Email Marketing is a Conversation, not a PSA
Let’s face it, 2020 has been rough. COVID accelerated our transition from offline-to-online with a few months of quarantine. We already lived on our phones and computers, consuming metric tons of content. COVID just forced us to double down while providing more free time.
The hamster wheel, known as life, stopped spinning for those few months. This allowed us to pursue all our possible interests because our day wasn’t filled with the physical commitments that regularly force us to cris cross our cities.
So we went online. We searched, clicked, liked or subscribed to every interest we ever had.
How else could I’ve known that I had such an interest in stop-motion Lego photography?
Ultimately, these changes to our lifestyle took our supercharged inbox from cluttered to apocalyptic. I mean, every company was offering something useful for free — all you had to do was click and subscribe.
Maybe your company was one of them and it helped build your audience.
Now, your customer has an overflowing inbox full of graymail and the world is starting to return to “normal.”
So how do you get your target audience to open your email amongst the sea of graymail?
EMAIL ADDRESS = INTRODUCTION
If your email is being sent from a generic email, such as info@yourcompany.com, your first step can be to change the address to someone’s name, like sarah@yourcompany.com.
People are a lot less likely to open your email if they know it’s coming from a bot. Everyone enjoys how efficient technology can be, but ironically we tend to not respond to emails that we know were auto-generated from an email service provider.
Sure, we know somewhere in the email’s creation there was a human touch, but by changing your email address it’s a clear visual reminder.
SUBJECT LINE = ICEBREAKER
During quarantine, everyone enjoyed a good sale when we knew money was tight or were trying new products.
Now, your audience’s attention span will only go so far. Instead of being lost in the noise of sales lines and exclamation points, think of your subject line as the ice breaker.
Every email is a chance for a one-on-one conversation with your customer. But, in regards to the subject line, you need to keep that conversation starter between 41 and 50 characters.
Consider addressing your audience like you would a friend. Would you come up and shout, “20% OFF YOUR PURCHASE WITH FREE SHIPPING!!!”? or “Hey, I know you were interested in [insert product here].”
If you shout at your friends, that’s your business. However, shouting at your customers is likely to put you out of business.
PREVIEW TEXT NEEDS TO SHOW VALUE
Okay, let’s be clear: all email templates and content MUST be optimized for mobile.
Most of the time, we only check email on a computer when we’re working. This shouldn’t be your business’s target time to reach your audience.
After a long day at work, your audience sits down with their phone and starts scrolling through their social media channels, shopping, checking email, reading or watching YouTube. There’s a lot of competition for their attention on the e-screen.
If the subject line catches their attention, you’ve got to make your preview text show them value. This doesn’t have to be monetary value either. Give them a little known fact about your industry, their interests or the behind the scenes of your business and/or product.
It’s in our nature to want to learn more. In your preview text, show them that you’re not solely trying to sell them a product or service, but are committed to enriching their lives.
IN CONCLUSION
In the crowded digital landscape, the email inbox is a gladiatorial arena.
Your job is to give the crowd what they want using the tools available.
Your best tools are trying to make a personal introduction (email address), start a conversation (subject line), and add value to their life (preview text).
Remember your business should focus on being human and leveraging digital marketing tools, not digital marketing tools pushing a product made by humans.
