Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to communicate with your audience, build trust, and generate sales. But how do you make sure your email content is valuable and relevant to your subscribers? How do you avoid spamming them with boring or irrelevant messages? In this article, we'll share some tips on how to create email content that your audience will love and appreciate.
The first step to creating valuable email content is to know who you are writing for. You need to understand your audience's needs, preferences, pain points, and goals. You can use tools like surveys, polls, quizzes, or analytics to gather insights about your subscribers. You can also segment your email list based on different criteria, such as demographics, behavior, interests, or purchase history. By knowing your audience, you can tailor your email content to match their expectations and solve their problems.
Personalization. A buzzword, but not easy to do. This will include a few things. 1. Customer segmentation learning - this will define whether or not you are targeting the right audience (new, loyal, dormant, etc) 2. Customer behavior insight - this will define whether or not you are sending it with good timing (seasonal, based on RFM, etc) 3. Content and design creation - this will define whether or not you are giving good content (some clicky subject, a killer CTA, etc) So be thoughtful before clicking that "send campaign" button.
In my experience, segmentation isn't just helpful it's crucial. Creating content for specific audience segments can lead to a significant increase in engagement. → Use behaviour-based segmentation to send targeted emails. For example, sending a special offer to those who frequently browse a particular product category can be highly effective. → Remember, data is king. Regularly update your understanding of your audience's changing preferences and behaviors. This dynamic approach keeps your content relevant and engaging. → Also, pay attention to the tone and language. It should resonate with your audience's profile. This alignment creates a more personal and relatable experience.
Send to fewer (not more!) people. When you send to a smaller, targeted, and segmented group, you will be forced to be more cogent and THAT is where you earn better outcomes. Think of it this way, you wouldn't go to a party and starting talking about your wares to everyone. You'd probably make your way to a smaller group of people, listen to what they're saying, tailor what you're going to say, and then try to add VALUE to the conversation. Digital media/email is no different. Whatsmore, most smart companies are trying to wedge their message into consumers' inboxes so you're competing w/1) noise 2) frustration 3) fatigue. So, be kind to your recepients and create good content. Evaluate click throughs, time on page, action on page. Optimize.
Nowadays, knowing your audience isn't enough to create valuable e-mail content for them. You might know what they need to know, but what matters is what they need to know NOW. It isn't about what keeps them awake at night.. it is about what kept them awake LAST night.
The second step to creating valuable email content is to provide value and benefits to your subscribers. You need to answer the question: what's in it for them? Why should they open, read, and act on your email? You can provide value and benefits by offering useful information, tips, advice, resources, or solutions that can help your audience achieve their goals or overcome their challenges. You can also provide value and benefits by creating a sense of urgency, scarcity, or exclusivity that can motivate your audience to take action.
From my experience, content that educates or solves a problem tends to have higher engagement rates. Think of 'how-to' guides or 'tips and tricks' in your area of expertise. → Exclusive offers or early access to products can create a sense of belonging and urgency. People love feeling like they're part of a special group. → Don't forget to clearly articulate the benefit in the subject line. This can be the difference between an open and a skip. → Testimonials or case studies can also be powerful. They show real-life applications and benefits of your products or services, adding credibility. Lastly, keep it concise. Offer value upfront without requiring too much reading. Time is a precious commodity for your audience.
The third step to creating valuable email content is to write engaging and clear copy that captures your audience's attention and interest. You need to use a catchy subject line, a compelling preheader, and a strong opening that hooks your readers and makes them want to read more. You also need to use clear and concise language, short sentences and paragraphs, and bullet points or subheadings to make your email easy to read and understand. You also need to use a friendly and conversational tone that reflects your brand personality and builds rapport with your audience.
In my work, I've found that the subject line is your first and sometimes only chance to grab attention, but keep it honest. No one likes clickbait. → Start with a compelling story or a surprising fact. → Use bullet points and subheadings to break up text. → A conversational tone works wonders. → And always, always have a clear call-to-action. What do you want the reader to do next? Make it easy and obvious.
Craft compelling subject lines and body content that grabs attention, maintains interest, and communicates your message clearly. Use concise language, avoid jargon, and focus on benefits rather than features.
The fourth step to creating valuable email content is to include a clear call to action that tells your audience what you want them to do next. You need to use action verbs, specific instructions, and visible buttons or links to guide your readers to the desired outcome. You also need to align your call to action with the goal of your email and the value proposition of your offer. You also need to test different variations of your call to action to see what works best for your audience.
Don't get call to action confused with linking them outside the email. When your subscribers are reading your email, they're not looking for ways to jump onto their browser or to whatever link you are sharing. For example: A call to action could be the next steps they would need to take to see success for the problem you just solved for them in the email.
In my experience, the CTA should be as specific as possible. Instead of "click here", use "get your free ebook now" or "join the webinar today". → Ensure your CTA is prominently placed and easy to find. Often, placing it above the fold ensures higher visibility. → Use contrasting colors for your CTA button to make it stand out from the rest of the email content. → Align the CTA with the value proposition. If your email is about a discount offer, the CTA should lead directly to the discounted items, not just the homepage → Remember, one clear CTA per email. Too many can overwhelm the reader and dilute the action you want them to take.
Prompt your subscribers to take action by including a specific and relevant call to action (CTA). Whether it's to click a link, make a purchase, download a resource, or engage with your content, make sure the CTA is prominent and compelling.
The fifth step to creating valuable email content is to optimize your email design to make it appealing and accessible to your audience. You need to use a responsive and mobile-friendly design that adapts to different screen sizes and devices. You also need to use a simple and clean layout, attractive and relevant images, and consistent and readable fonts and colors that enhance your email content and brand identity. You also need to use white space, contrast, and alignment to create visual hierarchy and balance in your email design.
Furthermore, adding interactive elements like polls or surveys in your emails can generate more value for both the sender and receiver. It invites subscribers to actively participate in shaping the content they receive while providing businesses with valuable feedback and insights into user preferences or opinions. This interaction creates a sense of ownership among subscribers and helps them feel heard and valued by the brand.
The best content in the world still goes unnoticed or unread if there is not some sort of text-based or visual hook that stands out and encourages users to want a little more. Witty copy, simple white space, and fresh, unexpected creative elements are great places to start.
The sixth and final step to creating valuable email content is to test and measure your email performance to see how your audience responds to your email content and how you can improve it. You need to use tools like A/B testing, split testing, or multivariate testing to experiment with different elements of your email content, such as subject lines, copy, images, or calls to action. You also need to use metrics like open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, or unsubscribe rates to evaluate the effectiveness of your email content and identify areas of improvement.
Don't just test once and stop. Email marketing is constantly evolving, so make testing a regular part of your routine. This ensures your emails stay relevant and effective. Key Metrics: Open rate: How many people are opening your emails? This is often influenced by your subject line. Click-through rate (CTR): How many people are clicking on links within your email? This tells you how engaging your content is. Conversion rate: How many people are taking the desired action (e.g. making a purchase, signing up)? This is the ultimate measure of success. Unsubscribe rate: How many people are opting out of your emails? A high unsubscribe rate may signal a problem with your content or frequency.
My single piece of advice would be- BE AUTHENTIC. You could be using a free tier Mailchimp with basic design, but if your message is clear and authentic, you still have a great chance of getting your message across to your customer.
Beyond the basic tips, consider personalization, segmentation, and automation to further enhance the relevance and effectiveness of your email content. Personalized subject lines and content tailored to specific segments of your audience can significantly improve engagement and conversion rates. Additionally, automate processes like welcome emails, follow-ups, and drip campaigns to streamline your email marketing efforts and nurture leads effectively.
KISS - keep it simple, stupid - that sounds not very nice at first glance, but if y<ou come up with a looooong e-mail and a lot of different topics, the reders will tend to loose interest and be distracted a few seconds after beeing catched by the subject line. If possible stick to one topic per e-mail and reduce it to as less lines as you need to make the update or input clear. Just think of your own habit when going throw a bunch of e-mails, which is your favorite to reply and which is the one you rember the most?