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Email inboxes are flooded with messages: transactional emails, newsletters, product updates, and occasional messages from coworkers and friends. People get more than 10 dozen emails a day, so it stands to reason that very few marketing messages will elicit any kind of mental or emotional reaction. That’s why you need to find ways to keep your email subscribers’ attention.
Why you must keep your email subscribers attention
Some marketers are like someone haphazardly chucking darts at the dartboard hoping that eventually one will hit the bullseye. That may be fun for a moment, but you’ll never win.
Think of someone who can win at any game or sport. They’re probably a bit more disciplined and employ careful strategies. Email marketing also requires planning and focus in order to hold your subscribers attention.
If you don’t captivate your audience, the eyes and focus will go where the excitement or value is. You won’t get a good return and when people stop opening your emails, you’ll face other consequences as well.
Keep your email subscribers engaged: always offer value
Are your emails worth looking at? It’s the ultimate question you should ask yourself before hitting send. But giving value with your emails is easier said than done.
So let’s look at a few methods to have the best chance of keeping your email subscribers’ attention.
#1 Deals can keep email subscribers’ attention
Virtually everyone likes the idea of being able to take advantage of an offer for something they need or want. Is there a way to offer a discount if customers buy two instead of one? Would offering free shipping entice more people to buy from you? Finding deals that work for both you and the customer can be challenging. However, having email campaigns that consistently offer savings can be a great way to keep the attention of your customers.
#2 Let your personality or humor shine
Some brand emails feel like they come from a friend. Maybe they’re funny or have a quirky vibe to them. There are certain newsletters that I always open because I know that they always deliver some kind of amusement or familiarness. The internet and our email inboxes can be impersonal places at times. It’s wonderful when email marketers are able to bypass the sometimes soulless glowing pixels and feel friendly.
Related: See how you can make your emails more human in the age of AI
#3 Offer useful information
If your brand continues to provide information that people need, you’ll be in demand. Suppose someone sees the subject line and their immediate thought is: “I need to know that.” If that’s the case, they’ll open your email and have to read it.
“One of the best methods to hold the attention of your email list is to give them really useful tips,” said Brian Minick, Chief Operating Officer at ZeroBounce. The marketing thought leader went on: “When your emails can surpass what is available from a quick web search, they will be opened and read repeatedly, which is also good for your email deliverability.”
#4 Sending personalized emails with tailored content
Sending one email that goes to everyone and is addressed to “Dear Readers” has fallen out of fashion and will make you seem like a marketing dinosaur. Calling your email subscribers personally by name is now a given – but they expect even more personalization.
If you want to keep your subscribers reading and paying attention, you should also find out what their specific interests are and tailor your emails accordingly. You can give them the options to select specific interests and even change the frequency of the emails they receive. Some people may want to hear from you every other day, whereas others would be content getting two emails a month. Although you don’t want your subscribers to forget about you, you also don’t want to drive them away by not allowing for preferences.
#5 Keep your email subscribers attention by showing up in the inbox
Something that many marketers take for granted is whether you’ll have a space in the inbox at all. Email marketers who don’t take the proper precautions may find something upsetting about the emails they painstakingly worked to write and design. They never have a shot at getting anyone’s attention because they don’t show up in the inbox.
The issue of whether an email ends up in the inbox or not is called “email deliverability.” It’s different from email delivery, which measures whether an email arrives or not, meaning that an email is technically “delivered” even if it lands in the spam folder.
It stands to reason that you won’t get any attention wasting away in spam. They don’t call it the “junk folder” for nothing. But the good news is that you can do several things to ensure you achieve good email deliverability.
Let’s take a look at a few steps you can take:
- Upload your entire email database to a respected email validation service and root out invalid and hazardous email addresses.
- Connect an email validation API to all forms where people can enter an email address to prevent bad contacts from infiltrating your email list.
- Send your emails at regular intervals. Don’t disappear and then suddenly start emailing again. Rather, keep a rhythm and stick to it.
- Remove unengaged subscribers. If a subscriber has a valid email address, but hasn’t opened your emails in months, you should prune them from the list. Unengaged subscribers will hurt your deliverability.
If your emails don’t keep your own attention, who else will?
Some emails have incredible vitality and that seems to resonate from the person or people crafting them. Enthusiasm is infectious! If you find writing your emails is dry and monotonous, that’s exactly the way your subscribers will perceive you. Find out what’s exciting about what you offer your customers and keep things interesting.
