Getting people to click on your email is one of the biggest challenges in digital marketing. According to HubSpot Blogs research, 83% of people never click on the links in our newsletters, and only 37% of people click on the links in our marketing emails.
There’s a simple way to increase the odds of your email getting read and acted upon. That is through a combination of a few simple tricks.
Create an interesting headline
The headline of your email is arguably the most important part of the email as it is first and foremost what attracts your reader’s attention. You want to grab the reader’s attention with a fascinating headline that will keep them interested in your message. The easiest way to do this is to utilize headlines which use a combination of keywords and phrases. Ensure that these keywords are relevant to the content of the email. For example, if you are sending out an email promoting a new product or service, you might want to include the words “new,” “product,” “service,” and “installation” in your headline.
Use subheads and summaries
The use of subheads and summary in email marketing was first popularized by Richard Branson. The subhead is the phrase or sentence that appears below the headline in the body of the email. The summary is the short description at the top of the email. Subheads and summaries make it easier for the reader to quickly catch up on the main points of the email without having to read the whole thing. They also increase the chances of the email being opened and ultimately acted upon. The body of the email should provide further detail on the topic while the summary should simply provide a short blurb describing the content.
Use pictures (big, beautiful pictures)
The use of images in email marketing has exploded in the past couple of years. Not only do they make your email look more professional, but they also make it more engaging. The most effective way of using images in an email is to not just put one or two in, but to instead put four to six in. Having a couple of large images in the body of the email and then some smaller ones sprinkled throughout the copy is a surefire way of getting people to engage with your message.
The beauty of images in email marketing is that you can use the same image in different contexts to represent different ideas or messages. For example, you could have one image for the regular newsletter email and another image for the special offers email. Having different images for different emails gives you the ability to target the right audience and deliver the right message.
Use video
Adding a video in your email marketing campaign is a great way of getting more people to engage with your content. Videos can do several things for your marketing efforts. Not only do they make your email look more professional, but they can also serve as great examples of the type of content you are promoting. Videos allow you to demonstrate how a product or service works in real life and can even clarify any technical details which might be difficult to understand without taking the time to watch the video.
The use of videos in email marketing has more than doubled in the past year, according to HubSpot Blogs research. While only 12% of people used videos in the content of their email marketing campaigns in 2016, that number is now up to 23%. This is likely due to the fact that videos can easily be shared on social media channels like YouTube and Facebook.
Use links to other sites
The body of the email should contain only relevant and engaging content. However, you must also offer the reader something of value by including some kind of call to action. This could be as simple as including a link to a related product or service, such as an affiliate offer for a particular service or product, or it could be as complex as including a download link for a free white paper, complete with the download button visible in the email.
Whatever it may be, there must be a call to action in your email otherwise it will be considered junk mail by the recipient and you’ll never see a return on your investment.
Make it relevant to your audience
The key to using email successfully in your marketing efforts is to personalize the message according to your audience. Your email may have hundreds or even thousands of subscribers, but they all come from the same general group of people. You must ensure that you offer them value and relevance by including only the information they need.
This is why it’s important to include a call to action in your email. Ideally, this is something that will draw the person reading it toward your product or service and ultimately buy whatever it is you are promoting. The best call to actions are short and simple. Such as “Learn more about XYZ feature,” or “Visit our website for the full story on how to integrate X product.”
Make it easy for people to find your email address
The best way to get more people to engage with your content is to give them something to engage with. An easily discoverable email address is a great way of doing this. Make sure that it is prominently displayed in some shape or form within the email itself. An easily discoverable email address also makes it much easier for people to find you on social media channels like Twitter and LinkedIn.
Customize the template
The look and feel of your email should match the atmosphere of your brand. Do you want your email to be professional and polished, or shabby and casual? There are numerous free and paid-for templates which can be customized to fit your needs. Changing the template completely is also an option, as long as you are comfortable doing so. Some of the most popular free templates are from Mailchimp and HubSpot.
The look and feel of your email should match the atmosphere of your brand. Do you want your email to be professional and polished, or shabby and casual? There are numerous free and paid-for templates which can be customized to fit your needs. Changing the template completely is also an option, as long as you are comfortable doing so. Some of the most popular free templates are from Mailchimp and HubSpot.
Follow up
Getting people to take the first step and actually click on your email is the hardest part of any email marketing campaign. Following up with a few emails after the initial one is a great way of ensuring that they have received your message and reminding them that you are still available to provide further value.
The frequency with which you follow up will depend on your particular product or service. For example, if you are sending out an email offering a discount for a limited time, you may want to follow up with an email two days after the original one to ensure that they have received it. You could then follow up with another email a week later to remind them of the discount. Or, if you are sending out an email offering a new feature or product, you may want to follow up with several emails over the course of a few weeks to let them know that you are continuing to offer content.
Measure the results
The last step in any successful marketing campaign is measuring the results of your efforts. It is important to include this step so that you can determine whether or not your efforts have been successful. The simplest way of doing this is by measuring the number of orders placed through affiliate channels or by looking at the conversion rate on your website.
The results of your efforts will determine whether or not you continue down this path. If you are taking your email marketing seriously and want to see real results, then it’s time to put in the work and develop a strategy to make this a successful endeavor.