EMAIL MARKETING – CRAFTING EMAILS THAT CONVERT

Communicating to your customers by email can be a very effective marketing strategy. While the world seems to be all over social media and email marketing may seem outdated, it actually remains one of the most beneficial and relevant ways to communicate.

Enticing people to sign up to your mailing list is a critical first step. Once you have your database of email subscribers you have the opportunity to grab their attention with an email.

We all receive emails, sometimes several every day so you need to give your customers a reason to open your email in particular. If you make it irresistible and your customer has opened it, it needs to be worth their while - and yours.

Give them something to do such as a link to follow, an invitation to an event, a new product or a social media page. Ensure it is something you can measure to know whether your emails are working to your business’ advantage.

Make your Email Marketing Campaigns Convert

Reaching out to your existing and potential customers with a cleverly written email takes some knowledge and a bit of time. Web Force 5 knows email marketing best practices and can assist large and small businesses get results.

The following tips will help you on your way.

1. Time Your Emails Well

Always remember that you are asking your customer to use some of their valuable time to read your emails. Understanding your target audience is important so you can tailor the delivery of your emails to your specific demographics.

Consider the time of day your customers are most likely to check their inbox. Maybe early morning is practical if they are 9-5 workers, and they may have time during their commute. Perhaps later in the evening may work better before they retire to bed.

2. Ensure Your Emails are Mobile Responsive

Your emails must be easily viewed on any device, including computer, tablet or mobile phones. So many of us check our emails on the run using mobile devices so if your call-to-action links to a website then the process must be seamless.

Mobile devices have small screens so that’s another reason to keep your content short and sweet and call to action buttons need to stand out. You will lose your customer immediately if they have a poor experience.

3. An Enticing Email Subject Line

Catch the attention of your customer with a creative subject so they can’t resist opening the email to read further. You need to be concise because you only have limited characters to do this.

Use words that impact, use emotion and provide a sense of urgency so they want to click straight away. If an email is not opened straight away there is a good chance the person won’t get around to coming back to it later.

However, you must also be mindful to use subject lines that don’t direct your emails falling into the recipients dreaded spam folder. Some suggestions to assist with that include:

• Avoid framing questions in your subject lines such as “Do you like/want/have…?”
• Never use more than 2 punctuation marks or an exclamation mark(!)
• Avoid using upper case for all text.
• Ensure the subject line is consistent with the email content.
• Aim to keep subject lines to 50 characters or less.

4. Keep the Frequency Right

Sending regular emails is another key point to remember so you are reminding your customers you’re still there. Don’t hassle them with daily emails but work out a frequency that allows you to stay in touch. Use your audience insights to help determine what will work best.

5. Personalise Your Emails

Emails will have a more positive impact on your customers if you make them personal. They will be more likely to attract your customers’ attention if they relate to their particular needs and interests. Use more customer-centric wording such as ‘you’ rather than ‘us’ or ‘we’.

Begin by addressing them to their names if you know them. If you know their dates of birth you can make them feel appreciated with an email especially for their birthday and perhaps offer a promo to celebrate. Offer a reward to loyal customers or those who haven’t been active for a while.

6. Writing Email Copy that Works

As mentioned, we get a lot of emails these days, so you want to use your customers’ time efficiently. Make your emails clear and to the point using short bursts of text and small paragraphs so you don’t overwhelm your readers. If you are including any images or graphics, keep them simple and don’t clutter up the message.

Your content needs to stand out from your competitors and be a pleasure to read to keep your customers interested. Closely check all written copy including spelling and grammar so your emails are accurate and professional.

Similar to the subject lines, care should also be taken with the email body to help prevent the email from being marked as spam. Some suggestions to assist include:

• Avoid using multiple font colours (a maximum of 3!)
• Ensure you have a sufficient text to image ratio (ideally 60:40).
• Ensure a clear ‘Unsubscribe’ link is visible.
• Attach links rather than attaching or embedding media directly.
• Avoid rich media such as JavaScript and videos.
• Where possible, keep the copy to 500 characters or less.
• Ask subscribers to add you into their contact list.
• Utilise spam checkers - which will rate the quality of your email.

7. Use the Best Technology

Use the best tools you can to make your email marketing a simple process rather than a chore. Web Force 5 uses an easy content management system with built-in email marketing software. Their Continuum CMS works directly with CRM allowing you to build emails, send personalised emails to appropriate segments of your database and report on the results.

8. Embrace Automated Emails

Creating automated emails allow you to reach out to your customers at the right time and help to personalise their experience with your business. One example is sending a welcome email that can help convert new subscribers into purchasers by sending a special offer or discount for signing up.

9. Mix Up Your Email Marketing

If you send the same emails over and over, with similar copy, always about the same topic, you risk boring your audience and they are likely to end up ignoring them or deleting them without opening them. Keep their interest and loyalty by providing a variety of content such as storytelling, insights into your business, sharing tips or offering promotions.

10. Always Include a Call to Action

This is the part of your email that gets results for you so make sure your call to action is clearly visible and mentioned more than once. This guides a person as to what to do next and the list is endless. It may be a link to view your new products, answer a poll, sign up for a special deal or refer a friend.

Recognise that email marketing can have a fantastic impact on your business’ success. An email goes straight to someone’s inbox where there is a good chance it will be read. Web Force 5 helps make managing your customer relationships easy so speak to a consultant for a free no obligation chat about the email marketing tools your business needs.