Think about how many emails you’ve spent unnecessary amounts of time writing—crafting the perfect sentences to convey the right message, rereading and editing, drafting and revisiting until you’re finally satisfied enough to send your final product off into the mysterious inbox of the recipient.
You probably don’t want to know how many of those thoughtfully penned emails got overlooked and buried under emails competing for the same eyes.
Consider the following tips to help your email get the attention it deserves.
Come up with a creative subject line.
It’s common to expect that 90% of what comes into our newly refreshed mailboxes is complete spam or useless information, enough that “No” is often the answer when your friend or colleague asks if you read the email he or she sent you three days ago. Regardless of how important the content of your email may be, it can easily be ignored and thrown into the trash without a second glance.
A subject line that stands out among the dozens of sales emails and company updates your recipient receives is often the deciding factor determining whether your newsletter gets opened.
Although your newsletters may have demonstrated a high open rate with a subject line you’ve used in the past, don’t be convinced that it will work each time. Eyes will get bored and skip over the same subject line they’ve read over and over. So, when crafting your subject line, write something unique each time to keep readers curious. Instead of sticking with “Weekly Update,” every week, create variations like “Can you guess what we have in store this week?”
Share information readers care about
Although you may be convinced that every piece of news about your business needs to be shared, people will easily feel bombarded with information. Once they get overwhelmed, they won’t hesitate to hit the unsubscribe button before giving the next email a chance.
Instead of creating a general newsletter touching on many subjects, decide on which aspect people are most interested in, and stick with it. The consistency of your content will keep current readers loyal and interested in opening more.
Remember to include information that is not purely promotional. People generally care about learning about new things, so provide something educational that relates to your business. Ideas can include how-tos, interesting facts and infographics, and general industry news.
Create a brief call to action
You can assume that your reader’s attention span won’t last longer than a couple minutes, so those eyes won’t want to be strained by an intimidating full block of text. We live in a visual age where we love taking in information in sections, blurbs, and images.
Give your readers a little taste of information with content blocks and bullet points, and lead them to click for more. Be specific, and include a phrase such as “Learn More” or “Click for more info.”
However, don’t get too eager with inserting multiple links and scaring your reader away by polluting their Safari window with 10 different tabs. Choose one or two links you’d like your newsletter to focus on to create a simple reading experience.
By making your email clear and engaging from subject line to sign-off, you’ll draw in readers who would normally gloss over it, ensuring that your carefully crafted content doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
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