You’ve been working hard, and now it’s time for the payoff. You’ve finally crafted that perfect email that will close the deal and make your marketing campaign a success.
Whether you’re pitching a new product or service, thanking a customer for their support, or just seeking to follow up after an initial email interaction, crafting an engaging, personalized final email can be a challenge. So that’s where we come in.
According to HubSpot Blogs’ analysis of over 20,000 email sent by digital marketers around the world, it takes on average 12.8 mails (including the initial email) to close the sale. That means you still have a chance to leave a lasting impression and get a result.
Based on that, we’ve compiled a list of 22 tips on how to make your final email for a marketing campaign stand out.
1. Personalize it.
It’s not enough to just send out a transactional email. According to HubSpot Blogs, 76% of respondents said they’d be more likely to buy a product or service from a company that sent them personalized emails. So don’t just send out a generic email template when you’re done with your marketing campaign. Personalize it with a name or initials to make it stand out.
2. Keep it short.
You’ve got just a few seconds to grab the reader’s attention and convince them to click on your message. Make it a point to keep your email concise and to the point. Think of it as a tweet: short and sweet. The average reader spends less than four minutes reading an email marketing message, and the strongest ones are much shorter. Think about cutting down your email to the essentials—a couple of sentences with a call to action followed by some copy that’s relevant to the subject matter.
3. Provide value.
What do you want the reader to do? The value you provide will dictate the lasting impact of your email. In order to make your email more valuable, consider these avenues:
- Adding more useful information to the subject line or the content of the email;
- Offering a free sample or a discount coupon;
- Asking a question and providing the answer (in the form of helpful information) in the body of the email;
- Throwing in a few key stats to show how or why your product or service is worthwhile.
4. Craft an engaging subject line.
You’ve got 56 characters to work with (the length of most mailboxes), so make it a point to craft an attention-getter title for your email. You can use a tool like hootsuite to come up with a catchy, personalized subject line in seconds. Just type in your email address and you’ll see a list of potential subject lines.
Subject lines should match the body of the email and it is highly recommended that you use a call to action at the end of your subject line. Your call to action should match the value you provided in your email. For example, if you’re promoting a product that helps businesses connect with their followers on social media, your call to action should be something like “Learn more about X product that helps businesses connect with their customers on social media.”
5. Make the email relevant to the recipient.
People are busy, so make sure the content of your email is relevant to the recipient. This may mean that you need to revisit the product you’re promoting or the service you’re offering. Make sure that the information they need is presented in the most effective way possible. Think of the recipient as a mini-you and how you would want to receive information.
6. Follow up with a call to action.
You’ve got an entire pitch with supporting data and anecdotes, but now you need to grab the reader’s attention and make them do something. To do that, provide a call to action at the end of your email. This is a directive to perform some kind of action—such as click a link, fill out a form, or make a purchase. The call to action should match the value you provided in your email.
7. Keep it simple and to the point.
You want to keep things short and sweet, so keep your email concise and to the point. You can use a tool like hootsuite to create and send out a draft of your email in no time. Just remember to shorten it down to fit the constraints of your recipient’s inbox. If you go over the character limit, you’ll lose the reader’s attention and make it harder for them to take action.
8. Write with a conversational tone.
You’re using the same template, so it’s safe to assume that your email was written by a machine (a lot of people use automated email campaigns, so it’s easy for computers to handle the copy). But that doesn’t mean you need to sound like a robot.
According to HubSpot Blogs’ research, people are more inclined to click on and read an email if it is written in a conversational tone. This is called “writing with emotion” and it makes the email more relatable. As we’ve established, people are busy, so you don’t want to appear overly robotic. Instead, write in a tone that’s natural and easy to read.
9. Add more personality.
What’s worse than a robotic email? One that appears to be written by a bunch of robots! You want your email to reflect your brand’s personality and speak to the reader in a way that’s unique to you.
There are numerous ways you can add more personality to your email, such as the following:
- Personalize the email with a name or initials;
- Use humour (a little funny humor goes a long way);
- Add a fun, creative design (e.g., a cartoon, a graphic, or a photograph) or color combination;
- Include a personal anecdote or story about the product or service being promoted;
- Personalize the email with a signature (first and last name or initial);
- Add a digital stamp or logo;
- Use big, vibrant fonts for text (this will make it appear more modern and up to date).
The key is to add more personality to the mix so that the reader will feel like you’ve really been thinking about them specifically and not just some anonymous name on a hit list. This is why it’s worth the time and effort to create a distinct email identity for your brand—it will make a difference in how your message sounds and is received.
10. Use all the right legalities.
You’ve got a product to promote and you want to make sure that you do so legally and ethically. This means ensuring that you follow the guidelines and protocols set forth by the government and big businesses like PayPal and Amazon. Without going too far in length (and boring the reader), there are certain things you need to avoid.
- Don’t ask for money (unless you’re seeking funds for a charitable cause) and don’t include any material promoting a product that you didn’t write and don’t endorse;
- Don’t include any foul language;
- Don’t share confidential or proprietary information (like trade secrets or the details of your operation);
- Don’t misrepresent your relationship with any business or professional or make false or misleading statements. (This includes omitting facts that could potentially damage your relationship with the recipient.)
These are just some of the basics. In some instances, you may need to register with the government to be able to use a specific term or phrase in your content. Make sure you do your research and learn how to use the right language and terms to avoid any problems.
11. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
It’s important to continuously evolve your email marketing strategy in order to keep up with the times and the trends. What worked a few years ago may not work today, especially since companies and brands evolve too. You can use a tool like Constant Contact’s email marketing experiment tool to easily test out different subject lines and messages to determine which ones perform best.