What’s Actually Read in an Email?

By guest blogger, Wendy Bryant.

Here’s the final post on e-mail marketing tips. Just to summarize I’ve listed all the tips. Read my prior posts for more detail. Let’s review all the components of what makes a valuable e-mail message.

1. Subject Line – You’ve got about 15-30 seconds to grab your recipient’s attention and this is where it happens. 60% of recipients delete an e-mail based on the subject line.
2. The first sentence – You need an opening sentence that identifies who you are.
3. Stay on Point – This is so important and probably sounds obvious but I’ve received many e-mails that force too many points.
4. One message – Stay on point and stick to one message.
5. Provide Value – Provide useful information. Your e-mail recipients deserve value for their undivided attention. Maybe it’s a discount or offer.
6. The Benefit – Your e-mail may be telling your reader about your offer but that’s not enough. You do need to explain how this benefits them. A travel site might say this….”Try our complimentary fare-tracking service so that you can be informed weekly of unpublished, hard to find bargain fares to New York–without having to search the entire web.”
7. Call to Action – Next to the subject line this is absolutely important. A lot of marketers spend an enormous amount of time crafting their e-mail and forget the call to action. A call to action can be to sign up to your newsletter, click to visit the website or buy your product. The call to action is whatever you want to the reader to do after reading through your e-mail.  A call to action should always be part of all your communications efforts, whether it’s your website, sales materials or a news-letter. You have to tell the reader to take action.

Remember e-mail marketing is just one element of how you are communicating with your customers and prospects. Focus on the mind of your audience and write the way you speak. People respond to personal messages. After a few e-mails you’ll start to see what works with your readers. If you continue to refine your message, you will see results.