We know what content is and how it works. We also know that consumers have very short attention spans and need content that’s engaging and entertaining. But, what happens when the content we create isn’t suitable for all of the recipients? Let’s say we want to send a traditional ‘welcome’ email to new subscribers, but some find the content too boring and others too engaging. What do we do?
Traditional ‘welcome’ emails are usually dull, automated emails that include information about the value of the product or service, sale announcements and some content about the company and its employees. While many are excited about the opportunity to discover a new product or service, the unappetizing content may turn them off even before they’ve had the chance to try it out. We want to make sure that everyone who receives our email is going to be interested in what we have to say and remain engaged until the very end. That’s why we need to include something extra in our welcome email!
The main problem with most welcome emails is that they don’t use any of the powerful, automated tools that email marketing platforms provide. If we want to stand out from the crowd, we need to incorporate some tricks that will make our subscribers interested in what we have to say.
Keep Your Email Simple
Make sure that your email is as short and sweet as possible. This will make it more memorable and easier for subscribers to digest. If you want your email to be effective, keep it simple and use language that everyone can understand. If you use industry jargon or lengthy sentences, some subscribers may feel like they’re not able to relate or will tune out before you even get the chance to explain what you do.
Include Calls to Action
A/B testing and content curation tools like ConvertKit make it easy to A/B test different versions of the same email. When we compare the results of two different emails, we can see which version is performing the best. Calls to action appear at the end of the email in the form of buttons, links or text that encourage the reader to take action. Calls to action in the form of URL shorteners like Bitly,, Donut Pants and Jango are also popular. Your calls to action don’t have to appear in the same place, but they should all be clearly linked to one another so that subscribers know exactly where to click.
Use Social Proof
People love to see others engage with an idea or product that they’re considering trying out. If we want to increase the chances of our subscribers engaging with our content, we can use social proof to make them more likely to do so. Instead of just sending our email to friends and family, we can use social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to show them that others are supporting or rejecting our content. If we want to encourage someone to try a product or service that we’ve promoted, we can share the social proof on our website or through other online channels that our target audience is likely to be using.
Personalize Your Email
We can also take advantage of the fact that many people use the same email for multiple purposes. If we ever forget to personalize an email, the likelihood of it actually reaching its intended audience deteriorates significantly. The same thing happens when we send the same email to multiple people. To make sure that our messages are being read and that we’re not annoying individuals who receive our emails for professional purposes, we need to include some kind of a personalized message.
The best way to do this is by including a few key phrases from the individual’s LinkedIn profile, a brief bio about their interests and hobbies, a photo of them or a group of them with their family and friends, and a simple sentence or two about what the person reading the email will discover if they continue reading. Don’t overdo it and make your email too long and fancy; a simple and effective personalized email is just what you need to grab anyone’s attention!
Use Technology To Your Advantage
If you’ve ever shopped at bestbuyget.com, you may have seen their clever use of technology. Instead of having a simple ‘thank you for subscribing’ message at the end of an email, they use an automated email delivery service called Arazy to continue the conversation. If they want to stay in touch, they can do so without having to leave the comfort of their homes. Bestbuyget.com uses this technique for a variety of emails, so make sure to incorporate it into your own use case.
Websites like Arazi and MailChimp provide the tools to send emails as quickly and effectively as possible, allowing you to get back to your day-to-day activities. Don’t get me wrong, I love the simplicity of a straightforward, automated email, but using these tools makes me more effective as a content marketer. I can compose and send multiple emails without having to check for typos or rework sentences for the different audiences I’m targeting.
Make Sure Your Email Marketing Is Relevant
As a marketer, you’ll know that sometimes our greatest ideas are the simplest ones. The same goes for our email marketing campaigns. We often think that more content is better, but in reality, less is more. Sometimes only the simplest ideas can catch on.
With fewer words (and simpler language), your email is more likely to be read by your subscribers. In addition to keeping it short, you can use a tool like Bitly to make your links more engaging. If you notice, many of the best performing emails I’ve ever seen are those that are simply talking about the product or service and don’t include any flashy, distracting language.
Let’s say you’re invited to an amazing, private concert with a famous band you’ve never heard of. You love classical music and the band’s style is something new for you, but the cost of tickets is expensive. Does the information in the email matter? Does your wallet want to know about this band? Probably not. However, if you search for the band on Google, you’re likely to find a wealth of information. Your email might not seem like much, but with a little effort, it can contain a lot of value!
Make Sure To Follow Up
A few weeks after you send out your initial email campaign, you’ll want to follow up with a quick email to make sure that your subscribers know what’s coming next. This email can be the same as the one you sent out initially, but with the addition of a single call to action that points them to more content or offers. If you want to be a little more advanced, you can use A/B testing or content curation tools to send out two or more variants of the same email and track which one performs the best. The goal here is simple: get as many people as possible to sign up for your email list so that you can continue the conversation or so that you can promote your product or service to people who’ve already shown an interest in it.
The world of email marketing is changing, but it still comes down to the basics: a short, sweet message and a call to action.