There are four primary elements to an email marketing item: the offer; the list; the creative elements; and tools – the application you use to broadcast.
The offer: put yourself in the reader’s shoes. What’s in it for them? Make sure you add value and share your expertise. Be clear about what action you want them to take. The tone is vital: adding value is paramount and marketing should be subliminal.
Your list: some say marketing is your database. Ensure you have had permission to email them and work at cleaning and segmenting your list.
The creative: copy, design, layout, pre-header, preview pane, images, call-to-action. There is a basic framework which works and takes into account the limitation of the lack of common standards and the receiver’s email application.
Tools: choose your technology platform carefully and decide what features you need to achieve your communications objectives.
Objectives are critical. You need to communicate with customers and prospects but the idea of a discrete audience has been blurred by social media and networking. Those who can buy your product or service are always important but there are now many influencers linked by a nexus of online communities.
Think about the purpose of an email and always have a call-to-action: make it obvious what you want a satisfied reader to do and make it easy for them with a single click.
Decide on what metrics you will use to define ‘success’. Landing pages on a website or articles on a blog help you measure beyond the raw email statistics of opens and clickthroughs. According to MarketingSherpa, optimising landing pages has the highest impact on the overall success of your campaign.
If you are testing an offer or a new product, make it clear how your audience will express their preferences and test the survey material internally to ensure that results will help you make decisions.
Finally, a hint for your subject line: tell, don’t sell!
