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Email offers a marketing advantage that no other social media channel offers: your brand can appear directly in your target audience’s inboxes at any time.
To get the true benefit of email, you don't just have to click the send button. You have to do things that get your audience to open, read, click and take action.
To help you, the experts presenting at Content Marketing World share 19 tips and tricks to improve your email marketing:
1. Recognize the true value
It's tempting to think of email as a traffic-generating channel to send people to our website, social media or elsewhere to get valuable information. I highly recommend incorporating more into emails to add real value, so that every email opened has self-contained value, creating an additional incentive to open it. — Melanie DezielCo-founder, CreatorKitchen.com
2. Do the groundwork first (and don’t make assumptions)
Put value first and remember (with few exceptions) that what you are presenting, offering, hosting or writing about is not valuable to the owner of that inbox. No one cares that XYZ Company is hosting a webinar soon. Be creative. Be clever. Be intriguing. Test and tailor it to your audience.
Don't assume you know I'm interested in your brand, products, services, or even your content. By now, we should all know that “consuming” content doesn't equal a lead. Just because I clicked, registered, or downloaded something doesn't mean I'm going to interact with you. A subject line that suggests otherwise is unlikely to get your email opened or read unless it includes the unsubscribe link. — Carmen HillChief Strategist and Author, Chill Content LLC
3. Get to know the recipients
If you already have their email address, don't you know them? Know your audience very, very, very well and personalize the content for them. For example, I hate to admit that I have a hard time following sports. As much as I like to pretend I'm interested in it, my impatience is greater than my desire to watch games for hours to see the final score. There's a lot to be said about my personality and how I do or don't absorb content. You should already know that about me before you send me that email. — Michael Bonfils, Global Managing Director, Digital International Group
4. Do what you are told
It's simple. You've heard it before. Provide VALUE to a niche audience. Your emails should provide real value in the form of useful information, problem solutions or exclusive offers. — Dale BertrandPresident, Fire&Spark
5. Do your thing
I don't want to be the guy to say it depends, but what works for your brand in email marketing is 100% dependent on your unique audience and brand voice. While some people like a mysterious subject line or one that makes them feel like they're doing something wrong, others feel insulted and delete it or report it as spam.
People are becoming more responsible with their time, and your subject line needs to capture their interest and deliver on what you promise in the subject line. — Erika HealdFounder and Chief Content Officer, Erika Heald Marketing Consulting
6. Test and see
Test, test, test. Test different subject lines that appeal to your users. Also, create emails and content that provide value to your users. Otherwise, they won't click on it and the content will get lost in the noise. — Zack KadishSenior SEO Strategy Director, Conductor
7. Do it for “this”
Test. What works for some in some industries won't work for others. You need to find the right length, frequency, content mix, and calls to action that work for this product in this market for this segment of your audience. — Jim SternePresident, Target Marketing of Santa Barbara
8. Add movement
If you really want people to open your emails, be sure to add a video. I know – I'm a video producer, so it's easy for me to say that. In this case, there's all kinds of data that shows that adding a video increases both open and click rates. Simply adding the word “video” to your subject line can help increase your open rate. – Tony NutChief Storytelling Officer, T60 Productions and T60 Health
9. Be “friendly”
Introduce a sense of urgency, time constraints, etc. From a consumer psychology perspective, people respond more to the fear of losing than to the joy of winning.
Updating the sender field with a person's name increases the likelihood of a click. “Sue from XYZ Brand” is better than just the brand name unless the brand relationship is strong (but most don't have that kind of power).
Use emojis. This will keep your email from ending up in the spam folder. Stand out by playing with text. Be less formal and ask a simple question or make a short statement. Many still try to pack so much into the headline, but this does not help to increase open rates. — Troy SandidgeFounder, Strategy Hackers
10. Avoid the sales focus
Build trust by making your emails interesting and useful. Most email marketing efforts are aimed at getting a sale or moving the reader through the sales funnel. This rarely works. In fact, “nurture” can often be a “dirty word.” Instead, use a content marketing approach to your emails. Be useful, gain trust, and long-term business benefits will follow. — Dennis ShiaoFounder, Attention Retention LLC
11. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security
Avoid generic, clickbait subject lines that can result in high open rates but low engagement. A high open rate can feel like a win, but if your audience doesn't interact, click through to respond, or follow up after the first open, have you really won?
Instead, aim for clarity and relevance. Craft subject lines that accurately reflect the content of your emails, entice recipients with real value, and set clear expectations. This approach increases engagement and builds trust and long-term relationships with your subscribers. — Ashley BakerFounder and Chief Marketing Officer, Coastline Marketing LLC
12. Don’t trick anyone into unsubscribe
Don't overdo it. One of the biggest mistakes I see companies make when sending emails is sending them TOO often. For example, there's nothing more annoying than getting an email from a brand every day. It causes me (and probably a lot of other people) to unsubscribe immediately. — Michelle GarrettConsultant and author, Garrett Public Relations
13. Don’t forget the most important thing
Getting emails to be opened and read isn't easy. The sender's reputation is crucial. The From line is often more important than the subject line, and a meaningful preheader that reinforces or completes the message in the subject line is essential.
Now let's move on to subject lines. I've had really good results with these three approaches:
- Adopt a serious, authoritative tone: Write a short, instructive line that doesn't seem promotional, but is important and can't be ignored.
- Use eye-catching words: They are scientifically proven to attract the human eye like a magnet. Words like “new,” “now,” “launch,” “announcement,” “finally,” and “soon” can all get good results. The word “free” is a very successful word in the subject line, despite some people's fear that it will trigger spam filters. The same goes for “you,” as everyone is more interested in themselves than anything else.
- Indicate urgency: People don't want to miss anything. They also wait until deadlines are really close. Use words and phrases like “last chance,” “this week,” “tomorrow,” “don't miss,” and “deadline is approaching.” — Nancy HarhutCreative Director, HBT Marketing
14. Don’t worry about the mass in your inbox
The competition will hardly matter if you have a strong follower base and a good approach to your emails, combined with relevant content. You need to continue to invest in building your own audience. You can only do that by creating unique content. — Pauline LannooHead of Digital Strategy, The Fat Lady
15. Don’t send, send, send
Send emails less frequently. Reducing the frequency while maintaining high quality can help you get more opens and clicks. — Bernie BorgesVice President, Global Content Marketing, iQor
16. Don’t dominate the inbox
Be careful not to send too many emails! One of the biggest dangers is giving away too much information. Save that for threads. — Beth ElderkinContent Marketing Manager, Informa Connect
17. Don’t make it long form
Again, headings (or subject lines) are important, as is the content of the email. It should be simple (use bullet points or short sentences with clear CTAs) and informative. — Jenn VandeZandeEditor-in-Chief, SAP CX + Industries
18. Don’t rely on subject lines alone
Consistently create authentic and valuable content that helps your audience. The best subject line or the most interesting story can get a recipient to open or read the email. But if you don't offer them something that helps them do their job better or make their life easier, they won't keep opening your emails, no matter how clever your subject lines are. — Brian PiperDirector of Content Strategy and Evaluation, University of Rochester
19. Don’t spend time on emails
Unpopular opinion: We put too much emphasis on emails when only a third of our audience actually opens them. While you can try to write compelling copy, that doesn't change the fact that our inboxes are overflowing. Instead of spending hours writing copy and building your email programs, invest the time to better understand your customers. Understand the touchpoints in the sales cycle to improve your engagement and content strategy. — Royna SharifiSenior Marketing Campaign Manager, Amazon Web Services
Don't forget to tie everything together
After reading all these tips and tricks, remember this: connect the dots to create a successful email marketing program that aligns with your brand's overall content and marketing strategy, and you'll have every chance of continuing your email investment.
Register to attend Content Marketing World in San Diego. Use code BLOG100 to save $100. Can't attend in person this year? Check out the Digital Pass for access to on-demand session recordings of the live event until the end of the year.
MORE TIPS FROM CMWORLD SPEAKERS:
Cover photo by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
Create your very own Auto Publish News/Blog Site and Earn Passive Income in Just 4 Easy Steps
