[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Despite the explosion in new channels in recent years, email marketing remains today just as important, effective and essential to the success of your business as it ever was, and it does so across all metrics:<\/span><\/p>\n This all seems like good news, right? Well yes, but together with these positive factors there are a couple of significant warnings to heed:<\/span><\/p>\n And despite <\/span>ALL<\/b> of us knowing <\/span>so<\/span><\/i> much better:<\/span><\/p>\n The other elephant in the room that we are well aware of, but often choose to neglect, despite our own experience, is that the inboxes of our customers and prospects are full to overflowing with marketing<\/a> messages, tantalising subject lines and dozens of mails clamouring for their attention.<\/span><\/p>\n What strategies can you employ to get your message heard above all<\/a> the other hubbub in the marketplace? How do you become the one voice that is heard in the crowd?\u00a0<\/span> In this article we\u2019ve pulled together a selection of tried and tested techniques used by the very best marketers that when employed correctly can ensure that <\/a><\/span>yours<\/span><\/i><\/a> is the message that is opened and responded to<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/marketingplatform.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/email-4044165_1280.jpg” alt=”A mailbox receiving envelopes that resemble the process of email marketing. Below it office objects are placed.” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ width=”77%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n On very first viewing you\u2019ve got roughly two or three seconds before your email is consigned to the trash can, or worse, the junk folder of doom. You need to make that fleeting moment of initial engagement count. Yours needs to be the mail that gets opened.<\/span><\/p>\n How?<\/span><\/p>\n Advice on this can make it out to be some kind of dark art, the secrets of which are known to only a select few initiates. However, there are some very simple principles to follow that will increase your opening rates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bear in mind that all of these do not need to be present in every subject line, but all are worthy of consideration when you are crafting your next message. Which of them are appropriate to use will always depend upon what your product or message is, and what response you are looking to get from your campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Relevance, relevance, relevance<\/strong><\/p>\n Give some thought to what is happening currently, both in general terms and with regard to the specifics of the individual.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What season is it? Is this vacation time<\/a>? Christmas? Is the recipient or a family member having a big birthday? Have they earned some kind of reward with you? Are you launching a product that their behaviour shows is of genuine interest for them? Are you communicating<\/a> about something of personal relevance to the recipient?<\/span><\/p>\n Opening with a line that reflects the current reality will always be more appealing than something more generic.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n What\u2019s in it for me?<\/strong><\/p>\n Appealing to basic human instincts is always a winner. Consider letting the recipient know what they are going to get as result of reading your mail. How are they going to benefit from opening it?<\/span><\/p>\n This will of course depend upon your business or product, but think, does your product offer a solution to a thorny issue for your recipient? It does? Let them know in the subject line.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The \u201cMust Have\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n A classic but highly effective technique. Whether we\u2019re prepared to admit it to ourselves or not, within our own personal geek-spaces we are all partial to the \u201clatest thing\u201d, the \u201cperfect complement\u201d to something you already own, or the \u201cideal upgrade\u201d to your favourite vice. Lines such as \u201cThis Season\u2019s Must Have\u2026\u201d or, \u201cDon\u2019t Be the LAST to find out about\u2026\u201d can grab the attention of the right audience at the right time.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Scarcity and urgency\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the oldest tricks in the book, this technique needs to be used with care. However, creating a sense of urgency around a subject is still highly effective when prompting recipients to action, especially when combined with the areas of relevance, benefit and desirability we touch on above.<\/span><\/p>\n Recipients will be moved to action by subject lines that stress scarcity or urgency \u2013 \u201c24 hours only\u201d, \u201cDon\u2019t miss out on\u2026\u201d, and \u201cLast Chance to\u2026\u201d \u2013 but be careful not to overuse this method – make it genuine and use it only when relevant and necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Puns are fun! Oh noooo\u2026 you didn\u2019t just go there\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Oh yeah\u2026 we did. Humour is a brilliant tool for grabbing attention and creating engagement<\/a>. As sophisticated as we would like to believe we are, people are still absolute suckers for a good pun. Look at your business, product or promotion, is there a good pun to be had from it? If so, get creative and dare to bring a smile to your recipients faces!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hey! – Short is sweet<\/strong><\/p>\n Another style of address that seems a little counter intuitive, but which was shown to be extraordinarily effective is the one-word technique. Barack Obama saw unprecedented levels of engagement with simple subject lines such as \u201cHey\u201d and \u201cWow\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Of course we cannot ignore the \u201cwho\u201d factor in this \u2013 it\u2019s Barack Obama we\u2019re talking about \u2013 however, it was a strategy his team deployed from the beginning of his first campaign, right through his Presidency, and was one that saw previously unheard of levels of engagement for a politician that was essentially an unknown quantity in the beginning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The unexpected nature of the one-word subject line can really be an attention-grabber; <\/span>however<\/span><\/i>, we would counsel that you be careful to only use this technique once you have developed a relationship with your recipient. Doing so too early would be counterproductive.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Does size matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, yes. As we discuss above, keeping it short \u2013 the one-word subject line – can, when used appropriately, be outstandingly effective.<\/span><\/p>\n However, intriguingly enough a study of over 900 million emails by <\/span>Adestra<\/span><\/a> shows that there is a \u201cdead zone\u201d in terms of subject line length \u2013 of between 60 to 70 characters \u2013 in which there is no noticeable uplift in either opening or clickthrough rates.<\/span><\/p>\n Instead they found that subject lines of 70 characters and above tested to be the most effective in encouraging readers to click through to the content, whilst 49 characters and below were the most effective with regard to opening rates. Tellingly enough, the study found that subject lines shorter than 10 characters long had an opening rate of over 58%.<\/span><\/p>\n Current wisdom however supports that shorter subject lines, especially under 49 characters, will serve you best if you want to get your recipients to open your mails.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/marketingplatform.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/e-mail-marketing-2745489_1280.jpg” alt=”Emails and colorful envelopes flying around smiling people and computer devices illustrating email personalization” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This also sounds counter intuitive at first, but research conducted by the Fox School of Business at Temple University in Philadelphia suggests that personalising an email with a recipient\u2019s name is beginning to have an <\/span>increasingly negative effect on the engagement rates with email campaigns<\/span>. Whilst studies in the past have shown historically that personalised greetings can result in an uplift in engagement, growing concerns about phishing<\/a>, identity theft and other types of credit card fraud are leading to consumers becoming increasingly suspicious of emails with personal greetings.<\/span><\/p>\n To a certain degree it\u2019s a matter of taste, but it is vital to bear in mind that the most essential aspect of any relationship is trust, and that trust is earned. It is not something that is taken as a given merely because an individual has signed up for your newsletter or taken part in a competition you have run. This is only the very <\/span>first<\/span><\/i> step, and one where you have to listen very carefully indeed to the feedback that your recipient is giving you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Being overly familiar too soon will come over as false and can be extremely off-putting for many. Of course, for some it does not matter so much, it is<\/span> a given that there will be a degree of \u201cfakery\u201d in any marketing relationship, and most consumers are prepared for that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, would it not be worth your while making the effort to be the one organisation in a recipient\u2019s inbox that goes that extra mile in becoming a genuinely trusted part of someone\u2019s consumer life?<\/span><\/p>\n If you are wedded to using a recipient\u2019s name from the very first moment, one early elegant step you can take in earning a new subscriber\u2019s trust can come during the sign-up process, simply by asking the recipient how they would like to be addressed. This means that from the outset when you do use this kind of personalisation you are at least doing so in a way that the recipient appreciates. And more than this they will appreciate the chance of letting you know.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A first brick of trust has been laid upon the foundations of your relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n Gameshow-host fake familiarity notwithstanding, personalisation remains a highly effective tool in building trust. What matters here is how you use it.<\/span><\/p>\n Delivering email to a subscriber\u2019s inbox that is individually tailored to them and their needs is a game changer. As we examine in our article <\/span>Creative Segmentation \u2013 going beyond the basics<\/span><\/i><\/a>, this is done by making use of a number of data points about your individual recipients, including browsing habits, purchase history, and demographic and geographic information. Product personalisation using this method has been shown to lead to at least a <\/span>100% increase in click-throughs<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The key to a successful personalisation strategy is making sure it is genuine. If you give your recipient something that is meaningful and genuinely useful to them, they will not only trust you, they will respond positively.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/marketingplatform.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/newsletter-4308826_1280.jpg” alt=”A computer keyboard section around the enter button, but instead of %22Enter%22 it says %22newsletter%22 with an email icon above it.” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ width=”84%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n It\u2019s true, there are many variables to consider with regard to the \u201cwhen\u201d of your email campaign<\/a>. But numerous studies show that in general the following elements will prove to be the most effective strategy to employ with regard to your campaign send outs:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Day – Midweek is best<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a caveat to consider here, in that some studies show that Saturdays and Sundays show high opening and clickthrough rates. However, this is skewed by the fact that the number of emails sent at the weekend is far lower than other times of the week, so whilst opening rates may be higher<\/a>, the actual number of emails opened is much, much lower.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Time \u2013 Consider your target audience<\/strong><\/p>\n You need to exercise some judgement on this, consider your audience, what they are doing and when, because there are a number effective of options from which to choose:<\/span><\/p>\n As with anything to do with your business, understanding the nature of your brand, your product, your content and your audience will ultimately dictate when is the best time for you to send out your campaigns. This will necessarily entail some trial and error, but don\u2019t be afraid to experiment, it may be that the absolutely ideal time for you to get engagement from your audience is between 2000-0000 on a Sunday. But rule of thumb is mid to late morning from Tuesday-Thursday will set your baseline. Start from this point, and then experiment with your strategy from there.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It might be a little hard to believe – or maybe it isn\u2019t – that in this day and age, on average, a human being has an <\/span>attention span of only eight seconds<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>Creating smarter customer journeys <\/span><\/i>study by <\/span>Microsoft<\/span><\/a>, which at 54 pages long is <\/span>well<\/span><\/i> worth the read, demonstrates that our current digital lifestyle makes it incredibly difficult for us to stay focused on any one thing for any significant length of time \u2013 our attention span having shortened from twelve to eight seconds in less than a decade.<\/span><\/p>\n Given that our attention span is now less than that of a goldfish, it is more essential than ever that our communications are engaging, and even immersive, and interactivity is an ideal strategy to deploy in this case.<\/span><\/p>\n Why?<\/span><\/p>\n Engagement drives loyalty, reaction and response, and\u00a0<\/span>93% of interactive content\u00a0<\/span><\/a>is shown to be somewhat or very effective at educating the buyer, almost 25% higher than non-interactive content.<\/span><\/p>\n You want to learn about your visitors, prospects and customers. Interactive campaigns are perfectly placed to facilitate this process, encouraging your audience to engage with and learn about your products and services, ultimately driving the purchasing process.<\/span><\/p>\n Any genuine value that a prospective customer gains from an interaction will mean that they are\u00a0<\/span>more likely to offer up an email address in return<\/span><\/a>. This opens the way for personalised marketing campaigns and a customer journey that ultimately<\/a> results in that essential purchase.<\/span><\/p>\n Interactive content that can be used in your email campaigns could include:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Video\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Remember we\u2019re now less attentive than a goldfish? Mitigate that with video content, after all <\/span>\n
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<\/span><\/p>\n1. The \u201cWhat\u201d Strategy – Subject lines \u2013 getting straight down to business<\/span><\/h3>\n
2. The \u201cWho\u201d Strategy – Personalisation, YES, recipient\u2019s name, NO \u2013 <\/span>really<\/span><\/i>?<\/span><\/h3>\n
3. The \u201cWhen\u201d Strategy \u2013 \u201cIt depends\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n
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4. The \u201cBells & Whistles\u201d Strategy – Interactive Campaigns<\/span><\/h3>\n