Sometimes email gets a bad rap.
I guess it’s understandable. No one wants their inboxes overflowing with spam.
Even the emails we receive from family, friends, and colleagues are like time bombs requiring effort to respond. I love you, Aunt May, but I’d rather binge-watch Squid Game than reply to the meme you sent to the 50 other people on the family group email.
Let’s face it… sometimes emails seem like a big, fat chore.
Don’t underestimate the lowly email
But there's another side to them. Emails, when done correctly, can dazzle. The best ones entertain, educate, and stir people to action. It’s like receiving a dessert you didn’t expect.
However, most businesses haven’t cracked the code. They continue to launch boredom-inducing missives that only their moms want to read. It’s the digital equivalent of watching paint dry.
But not you, right? You deliver quality content with a unique brand personality. You write about your customers instead of yourself. You put personal preferences aside and create interesting content with them in mind.
So repeat this mantra until you believe it:
IT’S POSSIBLE TO CREATE EMAILS PEOPLE ENJOY RECEIVING.
IT’S POSSIBLE TO CREATE EMAILS PEOPLE ENJOY RECEIVING.
There, doesn’t that feel better? Email marketing isn’t a waste of time.
When you consistently drop goodies into someone’s inbox, they’ll often reciprocate with a tip-of-the-hat-happy-to-oblige opening.
For that to happen, you need a strategy. Here are a few juicy tips to make your emails more openable.
1) Obsess over your subject and preview lines
The magic happens in the subject and preview lines.
The subject line is obviously what readers see first, and it teases the content of your email.
The preview line, which is shown in many email programs, allows a reader to see a line or two of further explanation.
These are like the marquees hanging above your movie theater. If you promote “The Life and Times Of Dishwasher Soap,” you’ll have tons of empty seats.
But if you say, “This One Trick Will Make Your Dishes Look Like New,” you’ll grab people’s attention. At least those who like soap.
Bad subject lines are the scary front porches with spider webs, peeling paint, and burned-out lightbulbs. No one wants to go inside.
But fantastic subject lines roll out the red carpet and invite readers in for wine, cheese, and a rollicking discussion. Yes, please!
2) Segment your audiences
As your customer database grows, you’ll have a vast landscape of people.
One size doesn’t always fit all. What excites one segment will barely get a shoulder shrug from another.
What are some examples of segmenting that big blob of humanity?
Gender
Age
Language
Geography
Open rates
Lead magnet subscriber
Mobile vs desktop
80s music lovers, especially Huey Lewis fans
Ok, I made that last one up but it’s plausible.
When you can communicate specifically with a subset of people, your open rates and conversions will spike up and to the right.
3) Find the right frequency
Too many? Too few?
It’s the old question… how often should you send messages to your audience?
A typical customer pendulum swings from, “Hey, great to see you!” to “Oh no, not you again.” Find a rhythm that encourages the former, not the latter.
It also depends on your industry and type of service. A media company may send daily messages promoting key headlines and articles. An accountant may only send quarterly ones. And there are lots of industries in between.
What’s your best frequency? Watch your open rates and responses.
If you’re hearing nothing but crickets, something is amiss. Regular feedback, though, is a good sign.
The pretty bow on top
Of course, you must tie all these together with great content.
The best type of content, in my humble opinion, is story-based. Tell some yarns. Spin some tales. Give readers a glimpse into your life and whisk them away into an interesting adventure. Talk about your crazy childhood, or a grocery store mishap in the produce section, or when Cousin Eddie got drunk at the family reunion.
It can be anything, but keep your stories short and punchy. Ratchet up the intrigue and then tie it into your main point.
Stories have power. It’s no surprise people remember stories better than stats.
Your mission is to deliver consistent value in your emails, the type that makes a subscriber do the happy dance. Or at least a foot tap.
And here’s a bonus tip: for content ideas, think about the frequent questions your customers ask. Make a list of them and then wow readers with your genius answers.
Need help with your email campaigns?
We’ve got your back!
We can help you with it all, from set-up to segmenting to strategy to sending — and any other marketing words that begin with “s”!
To get started, it’s a simple step… email us!
You probably saw that coming, didn’t you?
About Me
Hey, I’m Brian, co-founder of Genie Jar Digital. Born a Tar Heel but now a Virginian, I’m a father of five and the husband of one amazing lady. My family has a thing for Golden Retrievers. Given the right circumstances, I can do a mean moonwalk on a slick kitchen floor.
