Whether you’re an email marketing noob or have a contact list 10 miles long, constantly reassessing and improving your email campaigns is essential for both long and short-term results. Unfortunately, being stuck in a creative rut can torpedo your open rates, drain the attention of your audience, and kill the entire purpose of sending a newsletter.
Fortunately, sprucing up your email campaigns so that they do more than hit the trash file can be easy, fast and rewarding. Here are six ways to give your campaigns a shot in the arm.
Add social sharing links
Think your newsletter featuring top tips or product highlights won’t do well with social networking? Fortunatley, even extra niche-y topics will grab Facebook “Likes” and retweets, opening up your campaigns to a brand-new audience.
To boost social media attention from your email marketing subscribers, add social sharing links in every email, period. Twitter and Facebook are the obvious choices, but don’t forget to add social bookmarking links. Assure yourself that while your newsletter might not contain the most mainstream topics, there are no doubt thousands out there looking for the content you’re offering.
Use awesome stock photos
While you don’t want to overload your email with images, you definitely want images that pack a lot of punch. A simple Google search will point you in the direction of a large number of free stock photo sites, where vivid, free-use photos are available a mouse click away.
Cut Back On The Content
While you may have a lot to say, your email newsletter may not be the best forum write long. Too much content can intimidate people, or even worse, stop people from reading your email altogether. Instead of paragraph after paragraph of information, populate your email with links back to your site where people can find the expanded info. Let the reader choose where they want to go, so think less copy and more links.
Optimize for mobile phones
Think about a recent time when you waited in line or ate at a restaurant. Did you see dozens of people on their iPhones or a Blackberrys? This year marks the first time that mobile devices and smartphones have outsold PCs – and to follow suit, the Internet marketing world has to become more mobile-friendly. The most effective emails are the ones that are easily read on a smartphone, because that’s where your audience will most likely be viewing them.
Perk up your subject lines
The subject line of your email is the first thing your audience sees, and it will either get you a much-coveted open or a trip to the trash can. If you always use the same old subject line in your emails, people are going to assume you’re sending the same old email.
The best move here is to try different styles of subject lines and make note of what works with your target audience. Write strong subject lines and you’ll get more opens. It’s that simple.
Engage with new content
Do your emails feature content that your audience looks forward to every week or month? If not, add FAQ section, a “how-to” feature or even a question of the month. A success story is a particularly good addition to a marketing email. Success stories build confidence in your products and are ideal for convincing an “on the fence” buyer that they are making the right decision.
Your email campaign is the shortest route between you and your clients. Keep your newsletters energetic and compelling and your clients will keep on clicking.
