Even though I’m a writer, I enjoy looking at stats and numbers. The other day when I was doing some research I came across an interesting stat from the Pew Research Center about email usage.
92% of online adults use email, with 61% using it on an average day.
With a stat like that, it’s no wonder that so many businesses use email as one of their primary marketing channels! So as you can probably guess, since so many businesses are doing it, you really have to step up your game to create an email campaign that will stand out against the plethora of emails that people receive on a daily basis. To create an attention-grabbing email campaign, make sure you have these three elements:
1. A Consistent Message
It’s important to make sure that your email campaign has a common thread that ties all of the emails together. One of these threads being a specific action that you want someone to take after reading the email, whether it’s visiting a new page on your website or buying a new product that you are promoting.
If a single email asks the reader to do too many things, it can be distracting and overwhelming (and they might delete the email before taking any action at all).
2. A Visually Appealing Design
The average person only spends about 8 seconds reading an individual email. Make sure those few seconds really count. Create an email that is easy to scan and ultimately perform the action that is the goal of the email. You can do this by having a design that:
- strikes a balance between text, images and white space
- keep text short, sweet and to the point (tip – people love bulleted lists)
- has hyperlinks in the images
It is crucial that your email design is optimized for use on mobile devices since this is how more than half of all emails are viewed.
3. Automation & Workflows
When you are launching an email campaign, automation and workflows can be your best friend. On a basic level, most platforms provide you with the option to schedule your emails ahead of time. This allows you to map out the campaign, set it up and send the emails with very little hassle.
If you are using a platform like HubSpot, you can take workflows even further. Here is an example of a workflow you can set up:
- Step 1: Send selected contacts an email
- Step 2: If contacts perform the action you want (downloading an offer, clicking a link, etc. )they exit the workflow, if not thet are sent another email
- Step 3: If there are any contacts who still haven’t performed the action they are sent a third, and final email
So, what is the benefit of a workflow like this? It prevents you from spamming the inboxes of potential customers, urging them to take an action they have already taken. If people don’t feel pestered by you, there is a really good chance they will continue to open (and interact with) future emails you send .
As you can see, the keys to a successful email campaign are planning and organization. For some of us, myself included, that means getting a little old school and mapping things out on paper first. The good news is, you don’t have to do it alone. If you need a little help getting started with your email marketing strategy, you can head over to our email marketing page to learn more about our services!
