Email is a key aspect of performance marketing. With so many marketing emails out there — you’ll probably receive one even as you read this piece — you need to know how you can make your voice heard, getting the maximum benefit from your mailing lists. Take a look at these best practices to help you do exactly this.
Make Sure Your Leads Can Respond to Your Emails
One of the key pieces of anti-spam legislation to be aware of is the right to reply and to opt out. If your emails do not give your recipients that opportunity to do either of these things — for example, if you include ‘no reply’ or something like this in your sending email address — you might fall foul of this legislation. Also, ‘no reply’ email addresses just feel spammy for your leads, and they are not likely to open the email in the first place.
Keep It Simple and Readable
It’s tempting to go to town with different typefaces and design features, but this is going to make the email difficult to read, especially on different devices like smartphones and tablets. Test your emails across various devices and make sure all of your leads can access the content, no matter what device they use.
Provide Key Messaging in Your Preview
Leads are only going to open your email if they have some idea what to expect. Teasing your leads with unknowns is not going to work. Remember, it’s easier to ignore an email than it is to open it, so you need to give your leads a reason to click. Write an email preview text that shows your leads what they will find when they open the message, and increase the likelihood of a click.
Remember the Subject Line Too
Don’t forget your subject line here either. Bear in mind that the subject line will be the first thing your leads see when they encounter your email in their inbox. So take some time to write a compelling sentence that informs the lead of the email’s content. You don’t have much room to play with when you create a subject, so make sure it is no more than 50 characters. Go beyond this, and the email provider might not display the whole thing.
Be Personal
You know that you’re sending a marketing email. You’re leads know this too. But this doesn’t mean you can’t personalise the communication. Use first names in the email address — [email protected], for example — and in other places within the text. Include a signature signoff section at the bottom of the email and make this personal too. This will help you to build stronger connections with your leads.
Get to the Point Quickly
An email works a little bit like a page on your site. When a visitor views the email, they want to get to the point quickly so they can get on with their day. Unless they are really engaged with what you’re saying — and many of your recipients won’t be — they are not going to scroll down to read more. Make sure you’re not alienating anyone who is pressed for time, and include all your key messaging, as well as call to action buttons, ‘above the fold’. This way, you can convert those users who do not scroll down.
Avoid Horizontal Scrolling at all Costs
Vertical scrolling is important. Yes, you want your leads to get on board straight away after they’ve read your opening messaging, but you also want to give more engaged leads the chance to read more by scrolling down. Horizontal scrolling, on the other hand, must be avoided at all costs. If your leads have to scroll to the right to read the whole line of your email, this is a bad situation, and you may end up losing out on those all-important customer actions. Make sure your email is never more than 650 pixels wide.
Keep Your Landing Pages in Mind
Your email should point to a landing page, which essentially means that your landing pages are extensions of your email marketing strategies. Ensure there is an obvious link between the email and the landing page. So, the messaging should continue seamlessly from the email to the page, showing the lead that they are in the right place. The whole experience should be intuitive — the lead should know what action they need to take when they open the email, and the action they need to take on the landing page.
Automate Reminder Emails
It’s helpful to give your leads a little heads-up, reminding them that they signed up for the mailing list — provide a series of two or three automated reminder emails over the first two weeks after they sign up. It might help to sweeten the deal here too, offering exclusive content or offers as a reward.
Test Everything About Your Email
If in doubt, A/B test it! This gives you the opportunity to find out exactly what is working in your email campaign and what needs to be changed.
Get the Email Marketing Assistance You Need with Impressive
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