The average open rate for marketing emails is an abysmal 21 percent. That means four out of five clients ignore your attempts to contact them. Why is this happening? And more importantly, how can you boost your email marketing messages? Insert the following three qualities into your marketing emails and increase open rates.
SAY SOMETHING INTERESTING
Think about it from your client’s perspective. If your client is in the middle of their deadlines, your email marketing messages are an interruption. If all you have to say is, “Here, try this! You know you want to!” you shouldn’t be too surprised when the client ignores it.
However, if you lead with value and provide useful or interesting information, the interruption is more acceptable, perhaps even appreciated, because of the information the client gains. Instead of thinking, “What can I sell my clients?” think, “What information can I share with my clients?”
All you need to do now is figure out what information to share. Segmenting your prospects by client persona will help you identify what material they’d genuinely value. Using relevant messages, compelling subject lines and eye-catching imagery are ingredients for effectively reaching each client persona and ensuring results.
DEMONSTRATE INTEREST
According to a recent Marketing Sherpa case study, personalized email subject lines returned a 17.36 percent higher than the average click-through rate. The first point to make here is to address your client by name. The software lets you quickly insert the recipient’s first name into the subject line, dramatically increasing the open rate.
However, demonstrating interest in your client goes much further than that. Collect personal details, such as interests, job titles, and family life, to use that information in your email marketing strategy.
Also, if your prospective client has recently downloaded a piece of content from your website or our blog, personalize a follow-up message expressing gratitude for their interest and offer up another meaningful tip. The idea is to build the relationship through a dialog directly connecting to the individual. In the end, the more you personalize the message, the better response you will receive.
COMPOSE ACTIVE SUBJECT LINES
Consider the news articles that most effectively grab your attention. They are active, not passive, and contain emotion-invoking phrases, not flat statements. Combine an eight to 10-word active phrase with the recipient’s name as the subject line, and you’re golden.
For example, instead of passively stating, “Employee prospect update,” try saying, “Sam, here’s how to get your dream job.” The latter has much more emotional flair and suggests action. Sam is much more likely to open this intriguing email than one with a title that doesn’t interest him.
As a marketing professional, you continuously compete with other email messages being delivered directly to your client’s box. The best approach is to offer up a subject line that effectively tempts, persuades, or even charms the reader into action. Keeping in line with the discussion above, make the subject line persona-centric, sprinkle in some personalization, energize with an active voice, and offer up a value proposition they simply cannot refuse. Clearly and succinctly balancing these areas in a single message will make you an email-marketing superstar!
Notice a theme here? Ultimately, successful email marketing focuses on the client instead of the firm sending the email. If you liked this article, check out Email Marketing Could Use A Little Advice From the Handwritten Note. For more helpful marketing tips, please contact Colosi Marketing today.
