Email marketing is exactly what its name implies: it’s marketing via email, but it provides a more direct, individualized approach. Its popularity and applicability to brands have skyrocketed ever since the pandemic gave way to digital channels, becoming the central forms of communication. However, just like the overall digital media space, specifically within the social media sphere, there is a LOT of noise within the email marketing sector. Pretty much everyone can relate to the daily inundation that floods their email inbox. Most of which is spam or unnecessary information, they either sift through or ultimately ignore. For this reason alone, it’s essential to understand ways to effectively shape your email marketing campaign, if you so choose to utilize that strategy. If done correctly, it can be an incredibly successful marketing tool.
Much like any marketing initiative, the power is in the copy, the words. Implementing compelling copy means prioritizing quality over quantity. Make sure you are short and to the point, as your screen real estate is incredibly limited. There is a small window of time in which your reader will be willing to engage with your message. Focus on incorporating as much information and as many details as possible within a few sentences is key; this includes constructing a compelling subject field to lure your reader in, just like a headline. Utilize as many power words, buzzwords, and actionable words as possible. Otherwise, it’s going in the trash.
Transitioning from copy, is the CTA, which is incorporated into the content. A CTA, or call-to-action, is pretty much always the motive of an email marketing initiative. The message is meant to navigate the reader towards being a potential consumer and guide them to a particular action, whether that’s purchasing a product or service, subscribing to a program, or some other brand adoption. The CTA should be clear and direct, but do everything in your power to avoid coming across overly sales-like. Readers can see right through the lack of authenticity.
One of the top ways to stand out among other email marketers is the element of personalization. A turnoff to consumers with marketing initiatives is the feeling that they are just merely a number, a contact to which the organization copied and pasted. Use the recipient’s first name in the sender field, and continue to use their name throughout the messaging so they feel as though the email was specifically catered to them. Human connection is everything in marketing, and this establishes as much humanization as possible in a seemingly “robotic” system.
This approach stems from strategizing your copy, especially in the subject line of the email. The “curiosity gap,” a practice popularized by Upworthy, is a headline or preview of the content to come that almost serves as a teaser and stirs curiosity so that the reader clicks for more. This can be used not only as a subject line, but within the email itself to draw attention to a blog post, a Facebook advertisement, or whatever else is of priority for the reader’s eyes.
The overarching goal of a marketing initiative is to, yes, make your brand or organization known. Still, above all, it should be to provide some sort of value or positive asset to the reader. Throughout the email, consistently remind the reader how this message will benefit them and why it is worthy of their time. They should always get something out of the email, and not just an advertisement for your benefit. This also includes making it applicable to the reader. Suppose you are an experienced and educated marketer. In that case, you know that you should conduct sufficient research before selecting the contacts you’ll be sending your emails to. This will ensure that these people are relevant to your product or service. So, for instance, if you are a real estate agent, you would not want to send your marketing emails to teenagers. You would send your emails to those of home-owning age or recent consumers looking at houses. With that being said, incorporate their potential lifestyle into the email when giving your spiel about how your service will apply to them.
You won’t stick out among the rest if you follow a cookie-cutter formula or template with your emails. Spend time creatively curating your own format and your own distinctive voice to differentiate yourself among the overwhelming amount of text living in one’s email inbox.
When creating a digital interface on a website, the developer always makes sure that it would be easy to navigate for even the least experienced tech users. This same mentality should apply when creating an email. Make the necessary links visible and easily accessible and different options like “unsubscribe” and “visit our website for more information.”
Constructing an articulate, informative, and friendly automated response is another effective way to establish personalization. Whether the customer subscribes, unsubscribes, responds to the email, or follows through with a different CTA, providing positive reinforcement and the feeling that they are praised for paying attention to your initiative will encourage them to keep up with you.
Like any other marketing endeavor, actively measuring evaluation is crucial to understanding what worked and what didn’t. Consistently check in with your campaign’s delivery rate, open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, engagement over time, number of unsubscribe requests, bounce rate, revenue per email, and revenue per subscriber. You must know what is working and what may not be working so you can adjust.
Grova Creative is a minority and veteran-owned agency headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, and works with clients all across the United States. If you are a business or organization seeking help with advertising, marketing, branding, messaging, marketing, strategy, website development, or other creative assets, email Grova Creative at [email protected] or visit grova.com.