9 Email Marketing Tips For Content Marketers
Even “agnostics” regarding email marketing can’t hash out the following evidence – the average ROI from this promotional practice is close to 3,800%. Measureless opportunities to scale up and relative cheapness, compared to other reaching-out channels, are the two reasons why the email marketing is fair-haired by businesses. However, this is not about the price and physical extent alone.
The chief advantage is a better alignment of communication with customers. If you hope a certain content strategy brings desirable results, overlooking the quality of mailing messages will be a sorry pitfall. Always keep in mind that newsletters, welcome, retention, and other emails are not just a brand’s facade – but a powerful tool for generating conversions. By joining sides of email and content strategies, you can come up with synergy from both. In this guide, we’ll cover a few recommendations for content marketers on how to write email messages that work.
Tips for email marketing
Segment your list
Split the batch of email recipients into smaller groups based on chosen criteria, and mail distinct relevant messages – for each. You can use recipients’ GEO, demographic characteristics, or purchase history to distinguish homogeneous clusters and proceed with the content planning. Segmentation is the basic premise for personalization, and if you still doubt why bothering about the latter – here are just a few numbers we took from Instapage:
- 52% of customers claim they do care if the message was tailor-made or not
- 82% of marketers say that mail personalization increases the open ratio
- custom emails have 41% more unique clicks than mass-produced ones.
To avoid a fragmented approach, use data from CRMs, website analytics tools, and other sources to define segments. Concerning phrasings, a good idea is to create Buyer personas profiles. Thus, you’ll be able to choose the appropriate message length and wording.
Say, design a newsletter to promote paid subscription for an email validator service. You’ve decided to distinguish corporate clients based on their company size and determined the following groups: #1 – B2Bs and #2 – sole entrepreneurs. Possible messages for the two:
#1. Our “XXL” plan is perfect for agencies and enterprises. One can add unlimited users and conduct up to 100,000 checks per month.
#2. With our “S” you get 1,000 credits and 5,000 unique recipients – for only $33 per month. Plus – a 7-days free trial.
Use interactive content
The best content marketers know that interactive content came into vogue a long time ago. As to emails, here are the most common examples:
- CSS animated buttons
If you include CTAs buttons (that we hope you do) – liven them up a bit. Add an animated hover effect, so that every time a recipient puts a cursor on a button, it changes shape, shade, color, or text.
“Add hover to emphasise objects”, source
This shouldn’t necessarily be something dramatic – add tiny accents that will yet grab the user’s attention.
- starring
“Add a star rating component to engage readers with content”, source
Including ranking or reviewing widgets in the email body is one of the most working ways to engage the reader with the message. Ask recipients to assess your product or service with stars. Add the link to Google Forms if you want to receive an extended opinion on overall customer satisfaction.
- pictures’ rollovers
“Use animated images to describe goods better”, source
The effect is eagerly used by the ones who promote online stores. Using The rollover allows to show goods from different angles or even play with recipients, if relevant. Take into account that this feature only works on desktops – mobile mail users will see the very first picture only.
- images carousel
“Add pieces of text directly on images”, source
If you want to enhance goods cards with descriptive content, say – price and shipping details, use a carousel instead of a rollover. As so, you can add more info pictures to the email body and, hopefully, convert more recipients into customers.
- a countdown
“Countdowns work well for limited in time offers”, source
Again, this type of interactive content fits the online shopping niche. Animated clocks amplify urgency and theoretically increase conversions. But it’s important to stay extremely careful and not to sound desperate – otherwise, the newsletter will end up in the recipient’s “Spam”.
Improve design
The attractiveness of an email is something granted on certain terms, indeed. Not all emails need to be flashy or include expensive designs. However, there are some prevailing common trends in the matter. By following them, you seem to show the recipient that your company is moving in step with the times, and not stuck in the 2000s.
Here’s the shortlist from the TOP email design trends list that a 99designs provides – as of 2021:
- magazine-styled
“Make newsletters to look a bit editorial”, source
More and more newsletters tend to look like a centerfold from good old printed media. With a strict following to the “Less is more” principle – clear fonts, short phrases, HD-quality images with a few objects on them, and short CTAs.
- hand-made illustrations
“Unique pictures create a distinct flavour of your brand”, source
Tailored icons or sketchy images – whatever fits your mailing purpose, just make sure it’s not too bright, contrast, or overloaded with details. Give preference to clean colors.
- skeuomorphic objects
This is when a design resembles a real object. To see an example – just open a reader App on your smartphone.
“A skeuomorphic bookshelf”, source
- HD photographies
“If you operate in the luxury segment, do not skimp on email visuals”, source
These are expensive content, but if you work in fashion or other chick industries – it may be worth the effort.
- animated content
Yeap, we’ve covered this in a previous tip.
- single scroll
“Looks especially good on smartphones”, source
Place the entire email content, including buttons, on the endless-looking long frame.
Focus on conversions
Stay focused on what’s your mailing purpose. Don’t forget that everybody expects to see a good ROI from email actions at the end of the reporting period. Craft effective CTAs – perceive these not as a sole button with a “Download now” text or so, but as an entire sense of a message that you write.
To create a captivating CTA copy, adhere to the below advices:
- include win-win propositions
Even though you’re not providing a customer with a discount or cash refund at the moment, your proposition may include a non-monetary incentive. New arrivals, selection of the latest news, free copies, advice from experts – the only rule here is to offer what’ll hold in high esteem.
- trigger on emotions
Don’t long-windedly list benefits. Instead, simulate a life situation and show how your product or service can help.
- use several CTAs throughout the email
Email body may be viewed in several scrolls, especially when via small mobile devices’ screens. If you add a call to action at the beginning of the message, a mere number of users will get back to it after finishing reading the content. Thus, you may lose potential conversion. Include several buttons throughout the email body, but don’t sound repeatedly – change calls’ forms and wording.
Encourage readers to reply
Driving recipients to reply is challenging yet able to be done. First, choose the proper writing tone. According to an extensive study of emails that didn’t get a response, the most preferable is a 3rd-grade reading level.
“Too elementary or too proficient tone may scare away readers”, source
Of course, you must apply this recommendation with an eye on the recipient. If you mail to a professor or a government agency, a “3rd-grade” rule isn’t applicable. But all else being equal – simplify the lexicon to the level a schoolchild can understand it.
Another trick is to sound overall happy. Emails that are enhanced with positive emotions get 10-15% more replies, on average than neutral ones. The best manner is to choose a slightly warm tone. Exaggerated excitement may look weird and even suspicious, especially when reaching out to business partners.
And don’t forget about courtesy. A rare person will respond if you address him or her with a hair-raising “To whom it may concern” phrase.
Make it personal
Personification shouldn’t be confused with personalization. The second is rather about mailing fitting content from a commercial perspective, while the first term – about addressing the recipient as a one-off personality.
Personal emails start with the recipient’s name – and no other way. They include references to the user’s interests or past actions. For example, if your tourist agency’s client is interested in island vacations – you shall approach him or her with respective offers. They also shall contain personalized promotions, if any.
The best way to expand this approach on hundreds or thousands of recipients is to launch trigger-based email campaigns. Create delivery scenarios for different segments or stages of a sales pipeline. Then prepare a fitting sequence of relevant content – for every single scenario.
To give a human face to mailing, one can practice greetings, as well. Birthdays, state holidays, anniversaries, a new status in the loyalty system – there are a lot of examples of what one may congratulate the customer with.
Keep your emails out of spam folders
It is better not to launch mailing at all than to use an untrustworthy emails’ database. The risks are much higher than a slew of undelivered messages – from harming a sender’s reputation to being banned by mailing systems. So it’s better to stay proactive:
- tidy away broken, misspelled, temporary, or other worrisome emails from the database – either manually or with the help of software
- collect a valid email address only – through email finders
- avoid spam-trigger words
- establish a double opt-in validation
- set the correct mailing frequency.
Make sure your emails look clean and crisp
Newsletters shall afterall bring revenues – whether you want it or not. But in a bid of quantity, don’t lose the overall content integrity and sense:
- a subject line, pre-header, header, email body, and calls shall be consistent with one another
- the copy must be of the proper size; although the length depends on many factors, stick to an “ideal” interval – 50 to 125 words
- if can, don’t attach too many files or links to external websites – mailing filters are suspicious to these
- adapt the layout to fit smaller screens – nothing looks worse than broken email elements when you open it on mobile.
Wrapping up
It doesn’t make much difference whether you create mailing content for personal or business purposes – these email marketing tips will serve both. No strains he
