Marketing Corner - Email Marketing That Works

So you have written a sensational email offer or newsletter for your clients. How do you make sure your clients and prospects are going to open your email? To help you grab the attention of your customers we provide the following guidelines for getting those emails opened and read;

1. Use the 50/50 rule

It takes time and focus to produce a great headline that will ensure your prospects open their email. Some great writers recommend you split your time between devising the headline and writing the content. It sounds crazy but if your subject line doesn’t hit a nerve then your readers will skip past.

2. No CAPITALS

When your subject line is in CAPS, it is the email equivalent of yelling at your customer. If you throw in a few special characters, exclamation marks or symbols you're probably going to look like a spammer, and your marketing campaign will fizzle.

3. Avoid spam words

Using words that trigger spam filters are a marketing disaster. Words and expressions such as 100% Free, Act Now, All Natural, As Seen On, Bad Credit, Bargain, Dear Friend, Discount, and Fast Cash mean your emails will never reach your subscribers because the blacklists used by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will probably stop your messages from getting delivered.

4. Don't mislead

If you promise something in your subject line, you better deliver the goods in the body of the email. The quickest way to lose the trust and loyalty of your email subscribers is to deceive them, so make sure that your subject line is directly relevant to the content of the entire email.

5. Always Proofread

You can’t proofread your subject lines (or your emails) enough or have enough people double-check them. One sure way of devaluing your brand image is to send out an email that looks like a pre-schooler has written it.

6. Edit

Every browser, email client, or mobile device displays a different number of subject line characters. Some will readily accommodate 60 characters or more, whereas others will limit to no more than 30. In general it is best-practice to keep subject lines extremely short to ensure that the majority of your subscribers are able to read them in their entirety.

7. First Things First

Your subject line acts as a headline and you want to capture your subscriber's attention with the first three or four words. Keeping in mind the nasty truncation problem, it is imperative that you place the most relevant words first in your subject line, get to the point quickly.

Subject lines can make or break your entire email marketing campaign so give them the attention they deserve.

Other articles in this edition: 

• The 7 Website Essentials
• How Does Your Website Rank?
• Accounting Software - Another Brick In Your Business Wall
• Business Start Up Corner - What Is Your Cash Clock?
• Book Corner - Good To Great
• Tech Corner - Voicemail For Your Website & Customised Email Signatures
• Self Managed Super Funds - Property Investments Yes or No?
• Life Insurance Within Your Supperannuation Fund