E-newsletters drive traffic to your website, right? Not necessarily. It’s not as easy as it used to be to get people to open emails. That’s not news to you, we’re certain, but there are so many simple mistakes that people are making when it comes to getting customers to open their mail and stay engaged.
We’ve been in the communications business for years and have been producing cutting-edge content for clients of kinds—public and private, small and gargantuan. We think it’s time to share some of our inside knowledge about e-newsletters; how to get people opening them, reading them, clicking links and coming back for more.
If you’re ready to learn what makes our clients’ open rates far exceed the industry averages, with click-through rates often more than double, then let’s get started.
1/ BUY BUY BUY will have them saying BYE BYE BYE.
In 2015 no one wants to read another sales letter. If you’ve opened your email anytime lately you’ll see dozens of emails blatantly promoting products and services littering your inbox.
Sales and discounts are always attractive, but you’ve got to get your message out without blasting people with sales rhetoric. Words like SALE, 25% OFF etc. will not only turn people off your content, if featured in the subject line it will likely end up in the junk mail folder.
2/ Speak to them as a person, not a company.
Part of the art of content marketing is to carefully balance the consumer-brand relationship. If you’re addressing your reader without any personality, then you’ll lose their interest in seconds.
This doesn’t mean to say that you can’t be professional with your choice of language and tone. Try to understand the personality of your brand and speak to your reader from this position. If it feels as though the brand is speaking then you’re on the right track.
3/ Boring isn’t relevant. It’s just plain boring.
Make sure your content is engaging for your readers. After all, the point of producing e-newsletters and blogs is to impart useful and entertaining information that will encourage further connection and build a healthy consumer-brand relationship.
Keep an eye on industry news that will not only interest insiders but customers as well. Share insider tips much like we’re doing right this minute or provide them with a quiz to test their knowledge about what it is you do.
4/ Your content may be too long or of poor quality.
Your readers want to be able to trust in the quality of your products and services, therefore they’ll expect your newsletter to be well-written and enjoyable to navigate.
Make sure you get your point across as quickly as possible. More isn’t necessarily better when it comes to modern article; in 2015 people have less time to dedicate to reading and you’ll want to give them a short but sweet dose of knowledge.
Correct grammar, use of paragraphs and punctuation are all signs of professionalism in business and, in the case your e-newsletter or blog post is a customer’s first impression, a professional standard will pay dividends.
5/ Links can get overwhelming – be sure to add just a few.
Nothing says sales letter like a stack of links littering the page. Sure, links are important to driving traffic to your site and converting sales, but they’ll only do that if they get clicked on.
Prioritise where you place your links. Make them relevant to the content at hand and outline where the link will take your reader. Be transparent when offering links in your e-newsletter or blog and you will develop a sense of trust.
Images and headlines, buttons and points that include industry jargon or buzz words are all logical places to hyperlink, allowing your reader to find the information they desire.
So there it is – five great ways to improve your e-mail marketing in 2015. These points are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to developing and implementing a successful content marketing strategy.
If you’re lost for words, or would like to discuss how we can help you further, please contact us any time for a chat.
Infodec Communications is staffed by seasoned communications professionals with an extensive history of producing highly polished marketing content that cuts through the noise, engages consumers and delivers measurable results.