We all have a love-hate relationship with email. On the one hand, it helps us stay connected in our virtual world. But on the other hand, it is also the thing that beeps during phone calls, distracts us from completing tasks, and keeps us up well past bedtime.
No matter how you feel about it, email is part of the business landscape and is an excellent way to stay engaged with your audience, convert leads, and develop client touchpoints. Think about all of the emails you receive on a given day. Of the ones that you have a choice to open (business emails aside), what makes you click, open, and read all the way through?
Today, we are going to show you a few tips and tricks to take your email copy to the next level.
Write a snappy subject line.
As with nearly every new business venture, the first step is to get your foot in the door. The right email subject line can help you do that. When your email pops up in someone’s inbox, you want them to know what the email is about, set expectations instantly, and ultimately provide clues as to the action you want them to take.
Say you are writing a nurture sequence for a prospective client. You’ve provided them with some killer content, and after following up, you want them to book a call. If your email subject line is “thank you,” your prospect might think they already know everything that’s in the email and delete it.
But if your subject line said, “here’s how to become the savvy investor you know you are,” that will get people’s attention and hopefully onto your website to book a call. The subject line sets the tone for the rest of the email, so be sure to spend time getting it right. Some other ideas for catchy subject lines are,
- Ask a question
- Make it personal
- Include a number/stat
- Don’t be afraid of a call to action.
Double down on value
In real estate, location is the most important thing, in digital marketing, it’s value. Your clients have limited time in a day and are likely receiving numerous emails from work, subscriptions, and other companies. What makes your message valuable to the reader? Why are you sending them this information? How will your audience benefit from the content?
Whether you are writing to update them on new policies and procedures, introducing a new colleague, or just providing a company update, make the information as intentional and valuable as possible.
How can you do that? Below are the 4 must-haves for every email you send.
- Use language your reader understands. You don’t need to gasconade your ability to use fancy language (fun right?), just talk to your audience like people. The last thing you want is for them to have to look up words in the dictionary only to decipher the message of your email, because trust us, they won’t. If they can’t understand your message, they will likely delete the email, and it might deter them from opening others in the future. Remember, clarity is critical.
- Keep it short and sweet. When was the last time you joyfully spent 10 minutes reading one email? Probably never. Arduous email copy can drag your quality down and ultimately confuse your reader. People usually skim long emails anyway, which could lead to a miscommunication or error down the road. Our advice? Stick with the facts and leave the rambling message behind.
- Clean it up. There is a place for correct grammar, and email is one of them. You want your emails to be clean and free of grammatical errors. This helps your audience breeze through your message with ease and efficiency.
- Strike the right tone. This is where you can add some personality to your message. Are you a “hey friends,” sort of person? Do you enjoy engaging the reader like a friend, or do you prefer a more professional tone? You can customize your message to your personality and use greetings, colloquialisms, and other devices to set the tone for the piece.
Personalize your content
Now we’re not talking about writing a new email for each person on your list that wouldn’t be sustainable. We are talking about creating unique content for each email list you engage with. You wouldn’t want to same content funneled to your clients and prospects, right? You need to create a separate list and unique content targeted for each of these groups.
As you continue to broaden your reach, you can even create separate email lists within your client base. Say your two primary client types are retirees and business owners. Sometimes these groups will overlap, but other times they can benefit from different content tailored to their specific needs at any given time.
Take the CARES Act, for example. While all of your clients needed to know the basics, you could customize each email with pertinent information for each type of client. Your retirement clients, for example, would need to know about changes to like RMDs, IRAs, and 401k loans. In contrast, your business owner clients may want to know more about the PPP loans and other specific forms of grants and aid available to them.
Another simple way to personalize your email copy is to use the first name of the contact in your address book. This way, the email would read “Dear Darla,” as opposed to only “Hi.”
Stick with a schedule
Your emails, just like every other part of your marketing plan need to have a purpose and intentional schedule. Do you email your lists monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly? Do you have a specific day you send them out, like the first and last Friday of the month? Applying consistency to your email marketing plan will help you actively engage your following.
Our team loves helping clients better connect with their audience. After all, that’s what digital marketing is all about. Interested in learning more about how we can help you improve your client communication? Set up a time to talk with us today.
