Good email content is a necessity, but your message as a business marketer is what makes you relevant to your prospects. Having a stellar and creative concept is one thing, but driving that message home to your target audience is another. Add these six tips to your email content strategy and reach your audience quicker and more effectively with your good email content!
1) Don’t think ‘Target Audience’, think ‘Person’
Even if you’ve worked with a certain industry for years and years, it doesn’t mean you can speak to the individual person who is making the buying decision in that industry. When you’re creating your email message, keep a person or two in mind such as a 30 something friend busy at work. Before you send an email, ask yourself ‘will your friend like this?’ or 'do I think this is good email content' and if the answer is ‘yes’, then it is more likely to do well.
2) Avoid the ‘Bait and Switch’
Don’t create false expectations from your headlines. If you’re promising the ‘Best Customer Service in All the Land’, then you better have the facts and proof to back that up. Don’t trick readers into clicking- they are too smart for that and will hit that unsubscribe button faster than you think! Be honest (and amazing) and your readers will pay full attention.
3) Shorter IS Sweeter
How short? Roughly speaking, your subject line of an email should be under 50 characters and under 40 is even better, though trimming your subject line to 5 characters is probably counter-productive.
4) Share the Love with Your Good Email Content
Many companies are afraid to share the expertise of other companies, especially their competitors. But in all reality, sharing or curating the knowledge while giving credit where credit is due, goes a long way in establishing a relationship of trust with your prospects. Think about sending an email with great feature stories related to your prospects instead of just sending information about your company.
5) Match Made in Heaven
Your subject line and pre-header need to sync in order to drive home your message immediately. When you’re writing these two critical components for your email, try to make it as much about your reader as possible. For example, with a subject reading, “Monday is right around the weekend corner” and a pre-header reading, “Just 3 days separates you from a $500 savings on accounting software!”, you can give your readers a reason to click right off the bat. When the subject line and pre-header work together, it really is a ‘match made in heaven’.
6) Mobile Matters
If you're not building your emails with mobile readers in mind, you're losing half your audience. Keep content easy to scroll through on mobile devices. Make sure your newsletters are fluid-width, which means that they'll look fantastic on mobile and don’t forget to test and preview emails using your mobile device.
