This article was written by Michelle Weger.
How many emails do you receive a day?
Of those, how many are promotional emails?
You know the ones. You signed up for the mailing list to get 10% off your next purchase, or to get a free e-book, or because you wanted to know as soon as a new item would be available.
Of those promotional emails, how many of them do you open?
All of them?
One or two?
Just the ones from your favourite brands or that have intriguing subject lines?
A mailing list is one of the strongest marketing tools for your business, but you have to use it correctly. Your subscribers get tons of emails every day. You need to stand out while still meeting the rules and regulations many email providers have.
If you aren’t using a mailing list, you’re missing out on an audience that:
- Is interested and engaged in your business
- Is looking for value
- Is open to being repeat customers
Why wouldn’t you take advantage of that?
When it comes to newsletters, here are our top three tips for engaging, successful email campaigns.
Your subject line needs to be clear, concise, and captivating
You need to give your subscribers a reason to open the message.
There will always be exceptions to this – sometimes, a vague subject line will work in your favour. Sometimes, it pays to be clever. But when it comes down to it, you need to capture your audience’s attention.
One of the things that won’t capture their attention is a subject line that’s too long. A large amount of people read emails on their phones, which have less space to display subject lines and previews. If the enticing part of your subject line is cut off, it’s not going to do its job.
Personalize your messages.
When you capture email addresses, you should also capture your subscriber’s name.
This allows you to address mass emails personally. Your subscribers will still know that it’s a promotional email – the intent isn’t to fool them. But on an instinctual level, people love to feel special. Even though they know it’s a mass email, seeing their name triggers that response.
Keep it short.
Your subscribers care what you have to say… sort of.
The more text in your email, the less likely your audience is to open it, read it, and engage with it. People are busy and they don’t want to spend tons of time reading an email about your newest product collection or why they should look at your latest blog.
Instead, keep it simple. Make the purpose of your email clear, include some photos if you like, and get to the point.
Your audience (and your click rates) will thank you.
