only half way there. Up next we have another six crafty tips to help you on your way to creating fantabulously effective emails, so stay tuned. In the meantime try our ebook:
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