20 April 2022
Here at Substance/Radiance, we're not gatekeepers—in fact, we love sharing our knowledge and expertise with others. For example, did you know that email is still a relevant channel and one of your most effective allies for reaching customers? It's true! When used intelligently, email has incredible potential. Here are some crucial factors to consider when sending a marketing email.
The issue
Email hasn't always had such a positive reputation, especially when you consider the prevalence (and persistence) of promotional emails arriving in your inbox. But we've got good news for you: With a few of the right tools in place, you'll increase the likelihood of your emails reaching their desired destination. Read on for some of the best email practices.
Create a universal template
To facilitate workflow and increase efficiency, we recommend creating a universal template that houses the different types of content you'll be sending to your database. Depending on what tool you use, the strategies for doing this won’t all be the same, but the overall idea will be. Build a versatile structure that you can quickly fill in with your desired content. It's a time and money-saving idea to have a working document you can customize for different contexts, and having a layout that is true to your brand identity will resonate with subscribers. Best of all, having everything you need ready to go will reduce the time and resources needed for every email you send.
Don't forget mobile
Mobile is a must. Most subscribers check their emails on their smartphones, so make sure your email's design is responsive and mobile-friendly to meet your consumers where they are.
Test, test, and test again
Getting it right the first time is virtually impossible. Our best advice for landing on a universal template that works for you is to try something out, test it, adjust it based on performance, then test again. A/B testing can be helpful here by isolating one variable at a time and testing its performance. Multiple versions of templates can also be tested simultaneously. Experiment with your database and see what works and scrap what doesn't.
Now, how to fill in these templates?
The golden rule is short and sweet. The reason is that your readers' attention span is limited—you have at most 13 seconds to capture their attention. That is not nearly enough time to get into all the benefits of your product. With email marketing, people tend to skim the text quickly. You have about 50 words—about the size of this paragraph—to strike a chord.
You need to think about email as a driver to lead your users somewhere else. Entice them with strong copywriting in the email—show them how exciting something is, and tease them with just enough info to want them to see more. Also, ensure your email looks visually appealing, too—that's just smarter marketing!
The importance of content hierarchy
Content placement is everything. What you place at the top of your email usually decides whether your user will keep reading or not. To hook your readers, you want to put your most unique selling points nearer to the top of your newsletter. Keep in mind that an email has only one objective and that the same logic applies to calls to action (CTA). Your most appealing and clickable buttons should be positioned at the top.
Your turn
Following these best practices and being proactive with your email campaigns is the most effective way to drive conversion. Once you've implemented and optimized your email, maintaining a system that works is cost-effective and delivers a solid ROI. Don't overlook email—instead, use it to your advantage to recognize its true power.
