5 Email Marketing Tips

So you don’t make mistakes, and for when you do!

Email Marketing is tricky. You have to select the right option so that you don’t overpay for a service provider yet get exactly what you need. The MailChimps, ConstantContacts and Emma’s of the world are great at helping you send the emails, but crafting them is another story. Emma helps here too, but for a service fee. Don’t worry – there are plenty of marketing bloggers, like myself, that have your back.

What Makes a Great Email?

Ask yourself? What kind of emails do you like to read? I’m partial to those that provide information, make me laugh, and provide me with value – like sales and discount codes or little freebies. I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you probably do too. I’m going to provide you with some tips in just a moment, but take them with a grain of salt and always keep your users in mind. In fact, go through each of these 5 email marketing tips and ask yourself – “this makes sense with my audience right?” before you run off to implement it.

Make a plan to Keep your content varied.
Do you like to receive the same email over and over again? The same email subject line, the same type of email content and the same call to action can get boring. Switching up the content and injecting something new from time to time will make your readers more likely to open up your emails and actually read them.

Note – I don’t know your readers…maybe for them consistency is king? Always keep your audience in mind. If they like getting the same type of stuff all of the time then please consider this list 4 email marketing tips.
Show some personality.
Are you a fun loving and fancy free brand? Or, are you serious and professional? Whatever your business’s personality might be, show it. Your audience will hear the authenticity in your emails and will respect you for it. If you like to joke and have fun on your social media profiles, but for some reason are serious and all business in your emails, your readers are going to wonder what’s up. And the same is true for those who take a serious tone on social media, but then crack a joke in their email subject line.

Be consistent with your personality even if you very the type of content that you deliver.
Put some time into your subject line.
Your subject line will more often than not, be the determining factor as to whether your recipients will open and read your email or not. You want the subject line to somehow stand out from the other emails in their inbox so that it catches their eye. This is easier to do if you can interject some fun and funkiness into your brand. MailChimp recognized this and made it possible for their users to use emojis in their email subject lines.

If you’re a more straightforward brand that doesn’t really play around with their emails, this can be a bit trickier. But you can still use descriptive words that highlight the content of your email – which should be important and interesting to your readers.
Clear Calls to Action.
Don’t mess around or beat around the bush when it comes to the intention of your email. Even if your email is just to say “Hi” and check in with your readers, do them a favor and let them know. If you are asking your readers to click on a link and download a free eBook or Pattern for a new project, then let them know upfront. If you want them to buy something, you can find a clever way to say it, but be sure to say it!

Don’t make your email readers sit there and think “What was the point?” or “What am I supposed to do with this one?”. Chances are, they’ll follow it up with, “Whelp that was a bust” or “That was five minutes I want back.” And we definitely don’t want them thinking that!
Design your emails.
Yup. Even if you are only sending a text based email, think about the layout and design of the text in that email. You want to make your emails as easy to read as possible. Not everyone is a pro at reading on their computer. Many will open and read your email on their phone or tablet. Breaking up large chunks of text into multiple smaller paragraphs, bullet points and lists, will help make your emails easier to read, and therefore increases your chances of getting your message across exactly as you intended it.

Bonus!
Mistakes Happen. When they do, own up to it.
Just recently I sent out an email, and the links were all the same. Thank goodness I had someone who caught it early and brought it to my attention. Initially I had the all too real “Oh my gosh! Now what do I do?” panic moment. And then I remembered my trusty email tips.

First, I made a commitment to spend even more time proofing and sending test emails in the future. Sometimes we grow a little too comfortable with sending emails or sending them to a particular list of people, and think that we are good. This time, somehow the links in my email got corrupted or I made a mistake that I still can’t figure out (but I’m getting to the bottom of it!)

Then, you pull together a second email, to that same list. In this email you apologize and fix the response. Even if your recipients hadn’t yet read the first email containing the mistake, they will appreciate your honesty, and your effort to take the time to make it right for them. They can simply delete the first email from their inbox, and focus on this new one with the correct information.

5 Email Marketing Tips