I think we can all agree that emails are an essential part of our lives. On the bright side, most people claim to love getting them, especially since they are often used as a tool to get something for free. On the less bright side, a lot of email marketing can be pretty ineffective. It’s important to find the right blend of inspiration and strategy to make sure your emails are as effective and responsive as possible.
The Anatomy Of An Email Marketing Campaign
To start, let’s examine the anatomy of an email marketing campaign.
Often, a brand or business will send out a mass email with a single subject line and a few paragraphs of text. While this may seem easy enough, there are a number of things you need to keep in mind.
- The email needs to be relevant to the recipients
- The email needs to include all the important information
- The email needs to be concise
- The email needs to have the proper opening and closing
- The email needs to be easy to understand
- The email needs to be a delight to the reader
So how can you ensure that your emails are as effective as possible? Let’s examine some of the critical components that can make the difference between an effective and a non-effective email marketing campaign.
Subject Line
The subject line of your email is arguably the most important part. The subject line should be concise, yet descriptive enough to pull the reader into a follow up email. It should also include a call to action (like an offer or a request for information), but it shouldn’t be so aggressive that it comes off as spam. For example, if you are promoting a sale, but you don’t have a product to offer, it would be a bad idea to just throw out the word SALE as the subject line.
H1, H2, And H3 Tags
HTTP headers (or HTML headers) are the technical bits of text that appear at the top of an HTML email. These are completely separate from the body of the email, which is made up of the actual text.
There are three main tags that help make up an HTML email. Each
tag
should be used for a section of the email, and should be concise. You can also use multiple
tags
for sub-headings. If you need to add another level of sub-headings, you can use a
tag
.
Making sure that your HTML is well-formed is also important, so make sure that you are consistent with your use of all three tags. You don’t want to end up with a funky-looking email that is difficult to read. There are a few email templates that are well-formed and easy to read, so make sure you are using one of those templates for your email marketing campaign.
Body
The body of the email is where you can put the bulk of the information for the email. You can use the body of the email to provide more details about the offer or product that is being sold in the email. The worst thing you can do is stuff the body of the email with unnecessary text. If you feel the need to include a lot of text within the body of the email, you can use bullets and sub-headings to create a bulleted list. Make sure to keep your sentences short and your paragraphs concise.
Attachment
Attachments are bits of information that you want to include with the email. Many people think that attachments are annoying, but they are actually quite useful. People want to share lots of information via email, and the easiest way to do that is by attaching documents or other bits of information.
You can’t attach files larger than 5MB, so make sure you are mindful of how much data you are allowing the person on the receiving end to have. Also, make sure to keep your attachment safe – it would be a pain for someone to have their email hacked just to see a few attachments.
Signature
The signature of the email is the little bit of text at the bottom of the email. Just like with the subject line, your signature should be concise, yet legible. The signature can also be used to provide a little bit more information about you – something that makes you stand out from the crowd. For example, you can use your signature to provide the date that you sent the email. Or, you can include a small blurb about yourself.
People often think that signatures are just a signature, but they are actually quite useful when combined with other parts of the email. For example, if you have attached a document and you want to provide a link to the document, you can use your signature to provide the link. Or, if you have included a photo and you want to provide the person on the receiving end with some information about the brand or business, you can use your signature. Plus, you can always add a little bit more information about yourself if you feel the need.
As you can see, there are many ways that an email can be made effective – from the subject line to the actual content of the email itself. Make sure to put into practice the tips and tricks discussed here, and you will be able to enjoy the benefits of an effective email marketing campaign.