Follow our checklist to get your marketing emails firing on all cyclinders!
1. A ‘from’ address that works for your business
Think about who your email author is when it lands in your customer inbox. If you are a service-based business, you may get better open rates from a name ‘e.g. Josie at Piper’ – someone who is positioned as a guide, with a name that inspires trust and recognition. Retail businesses more often use their business name, but you may want to test how ‘the XX team’ or having email address ‘from’ names for different purposes work for you. For example, Amazon has different email addresses for confirming orders, collecting reviews, and selling – a great way to set customer expectations on the content they are about to read.
2. Powerful subject line
The next tool in getting your open rate maxed is the creation of a fabulous, eye-catching, intrigue-inspiring subject line. Watch out for appearing spammy, using words that are overly ‘salesly’ will have a detrimental effect on your open rate. Tap into human emotions. Predict pain points and communicate how your email solves them. Subject lines are also great to A/B test. For emails that are automated, A/B which your audience best responds to, and revert to the highest performer once you’ve reached a significant enough volume. For one-off emails like newsletters, A/B test different styles and learn from the results for the next time around.
3. Include a sneak peek with concise preheader text
The pre-header text is the bit you see before you open the email – visible in most inbox settings, it should finish the job your subject line started and convince the reader to double-click.If you have any added value in your email such as a freebie or promotion make sure it’s included here if not in the subject line.
4. Include visual points of interest
When it comes to design, don’t feel that your email needs to have tons of images to work – if there are a couple and the copy is not just a long block of text, the simplicity of the email is key. As much as the subject line is all about getting your recipient to open it, the email content is just about one thing – a click. Make the email flow to draw the reader down to the call to action. Break up your copy with images, bullet points, or dividers. Less is often more.
5. Keep your copy short and easy to read
The perfect email needs well-written copy. A study by the Nielson group found that, on average, people scan emails in just 51 seconds. Copy that is easy to scan, quick to consume, and persuades the reader to click on the call to action is more important than trying to get all the content from your website into email format To this end, get important messages and CTA above the point where your viewer would need to scroll to access (or as soon after as possible). Shorten sentences. Create interest by asking questions. Bullet point valuable content.
6. Make sure it's mobile optimised
A bit of a hygiene factor, but can be forgotten – all email service providers will allow you to view the email as it would display on a mobile device; check it works in this format as well as on your computer; it’s pretty likely a fair few of your customers will access it in this way.
7. Include one clear call to action
It can be tempting to offer multiple calls to action, but if you are focused on what you want your reader to do with all of your email including your CTA button, you are more likely to get results. If you have something else that may interest people, by all means, showcase it and provide a link, but the main email should resolve with one clear call to action. Another great thing to A/B test, you can get all sorts of different results by changing the position, the colour, the shape, and the wording. Test and learn away! The only exception to this is a newsletter where your goal is to offer engagement; this is likely to have snippets of different types of content to capture your reader's imagination, and multiple links to your website. This can be a great way of learning the preferences of your different customer groups, and also a way of weaving in a sales-related call to action alongside softer, more engaging content.
8. Don’t forget your unsubscribe link
To comply with legislation, your email should include your postal address and always provide users with a link to unsubscribe. Legals aside, the last thing you want is to have people receiving your emails who are no longer interested. Keeping your lists in shape so that you are only communicating with engaged audiences is the best approach for both you and your customers.
