How To Write Engaging Email Marketing Campaigns | How to Write an Engaging Email Marketing Campaign (Without Using the Same Email Templates Every Other Company Uses)

Email marketing is a valuable tool in any business’ arsenal. Marketers send hundreds of emails per day, keeping in touch with past customers and nurturing new relationships. But while the tool itself is valuable, it’s not always easy to get right. And maybe that’s why so many businesses still operate with the same tired old email templates year after year. We don’t want to operate with the same old templates either. That’s why we’ve decided to share some best practices on how to write an engaging email marketing campaign. Once you’ve mastered these, you’ll be able to send a compelling message to your audience and encourage them to make a purchase or take an action. Let’s get to it.

Create A Compelling Headline

Emails often get buried in hundreds of messages. Make sure that your email stands out by creating a compelling headline. The call-to-action (CTA) must be easily noticeable and compelling, otherwise your subscribers might skip over it and move on to the next email in their inbox. Strong copy helps, too. Make sure that your headline and the first few lines of your email match. This will make your message more compelling.

Personalize The Subject Line

Your subject line is one of the most critical parts of your email. It’s the first thing that your subscribers—and potential customers—will see. So make sure that it’s compelling and personalized. We all get overloaded with emails everyday, so being able to personalize the subject line is a great way to compel someone to click through. If you use a tool like HubSpot to schedule your emails, you can personalize the subject line with just a click of a button. And when you send mass emails on a regular basis, you’ll definitely start to notice a difference in how your subscribers respond to your emails compared to those from other companies.

Use Suitable Images

Adding a few suitable and relevant images to your email can greatly improve its appeal. Make sure to add a subject line that includes an image to make it more compelling. The rule of thumb is to include at least three images in your email. This will help establish your credibility with your readers.

Bear in mind that your images should be relevant to your subject line and the content of the email. It’s always easier to add an image that’s associated with an event or announcement rather than your typical product promotion. For example, if your subject line is “New Products Available, Save $15”, it would be better to include an image of a new product than an image of a fountain pen.

Make The Call-to-Action Concise And Urgent

As mentioned above, the CTA (call-to-action) is one of the most critical elements of your email. It’s what you want the reader to do to receive the greatest benefit from the email content:

Purchase a product or service described in the email
Sign up for a webinar
Subscribe to a newsletter
…

Whatever action you want your readers to take, make sure that it’s very easy to perform. If you use a tool like MailChimp that limits the amount of CTAs that you can include in a given email, make sure that each one of your emails contains only one CTA. Your call-to-action should not be overly complicated and should not contain any deceptive tricks or language (like a “catch” to get the reader to click).

Write An Attention-Grabbing Body

Just like with the headline, make sure that your copy is concise but also packs in as much valuable information as possible. Add a few helpful images and you’ll have a beautifully formatted and compelling body copy.

There’s no need to go over the basic information that you need to include in your email. A well-written and compelling body copy will keep your readers interested and make them want more. When customers complain about getting too much email or feeling inundated by marketing messages, the issue usually starts with bad or boring copy. Make sure that your copy is interesting, engaging, and packed with value.

Make Sure Your Links Are Active

When someone clicks on a link in an email, the website often reaps the benefits. Make sure to add a few relevant and active links to your email. You can either include links to specific products or offer a discount if the reader follows a certain link and makes a purchase. Alternatively, you can use a tool like ConvertKit to create an automated email sequence that includes a welcome email, a discount coupon, and additional product information.

Use Short, Snappy Emails

E-mails often get buried in a sea of other messages. Make sure that your emails are short and to the point, otherwise, your subscribers will likely skim over them and move on to the next message in their inbox.

Include all the necessary information and wrap up with a short and sweet ending. Remember: speed is important in our email-driven world. We get so inundated with emails that it’s easy to lose track of what’s important and what’s not. Keep your emails short and snappy—less than two paragraphs at most. If you use a tool like MailChimp that allows you to schedule out your emails, you can use the autoresponder to send short, sweet emails as an introduction to long-winded blog posts or products.

Include all the necessary information in the email and end with a short, sweet message. Short and sweet emails encourage customers to engage with your brand and convert strangers into paying customers. At the very least, a short and sweet email will encourage them to respond.

Optimize Your Subject Line And Bios

As mentioned above, your subject line is one of the most important parts of your email. It’s the first thing that your subscribers—and potential customers—will see. Make sure that it’s compelling and includes a call to action. To further improve your odds of getting a response, make sure to include an interesting and relevant bio about yourself or your company. If you use a tool like HubSpot to schedule your emails, you can go through and update your bios and subject lines with just a click of a button.

Measure The Results Of Your Email Campaign

While the results of your email campaign won’t be apparent right away, you’ll see the benefits of a well-executed campaign down the road. Measure the results of your efforts both online and off. Did your email campaign drive traffic to your website? Did you see an increase in social media activity (e.g., shares, likes, comments)?

These are all important metrics that indicate the success of your email campaign. Before you know it, you’ll start to see the results of your hard work and can confidently say that you made the right choice in focusing on email marketing rather than another marketing channel.

Use This Information To Formulate A Long-Term Plan

Now that you’ve got the basic elements of an engaging email campaign down, you can begin to develop a plan for how you’ll roll it out. If you use a tool like Hootsuite to manage your social media accounts, you can use the platform to schedule your weekly emails. Then, when a new segment is published, you can quickly send a message to your audience to introduce the new content.