How to send b2b emails that people actually give a sh*t about (5 things to ensure >70% open rate)

Let’s be honest here, our inboxes are regularly filled with newsletters and in the spirit of this month, Black Friday discount codes. But, you know that email marketing is an essential tactic. You haven’t got to grips with it for your business yet, you’ve been?thinking about it for a long time.?

You might even have some emails on an old Mailchimp database.?

But the blocker you always face —?what would I even say that my audience would care about??

Time-pressed teams without a clear strategy find setting up even a simple monthly email overwhelming. I recently spoke to a prospect who implemented an email system 9 months ago and was only seeking support on the first campaign.?

Many will say ‘email is dead’, ‘inboxes are full’ etc — and the reality is, that’s a lie. There are many benefits for b2b organisations, and the stats back it up:?

• Direct access to your clients and prospects?—?77%?of B2B buyers say they prefer to be contacted by email than any other channel.
• Ability to segment & personalise messaging?—?Personalised emails are opened?82%?more than generic bulk-send emails.
• Build brand awareness, educate, promote and nurture?—?that?95%?who are ‘out-market’ and aren't ready to buy yet.?

Whilst working with Your Majesty, I was responsible for the bi-weekly email ‘10 Things’. A collection of interesting, inspiring and educational links from around the internet, curated by the team.?

We always got great feedback about the email, online and in-person, with an average 70% open rate, a 10% click rate and it even produced leads.?

Here are 5 things I did to help maintain its quality and success:?

• Consistency?— the email went out, every other Friday without fail.
• Ongoing Database Management?— only sending to ‘engaged’ readers (those who have opened an email in the last 3 months), sending a re-engagement campaign every 6 months and keeping the data clean to avoid poor deliverability.?
• Welcome Flow?— after signing up, welcome readers and remind them what to expect.
• Unique Sources?— thanks to the cross-team input, we offered value for our busy audience, demonstrated our expertise and offered unique insights.?
• Human Tone?— speaking to our audience like the humans they are, essential in all modern communications.?

The key is ensuring you’re sharing value with your audience. For Your Majesty, 10 Things gives readers a curated list of interesting news and insights that cut through all the online clutter.?

As?David Baker?said in an article on this exact topic (which I encourage you to read too)?“The idea is that you should be able to write things that make the reader feel like you have a camera planted in their office”.?

But where to start? Here are three questions to help you get started in defining an email strategy:

• What?pain points does your audience face?that you can address with insights, advice, or resources? Do you have a recent client story to demonstrate this??
• What?action do you want a reader to take?after reading your email??
• What does?success look like??Choose metrics: open rate, click-through rate, leads, replies, and sales.?

Quickly get started with?Substack, Beehiiv or Kit?(which is what I’ve been using). Each platform helps you grow your audience and share your posts in a formatted archive for people to look back at.?

They’re all super simple to use,?so what are you waiting for??

If you're seeing the online version of this article and fancy seeing it directly in your inbox, then sign up for my emails???. Receive six thought-provoking questions that will help you get clearer on a disruptive point of view to boost your personal brand and grow revenue.?Find out more here.