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Set the Wrench Aside, and Make Room for a Different Kind of Tool: Email.
In the age of social media, it may seem old school, but email marketing is far from dead. For every dollar spent on email marketing, the average return is a whopping $44.25.
It's time to figure out how to hit send without ending up as spam. Like any craft, awesome emails take a bit of practice. Get started with these basic tips.
Keep it Short and Sweet
Most people quickly scan subject lines to decide if they'll read further. Keep it to 50 characters or less.
Be Clear, Not Clever
There are times to show wit, but your subject line is not one of them. A direct line that tells what's inside does significantly better than one that tries to see what's inside.
Avoid Overuse Words
Stay away from stale sales words in your subject lines. The worst offenders: "free," "help," "percent off," and "reminder".
Make it Now or Never
Have a great offer customers will love? Limit the time an offer or coupon is good to get customers into your store as soon as possible.
Make it Shareable
When good things happen, we tell our friends. Coupons are no different. Add links to share it out over social media or forward to friends to increase your reach.
Be Visually Appealing
Digital coupons give you the chance to add a pop of color to an otherwise plain email. Include your logo, a photo relating to the product or service, and bold, bright colors and fonts.
Divide to Conquer
Break customers down into smaller lists such as past purchases, buying habits, or type of vehicle. Utilize an email service provider to organize these lists or simply use a spreadsheet for smaller-scale segmentation.
Personalize Names
Appear as if you wrote each email just for each recipient. Add in their name through the use of an email service provider.
Put a Face to Your Shop
Rather than sending emails from noreply@business.com, write from a specific person at your shop. Include their name and even a photo to connect with subscribers on a personal level.
Break Out the Bullet Points
Lists are a simple way to break down a lot of information into content that is easy to absorb. Write short fragments that convey the key points and keep punctuation consistent.
Add White Space
Few things make people glaze over faster than a wall of text. Organize your content into bite-sized chunks by pressing the enter key every few lines.
Use Basic Fonts
Stick to 1-2 fonts and promise us you'll never use comic sans-ever. Sans Serif fonts, like Arial and Tahoma, are best for reading a screen.
Count Your Coupons
Keep a record of each email coupon used in your shop and review the results. Use more of what works and less of what doesn't.
Check If It Was Opened
The open rate is how many people on your subscriber list actually opened a particular email. Good open rates are a good indicator of strong subject lines. But fret not if your stats seem low. The average open rate hovers between 20-40 percent.
Look If They Liked Your Links
View the click-through rate (provided by an email service provider) to see if your content was compelling. Most click-through rates are in the single digit percentages, so don't be discouraged by a low rate.