Email Marketing: Getting your Emails Read

Have you ever sat down to think how many emails you receive a day and how many you actually read? Inboxes have become a place to battle for attention and many victims just delete all instead of facing the daunting task of reading each one for something that might be of interest. The average person would rather miss a great deal than take the time to go through and read each email, especially if the subject is not interesting.

• First you need to get the email recipient’s permission to even send email. Even if you have a list of names because the person bought something from you does not mean they consent to getting every email you send out. Forcing an email means failure. A double opt-in is a better choice.
• Email marketing needs to be on an individual basis. By creating dialogue with an individual you make certain they understand the time you take to create an email they will read. You can also track and analyze what they open simply by asking them what they like and checking your analytics. By asking questions upfront you can send emails without privacy problems.
• Personalizing the email by using their name is important. A bulk email feels less like one when you use their name. Whenever you receive an email response from the customer you should respond within 24 hours. Waiting to do so jeopardizes everything you worked for.
• Timing has an impact on your email recipients. Messages that are sent during holidays can just pile up. Long weekends can also mean a giant pile up.  It is best to send an email on Sunday and Wednesdays. Sundays are best because a reader has time and may want to relax a little before going back to work. Wednesday is called the middle of the week which often means people are tired and just want the weekend. They might be more inclined to fool around in email instead of working properly.
• The subject and sender sections should be used wisely. Your email “sender” needs to be recognizable. Do not hide your name. Use a real name along with your company name. Someone is more inclined to open an email from someone they recognize.
• Subject lines need to be 40 characters or less. They have to have a call to action. What most individuals are looking for are deals. What can they get for free, with a discount, or a coupon? Take a giant company like Barnes and Nobles. A person is more inclined to open the email if it says something about 10 to 50% off. They are less inclined to open it if it is a newsletter about new books. Benefits are key in the subject line.
• Never try to trick your reader. Such things as exclamation marks, capital letters, and things like “do not miss” are not going to gain interest. A simple line reading “50% off a certain item this weekend” will get more attention.
• Questions are another way to gain attention. You definitely need to avoid what spam emails use as subject lines because this will put you in the spam folder quickly. Exclamation marks, dollar signs, uppercase text, you, and free can always get you sent to spam.
• Your action call is imperative. It is best not to use a spam like call to action. It needs to be short such as click here to get your x discount. The message needs to be clear about the main benefit.
• When you send them to the landing page the purchase should be easy. Make certain the form is prefilled for the purchase if that is possible. At least ensure the landing page has the item you just mentioned for the discount. Even if there are more products on the page the one you are trying to sell needs to be displayed first. Do not make the person hunt for things.
• Always test your email marketing campaign. Keep testing to see what will work. What gained you the most follow through? What emails tanked? The conversion rate and click through rates will tell you exactly what you need to know. When you find something that works keep using it, but of course make it a little different. Do not sell the same product each time and change up the format, but use the basic principles of what works.
• Do not be afraid to try something. Be creative instead of boring. Using similar tactics as someone else can end you in the trash bin without the email being opened. Instead, be inventive and ensure your email is opened.

Email campaigns need to be about the customer, but also targeting them in a new and different way. Keeping the same concepts gets boring. As long as you keep this in mind, you can be successful.