Believe it or not, email marketing isn't a thing of the past. In fact, this form of marketing is still going strong for many industries. Email is more personal to consumers than social media, since you're messaging directly and privately to them.
But what makes email marketing great? The content!
Content is what drives interest when people read emails. What is the email about? Why should people care? The answers to these questions will depend on the content that you put into your emails.
In this article, we'll discuss the following in helping you provide great content in your emailing list:
- How email marketing works
- Why it's important to implement
- When to create emailing list content, AND
- The best practices in creating great content in your emailing list
How Does It Work?
Email marketing lets you target the right audiences via email. By sending emails to people on your emailing list, you'll not only grow your loyal customer base, but you'll also gain more conversions and revenue. Now, in order for email marketing to work for you, you'll need to create great content. We'll tell you why!
Why Great Content Sells
Emails are meant to be seen by your customers on an individual basis. In other words, when you share content via email, you're making your customers feel special. Well-written, relevant, and visual emails are what sells in email marketing.
When To Create Content
When is the best time to create emailing list content? Well, consider the following scenarios:
- When you're building new relationships with new customers and subscribers
- Whenever you have promotions on any product or service
- When you want to raise awareness about your brand, AND
- When you want to generate and nurture leads
If you find yourself in any of these scenarios, then now is the time to create content!
Best Practices
Now that you know why creating content is important to your email marketing, it's now to learn how to implement great content into your strategy! Here are 6 practices to consider:
1. Know Your Audience
First, who is your audience? What do they normally expect from you? What other needs do they might have?
By knowing your audience, you'll be able to answer these questions. First, look at how relevant your content is. You can do this by enabling analytics in an emailing software.
Plus, consider creating content for smaller groups. In this way, you can increase your brand's relevancy, while improving performance in your emailing campaigns. Testing your campaigns with a small group of email recipients will give you a good idea on what's working and what's not working in your content.
2. Create Short And Creative Subject Lines
Chances are, if your subject line is really long, that won't sit well with your email recipients. Too often, users are too busy to look and read too many emails, and they'll delete whichever ones look spammy before opening them.
Remember: A subject line serves as the window to the content that you have in the actual email. Therefore, your best bet is to make your subject line short and sweet. Plus, make your subject line creative with relevant and fun emojis.
When you keep your subject lines are short and sweet, people might get curious and then open the email.
3. Use Visuals
Visuals can grab people's attention. So, why not implement visuals in your email?
When it comes to imagery, the possibilities are endless! Consider using some of the following:
- Screenshots of products and services
- GIFs (most popular)
- Company logo and colors, etc.
Keep in mind: The visuals are there to help communicate the overall message of your email. Don’t let the visuals overwhelm your message.
4. Experiment With QR Codes
Nowadays, you'll see the pixel-like square on brands. This square is called Quick Response (QR) codes. With these codes, all consumers have to do is use their phones to scan a QR code on a sign or product. Afterwards, consumers are taken to the brand's website to enter sign up, enter a sweepstakes, learn more about a product, etc.
Want to take advantage of this digital phenomenon?
Consider adding a working QR code for your emails. Just make sure that the code is mobile-friendly. Plus, like the visuals, don't let the code overwhelm the email.
Just keep in mind where to place your QR code. Therefore, think about how QR codes will be used in the following scenarios:
- Maybe the user is on their laptop computer reading your email? Perhaps they'll use their mobile phone to scan the QR code?
- Maybe someone is using a library or school computer, and need to check for their email? There, they can scan the QR code with their mobile phones. Though, this method is only good for computers and laptops. Phones are mainly used to scan QR codes.
5. Have An Attractive CTA
Calls-to-action (CTAs) are essential to your emails. CTAs tell your customers what you want from them, since you've given them their time. So, you'll need an effective CTA that communicates what you need from them:
- To sign up for a subscription
- To buy a product or service
- To visit a website
- To follow the brand on social media
6. Set Goals
Finally, you'll need to set some goals. Period.
When setting your email marketing goals, keep the following objectives in mind:
- What do you want to accomplish with the content in your emails?
- What do you want people to get out of your content?
- What keywords and subject lines attract users?
- What are some ways that you can improve your email marketing strategy? Etc.
Remember: Not having goals in place will make you feel lost in your strategy. That's why it's important to stay the course with relevant and effective goals.
Conclusion
So, there you have it!
Having great content in your emails can make your email marketing strategy thrive. With this essential guide, you'll be one step closer to building and maintaining your customer base, with user coming back for more!
Just keep in mind: Users want emails to be to the point and interesting. Otherwise, emails will be deleted and or seen as spam.
We hope that this article helps you in implementing great content for your next email campaign! Good luck!