Email marketing has been around for two decades now and it's changed the game. As a descendant of direct marketing in the snail mail world, email marketing has become the method of choice for those looking to boost sales of their product or service. It is a super-fast and easy way to reach out to people quickly and effectively. And there are some great free or affordable email marketing platforms out there to use like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and iContact. Email marketing might not be new, but it has been proven to be effective time and time again. Stick the following 5 tips in your digital tool belt to make this workhorse perform better than ever.
Successful inbound marketers already know that the secret to the click lies in the subject line. You’ve read the long vs short argument, but here’s something that might be even more important. Offer a brazen incentive to encourage the click. Something as simple as offering free shipping might increase the open rate by as much as 50 percent. Yes, it can make THAT big of a difference. The subject line is the first thing that people see in an email and can determine whether they read it or just send it straight to junk mail.
2. Subject Line Length
It’s estimated 53 percent of emails are read on smart devices like cell phones or tablets. That means that when these emails are opened there is only so much room for a subject, because of that you have to be sure to keep your subject lines short, simple and to the point. This is way different than when we all used to open emails on a desktop or laptop, when the subject lines could be longer. These days experts say keep it between 61-70 (with 65 being the sweet spot) characters or people will skim right past it. Also, not only can long subject lines be hard to read and understand, but they can also look super spammy, and that is definitely a digital marketing faux pas. Just let people know what the email is for. Be sure to keep it short and direct.
3. Less Is More
Here's a simple yet significant suggestion. Keep your emails short and sweet. Years ago, when people still read their emails for more than 30 seconds, I would spend hours or days writing detailed emails to clients, prospects, and newsletter subscribers. It didn't provide me with enough return for the time I invested in it then compared to energy I could have spent on social media marketing, blogging, or SEO. In today's ADHD society, it certainly won't work well now.
While there are times that long-form email marketing can work (public relations press releases or PR disaster relief for example), most people don't have the time or attention span to read lengthy emails. Also I'd recommend that you don't use large chunks of text or even full size paragraphs. You're usually better off splitting up the text every other sentence or so like you see on LinkedIn posts. Keep it simple and include clear call-to-action instructions.
4. Clear Call-To-Action
Speaking of CTA's, one of the most effective email marketing strategies is one too often overlooked by well-meaning entrepreneurs. Tell your reader what they should do next, aka specify a clear Call-To-Action (CTA). It’s easy to forget this seemingly obvious step in email communication but, as a consumer, you’ve probably been left scanning an email backwards, forwards, and sideways, wanting to respond but unsure of how the process was intended to go. Don’t be afraid to include the exact text “here’s what to do next” at some point. If they don’t understand the process, they will not click. This is definitely something that you can do to make your customers lives a lot easier.
5. Readers React To Buttons
Research has shown 28 percent click increase when you include a button to interact with. The button should be a non-grey color, with a 3D effect, include arrow pointing to it, and be accompanied by instructional copy. It's very important is to have it change colors when the mouse hovers above it. Creating and inserting a button might be a minor hassle, but you’re looking at an almost one-third increase in clicks. Imagine extrapolating that 30% increase for an email list of 10,000 recipients! Needless to say, high quality image design can be crucial for email marketing success. Your campaigns can also benefit significantly from adding a personalized email signature with links at the end of your emails.
The bottom line is that you work too hard on your email campaign to risk it being ineffective. If you think you could do better, you probably could. Try these four tips and let us know your experience.
I hope you enjoyed this article about ways to maximize your email marketing results.
Interested in more articles about making email work for you?
Read My Posts:
- HubSpot Email Marketing Tips
- 7 Ways To Improve Email Management
Published by Michael J Schiemer
Owner of Bootstrap Business
Money - Marketing - Motivation
Digital Marketing & Social Media
Mike Schiemer Builds Better Business
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