The dynamic world of marketing is changing even as you read this. New platforms are opening up to reach the customer; however, one method that has really stood the test of time is email marketing. No matter how advanced these new methods are, this simple method called email marketing is still proving to be extremely effective, and chances are that it will continue to remain so.
Undoubtedly, there was a lull phase of this method too but it is coming back with a band. In fact, a digital communication method study has revealed that as high as 55% of marketers have admitted to be retaining the faith in this efficient method. If we talk statistically; 108.7 billion corporate communications happened through emails on a daily basis and this is likely to increase to 139.4 billion per day by 2018. In simple words, this that each business user will receive around 140 emails in a day. Given this context, what should you do to keep your email content useful and attractive. Here are some tips on increasing the efficacy of your emails:
1. Providing Irrelevant Content to Readers
It is very easy to get carried away with new products and new topics that others may be talking about. However, what you need to analyze is what is it that your customer wants to read. Analyzing his reading behavior through checking his social media accounts or posts in which he has participated is a good way to begin. You could also check the web traffic on your website and the most frequently read pages on your website. Once you get a hang of this, you could send the content relevant to your segmented data group through emails. If you are still a beginner at this, then rather than picking up complicated content like new advancements, politics and so on, it is better to stick to common but interesting content like holiday destinations, fitness trends and so on which may be relevant for most.
2. Lengthy Emails
A longer email has lesser chances of being read. There is also a high probability that this will land up in spam and have multiple issues with its formatting. So, if you really want your email to be noticed, then keep it short and concise. However, you could provide relevant links to the readers to read more about your product and services in case someone is interested to know more about your offerings. Also, always keep the subject like short and interesting and when you start the email, it is better to come straight to the point in the first 50 words. The maximum word limit of an email is 750 words, but tries to keep it information heavy and short.
3. Boring Text Arrangement
Consider a person checking 140 emails in a day! That is an exasperating amount right? So, if this is the case and you need to get noticed, it is important to keep your text arrangement proper. Avoid long essay kind of emails use as many bullet points as possible for conveying your message. Adding images to your emails will also have greater retention value and will also appear to be less boring. Keep in mind that the arrangement should be appealing the moment your reader opens up your email. Using blocks, headings, sub headings and colors also help in increasing the attraction quotient of your emails.
4. Problems in Formatting
Formatting is the most commonly ignored aspect of writing emails. Avoid usage of spam trigger words like 'Discount', 'Sale', 'Click here', 'Bonus' and so on. A rule says that if your email consists more than 200 such suggestive words, then there are charges that this may land up in the Junk folder. Another tip to be kept in mind is that if you draft your email in MS Word and then copy past it on your web window, there are chances that your formatting will go awry. The trick here is to use Notepad to draft mails. Do not forget to underline the fonts or links as this is the form of writing emails. Stick to proper grammar and avoid using lingos as it may make your email sound too casual.
5. Not optimizing your Emails for different platforms and mobile devices
Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail, etc display emails slight differently from each other. The same thing happens when accessed from different browser. The alignment also changes from devices to devices. Hence optimizing the marketing content to cater to all the possible platforms, devices and browsers is very important for effective marketing. Now that more than half of the emails are opened on mobile devices, it is paramount that marketers create responsively designed emails so that they display beautifully across any device the recipient might open the email with.
As simple as these points may sound, the reality is that these points are what mostly get missed out. So, get your basics in place and write that email that really appeals to your readers.
