It’s safe to say we’re all too familiar with the sound of email chimes first thing in the morning. Rise and shine, am I right? You may be the first to admit that you can’t think about getting even one more email to sift through – but what if you’re the one sending emails hoping for high open and click-through rates ? There’s no mystery or chance in an email being captivating enough to open and read. Why do you think you open some emails over others? Of course, some are a priority – work and family – but other emails are opened because they resonate.
In case you missed our Email Marketing webinar, we have the recording to catch you up!
There are two sides to email marketing – those who send & those who receive. Choosing to be a sender is a bold task that should not be taken lightly. Being successful using this particular marketing channel takes diligence in knowing who your customer is and what resonates with them.
At Rock Paper Scissors, we know that truly knowing your customer is the beginning and end of every successful marketing campaign. The following tools will not only help you establish credibility as an email marketing expert, but will help you craft a vision for your email marketing campaigns moving forward.
Strategy
Creating a strategy starts with knowing who you want to reach and what you want them to do with the information you push out to them. Take a step back and ask yourself, where is your customer? What’s on their mind? What is frustrating them and how can your services help them? If you can answer these questions, you have established the foundation for an email campaign that your readers will value.
Subject Lines
Before we can talk too in depth about the email itself, we have to consider how to get the readers to open it. Subject Lines are your first opportunity to stand out among the multitude of emails already in the inbox and say to your readers, “this is something you want to read”. Engaging, bold, and captivating subject lines cause readers to not only open your emails, but look forward to seeing them in their inbox. Hubspot gives great examples of subject lines on their blog.
Content
Creating content is challenging because there are so many factors to consider: your goal, brand tone, length, and how to track engagement. Your ultimate goal of each individual email should always be evident and communicated throughout the email. That goal should always be expressed through the established tone that you’ve created for your brand. Lastly, include links that will help you to track what readers are doing once the email is open. Are they reading it long enough to read deeper? Links determine that answer.
We cannot measure eyeballs on an email, but we can track interactions. That’s why it’s important that you don’t put all of your content in the email, but put enough of a description to get people to click to read more on your website or blog. Remember this is a marketing channel and that implies that we are using it to move something through it. We want to use email to drive people based on your initial call to action.
The pace of a successful email marketing campaign is slow and steady, because it goes back to earning your readers trust. It’s your job to make people want to read your emails and by consistently developing your strategy, building your lists, and customizing your content, you will create a campaign will impactful and long-term results. Email Marketing can be a very effective tool for connecting with your customer if you take the time to form a strategy and implement intentionally.
Later this month we are going to dig deeper. If you are in the Atlanta area, come join us at our office for an in-person networking and seminar about email marketing. Bring your questions and challenges and we will help you communicate with your audience better.
Email Marketing Seminar – Thursday, May 7th @ 5:30pm EST
