The argument has already been made about the popularity of email marketing. By the year 2020, email will be used by 3 billion people. The return on investment can be incredible as well. Every $1 spent returns an average of $38. So, the question is not whether it is popular or effective, but what to do when your campaigns are not. Something has to be wrong with your messaging.
There are many ways to tweak your current email campaigns for success. Here are some critical points to remember about content:
The Key Content
No one reads a wall of text these days. People want interactive content that is engaging. It’s quicker, educational, provides value, and is more efficient. There are a variety of different types of creative and collaborative content you can include in a marketing email, including:
- Quizzes
- Polls
- Surveys
- Calculators
- Interactive eBooks
Additionally, videos always grab attention. Consumers have little time, and this is one way to quickly and efficiently convey your brand message. In fact, adding a video to an email has shown to increase the open-rate by as much as 19% and the click-through-rate (CTR) by as much as 50%. Combining video and email marketing is always a home run.
Make sure if you do choose to use video, you are embedding it correctly. The only way this method can go wrong is if a lead’s firewall blocks your video. Then the message is completely lost. To play it safe, you can provide a picture with a play button that links to your video. People will naturally be inclined to click a “play” button, which will also have a positive effect on your CTRs.
Real-time Messaging
Localization makes for highly relevant content. The emails that tend to get the most attention are the ones that contain specific messages. These can be based on a multitude of variables like:
- Geolocation
- Weather (rain or shine can yield different offers)
- Special events
- Local news
- Etc…
Whatever you can think of that might be relative to a niche market will vastly increase your CTRs and conversions. Real-time conversations are not only highly interactive, they show a sense of authenticity that builds brand trust.
Taking Action
The best way to engage an audience in a marketing email is by allowing them to take action within the body of the email. A fairly new type of technology, it offers a convenience that creates an opportunity like nothing else. If a consumer can shop right within the email itself, they are much more apt to make the purchase. It is friction free as they are never redirected to a second platform.
Menus in an email also enable a potential lead to easily navigate through pages of your brand material without leaving their inbox. This makes it look less like an email and more like a user-friendly application. A menu draws the reader in, which increases click-through-rates and leads to a higher degree of conversion.
Carousel sliders with high-resolution images and brand messaging also draw the attention of the consumer. Accordion, hamburger menus, and any other means of organizing your media is not only interactive, it displays a lot of content in a little space. This type of email begs for users to read through, clicking one link after another.
Another creative concept is scratch-offs. It’s a means of using gamification to amuse people. Have consumers scratch off an item for a discount in the body of the email. Who could resist a two-second game that promises a reward?
Ultimately, it’s about recognizing when your email marketing is falling short and getting creative. Don’t undermine the intelligence or availability of your audience. Give them something refreshing, interesting, and efficient and you’re sure to see a breakthrough in your click-through-rates.
