If you are a business trying to advertise to individuals via email, it’s important to use a subject line that stands out. Without this, potential clients or customers are more likely to delete the message before even opening the email.
We’ve compiled a few handy tips to help you get your emails opened and your customers converting.
To start, don’t beat around the bush – you only have a few words in which to get someone’s attention, so don’t make it too complex or long. Keep it simple, keep it catchy and keep it to the point. If you don’t generate interest within a few words the recipient will not engage with your email.
Avoid capitalizing text or some words in the subject line – when was the last time you received an email message where the “Caps Lock” key was over used to spell out some, if not the entire subject line? You probably didn’t open the message unless you knew who the sender was. It can be seen as quite aggressive and more importantly, ISPs will often mark this as spam which drastically reduces your chances of the message being delivered at all.
Get creative where you can and generate topical subject lines based around current news stories or events and if possible, personalise your subject lines as this will directly appeal to your customer base. In our experience, adopting both of these approaches can really improve response rates from your email marketing campaigns.
Think about what you would open – is the title something that would interest you if you received in your inbox? Your subject line should directly appeal to your target audience and provide them with a reason to engage with your email marketing message. It’s important to ensure your message stands out within the recipients cluttered inbox.
Not sure on what might work best? Then test your ideas! We always recommend our clients to split test various subject lines to see which perform better. Just ensure you track and measure any results as well as validating these before rolling out the most effective subject line to the bulk of your list.
For more advice on your email strategy why not get in touch with Red Star Digital and see how we can help.
Read More
Although, some online marketers consider email campaigns to be a bit obsolete, it is still an effective form of marketing when done correctly. To help ensure more productivity with running a successful email campaign, here are our five top tips;
1) Creating a buzz with your subject line
This is still proven to be a very powerful asset when it comes to getting your message across before an email is even opened. This is the bark that makes people listen to you before you make your initial bite. When you have a subject line that attracts attention within the first few words, there’s a greater chance that your potential customers will click on it and read the whole email.
2) Create more text based hyperlinks within your email
Images are nice, but they can be a bit distracting when you are trying to get your message across. Also, take into account the some of your readers might have a slower internet connection so images will take ages to load. Within your body of text in the email you should place a number of text based call to actions, linking to whatever product or service you are trying to promote. ‘Click here’ is a popular text based link that gives your reader a prompt to find out more, get in touch or purchase.
3) Proof read your emails
If it’s one thing that ticks off a lot of people, it’s an email marred with errors. How can you be a great marketer or someone with writing authority if your emails are poorly written with spelling errors or poor grammar? Not only should you check for the spelling, grammar errors, but the links built into your emails. Make sure that all your links work, you email renders correctly and you have no glaring mistakes. Just imagine someone that actually wants to buy your product, but the link is dead or re-routed to somewhere else. That’s potential profit lost not only in the short term but you could lose your credibility because they may look at it as spam.
4) Don’t give everything away in just one email
If you have different products or different services, then spread them out. Use a teaser email that helps you to make your potential customer more aware of a product or two, create some interest and then go in for a more in depth email explaining more. This way you can compare which items have better clickthrough rates, sales, or leads so you can put more of a priority on which products to promote.
5) Don’t let your audience think you are a spammer
It’s better to spread out your emails depending on the market. Instead of sending out an email every single day, maybe spread it out for twice a week. This way you’ll build up the need for your product. Too many emails being sent to the same list will only result in people marking you as spam. Think carefully about what your message says and how often you need to send it.
For more help and advice on your email marketing campaigns, speak to Red Star Digital who specialise in email marketing. To find out more about our services click here.
Read More
Integrating your social media campaigns and email marketing campaigns can not only provide an additional avenue for data collection, but when managed correctly can also help with creating and keeping customers. With more than 750 million active users of facebook, over 101 million LinkedIn users and over 100 million twitter users, social media is now at the forefront of digital marketing. It is now hugely important for organisations to embrace social media and to integrate it with their other marketing channels. Much like integrating your offline and online marketing, integrating social and email can have it’s difficulties, Red Star Digital have compiled some top tips to help you get things started;
Give Social Media Some Visibility In Your Emails
Adding in buttons such as ‘share this’ or ‘like this’ give your readers the opportunity to promote your organization to their friends, family and followers. Giving them clear calls to action will help them to spread the word about you and your brand, highlighting key products or services.
Use Social Media To Grow Your Lists
There are some great examples of social media campaigns that have been used to grow email databases. For example a recent campaign from Fox’s Biscuits saw Vinnie the Panda create a facebook page which captured email data. To be in with a chance of winning some free biscuits you had to first ‘like’ the page, then enter your details. Creating a personality with the emails and timely sends with relevant offers on were then mailed to this data. The campaign was launched to help promote their latest biscuit releases. Fox’s Biscuits now have data for biscuit lovers all generated through their social media.
Embrace The Latest Methods and Tools
It’s not just facebook anymore when it comes to social media, there are a wide selection of social media tools that should be considered when launching your campaigns. For example QR codes are now widely used in digital marketing direct traffic to specific landing pages or websites. As an example a well known fashion brand recently used a QR code in one of their email newsletters. Under the QR code it said ‘scan to receive an exclusive discount’, once scanned, the QR code directed the reader to their facebook page, where they were able to collect discounts and special offers. Keeping on top of the latest technology or social platforms will mean you can proactively market your goods in new and unique ways, creating interest.
Research Your Customers Then Use The Data
Social Media is a great avenue for market research. Asking questions of your fans and asking for comments you can quickly get a snapshot of your potential customer base. Do your customers like your products, are there services they would like to see, how do they find your organisation and many more insightful questions can be asked. Once you have those replies, you can act on them. For example if potential customers are wanting the latest mobile phone handset, you can use your social media to; find out which one, encourage them to sign up for notifications and finally email those people when you have it in stock. Using your social media channels as a research tool not only gives you invaluable data, but can also lead to conversations, which can lead to conversions.
To find out more about integrating your social media and email marketing and to discuss our services further, please get in touch.
Read More
