At first, it can seem quite overwhelming to become an email marketing expert. It takes a lot of patience and testing as there are many parts that need to work together, but by using a few simple techniques you will be way ahead of most people. Here are 5 tips to help you start your journey to a profitable email campaign:
1. First things first
Regardless of how good your product, service, or app is, it’s only useful when you can put it in the hands of your target customers. Research has shown that 1 in 3 potential customers will definitely open an email from a business email address. Unfortunately, most small businesses, especially new ones, still use generic email accounts (Yahoo, Gmail, etc.) during the email marketing campaign.
2. Interesting subject line
It all starts with the subject line. This is where you grab the user’s attention and try to get them to open and read your email. While it can sometimes be profitable to try and do something smart, it generally works very well to keep it reasonably short and give a hint of what’s inside the email so the user knows what to expect. Try to avoid overdoing it or sounding like a salesperson. Think of the person on the other side as a friend, not someone you are marketing to.
3. Engage your reader from the beginning
Once the user opens their email, they want to connect it right away, within the first few seconds of reading. That’s really all you have until they decide whether to keep reading or move on to the next email in their inbox. The best way to do this is to deliver the most valuable part of your email right away. Don’t drag and go on the body text either, but try to keep the email down to its bare essentials. The shorter the better, and again, you should try to write as if you were writing to a friend. Casual, conversational, and simple is the way to go.
4. Attractive call to action
Most likely, the purpose of the email you are sending is for the user to do something. You may want them to sign up for a membership on your site or buy something. Whatever it is, the call to action is the part where you really ask them to do it. Usually the best way to do this is to include a big button that you just can’t get lost, that says something simple like “Download Now” or “Sign up for free.” You can also include links to content in your body text to increase the chances that they will actually take action.
5. Split test
The best way to find out what works with your particular list is to make a habit of breaking down tests, such as your subject line and your call to action. Just send different email variations to smaller segments of your list and look at their stats to see what works and what doesn’t.