Let’s face it, email inboxes are cluttered, messy places. So how, exactly, do you write an email that stands out? An email that not only holds its own amongst the bank statements and credit card bills, but consistently sees eyes and action?

With more than 50% of mobile users accessing email from their phones, keeping it short and snappy is the first step to email success. Sure, your email needs to make more than a fleeting impression, but if the credit card statements are piling up and your customer’s to-do list mirrors their inbox, then you have all the more reason to keep it short and simple. So put yourself in their shoes and make your marketing message worth a second or even a third look. With any luck, you’ll become a pressing task, rather than a trashed impression.

Email Marketing: Keeping it Relevant

So yes, keep it short, snappy and relevant! To paraphrase Bambi’s mother, “If you don’t have something important to say, don’t say anything at all.” Honestly, though, if you don’t have something to say that your stakeholders will find useful or interesting, then you’re not thinking about your business in the right way. Take the time to poll your clients, employees, and prospects. Figure out what drives your stakeholders, decide what moves them, dream about what inspires them. And write about it.

From Whom and Why: Subjects that Matter

Once you have your hot topic, it’s time to decide who the sender of this masterpiece is. Take a look at your distribution list and determine if your clients know you, your brand, or your business best. The key is recognition and identification here, you want people to feel compelled to open this message. Next, perfect your subject line. For some, the subject line is as far as your email will go, sorry. So use these 50 (or fewer!) characters wisely by frontloading your subject line with the important stuff. Avoid spam filtering exclamation marks and capital letters.

Brevity Counts: Email Content for Skimmers

Brimming with brilliance though you may be, the next trick to a successful email is to keep keeping it short. Yes, that’s right. Brevity is the name of the 2016 email game. The first sentence is critical, as many phone display the first few words of your message. It’s your chance to be clever and to hook your readers into your email’s content.

Call to Action: Convert Interest Into Doing

Be specific. Keep your email’s goal in mind and use direct your readers to a specific, custom landing page. This tailored approach will engage your audience further and take them one step closer to your desired result.

Divide and Conquer: The Methodology of Email Marketing

Sending a great email isn’t necessarily a science, but it pays to have a hypothesis and to experiment. Don’t be afraid to split your distribution list and send the same message with different subject lines or tweak your calls to action. Target your email messages and analyze what works best for your brand and your buyers. While you’re at it, consider your timing. Perhaps 9:00 am on a Monday isn’t the best time to blast your list. Maybe your clients are more interested in adding you to their action items on a Sunday afternoon. Do some testing and analyze your email open rates to find the sweet spot.  Write, edit, and repeat as necessary!

Feel need for an email marketing expert? We can do it.  Horton Group can help, call us at 615.292.8642.

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