Do you speak directly to your current community of customers and stakeholders?
Several marketing audits that I have been working on for new clients demonstrated a surprising fact – so many companies are behind in collecting email addresses of customers so they can bring valuable information to them. With all the noise about email marketing being dead – the reality is it is thriving. And, in most companies that are growing, there is a new sophistication developing in this space. Let me share some easy ways to improve your email marketing.
7 Way to Improve Your Email Marketing
There are some fundamentals for creating quality communications with your audience through email.
- LISTEN: If you have been listening to the problems customers struggle with, your communications provide ideas and insights for them to solve those problems.
- DEPENDABLE: Once you have their attention, you need to be trustworthy in how you communicate with them. You can’t send tips out when you feel like it. Think of a magazine subscription showing up on the same day of the month. Help create a ritual and expectation.
- HELPFUL: Don’t sell. I repeat. Don’t sell. Share ideas, share insights, tell them stories of value but don’t try and sell stuff to them in your emails. It is okay to have a CTA (call to action) link at the bottom if they want to know more that takes them to a landing page about that product or service. It is okay to give them an ‘easy button’ for more information or to speak to a human, but don’t sell like a car salesperson sells.
- BE YOU: Bring your personality to the party. Some emails from companies are funny, and some are touching. Each has a unique personality that fits with the brand. And standing out often means being who you are. Does your brand have character standards to guide it like tone, voice, and humor? One of my favorite emails I get is from Fanny, my daughter when she shared recipes or cooking tips to make life easy. Her emails are just like her — funny, helpful and they could only be written by her. Each one is ripe with her personality and Fanny flair. Check out her work at www.fannyslater.com
- TO THE POINT: Keep it short. Keep it visual. Stick to the headlines. Lengthy communications are tricky for most market segments. My advice is always to think about your audience and their time. Most people will read an email subject line and the first sentence and glance at a picture. I read a stat that said that 87% of people decide whether to open an email based on the subject line. If they want more details and info, they will gladly click on a link to much more detail. Unless you are writing 30,000-word investigative stories, make it something you can glance at and get the essence.
- PHONE, not DESKTOP – Most emails are going to get read on an iPhone or smartphone device. Design for the quick read on the go, not the long read at the desk. Most of your readers may never come to your website to read your emails – they may just read them through syndication on their phone as you push them out.
- QUALITY, not QUANTITY: Unsubscribes are gifts. If people stop reading and unsubscribe, you haven’t reached someone interested in your style, your information, and ideas. Of course, we want everyone to love us, but it is okay to have people unsubscribe from your emails if you aren’t connecting.
In email marketing, quantity isn’t the goal. It is the quality of each connection. Better to have 100 interested readers for your emails, than 10,000 people who don’t care.
Interested in a marketing audit of best practices? Email me at jeffslater@themarketingsage.com. In the subject line put HELP!
Photo courtesy of Georgie Pauwels- https://www.flickr.com/photos/frosch50/with/10858946293/
