Getting people interested in your email campaigns is a tricky business. 9 times out of 10, emails are regarded as spam and immediately ignored. Although this isn’t entirely fair – you might personalise each and every email campaign you send out – it’s an unavoidable fact. Luckily, there are ways to avoid it.
The most important thing is making sure that you can grab your audience’s attention. If they’re interested enough in what you’re saying to open your email, you’re already half-way successful. Getting over this hurdle might be easier than you think.
1) The perfect subject line
As the first thing your target audience will see, this needs to be where most of your energy is focused. Use something genuinely interesting, something that sums up your point without giving the whole thing away. You want your reader to be curious, don’t you?
Sometimes it can be productive to use a wacky subject line, but be careful. If it’s too strange, you risk giving the client an inaccurate impression of your business. Clients also tend not to appreciate a false subject line followed by “just kidding!”
(This post might help get you started.)
2) Ask questions when you know the answer will be yes
Especially if they are attention-grabbing questions: something that leads onto your point in a unique way is a great way to go. Even small positive responses, such as the rhetorical yes, can get recipients to give you a chance.
3) Keep the point of your email campaigns as sharp as the tip of a fine-line pen
Make sure you have a coherent point and get to it as quickly as possible. Almost immediately is best. Although it might seem counterproductive, if a reader can see your point without opening the email they may be more likely to open it. Especially if they can see most of the point rather than all of it; this will encourage them to find it out in full by going the extra mile.
4) Make your main body sound good
Think creative writing. Your emails should avoid being too verbose whilst maintaining an interesting voice. Personality and personal address will make them more interesting and pleasant for the recipient, and will therefore keep them engaged. By the end of your appeal, they’ll be ready to see what else you’ve got to offer them and willing to seek it out themselves.
5) Alleviate the pressure
Your email campaigns should tell your reader that there’s no pressure. The personal rapport should help them to feel that what you’re offering in your email is of interest to them. In seeing your email as an individual, friendly spreading of information rather than an obnoxious “BUY NOW”, they will be more willing to listen to what you have to say.
Now, to put these to good use download the 5 marketing workflows you should be using.
If you’re looking for more help when it comes to email marketing, why not download this back to basics guide we created?