Email marketing has been around for so many years and it’s still one of the most powerful and effective ways to move the needle in your business. It allows you to widen your reach and spread your message among the right kind of people. 

But as promising as email marketing might seem, there are quite a few factors that determine whether you are going to nail it or not. Especially, now when customers become savvier day by day and the expectations are as high as ever.

So you can’t really come up with a template, send it out to thousands of people and just call it a day. Obviously, there’s much more to it. So let’s find out how you can step up your email marketing game today.

1. Customer comes first

It’s so painful to see how many companies (or people for that matter) that start their emails talking about themselves. I’m sure you know what I’m referring to. Hey, we are bla-bla company, we do this and that and recently we launched a super cool tool, etc. 

This may sound harsh but it’s true. No one cares about you. One of the first lessons about marketing you are going to learn is that the customer comes first. And there’s nothing wrong with saying who you are in your email but you can spare the details and make it in a less promotional way. 

But most importantly, your first words need to address your customer’s issues or interests. You need to catch their attention with a strong grip and don’t let it go till they read the whole email. 

So whenever you are thinking about how you should go about starting your message, brainstorm only customer-centric ideas. Mention situations they’ve most likely been in or have to deal with on a regular basis.

Something relatable and connected to what your service or tool is going to solve for them. Alternatively, you can ask them a question they care about and gradually lead them to your answer. 

2. Personalization

You know it’s the era of automation. And this buzzword is causing havoc in all marketing-related blogs. Is it a good or bad thing? Honestly, it’s all about how you master this new approach and if you can come up with actionable use cases for your business. 

On one hand, email automation can be a great time saver, on the other hand, it’s so easy to mess it up you might not even try it. Not to mention the factor of personalization that’s becoming a pivotal element in more and more marketing campaigns.  

No matter how many automated emails you want to send, make sure you did your best to add a personal touch to each of them. You might know their names, age, gender, etc. Don’t miss out on this information and craft a killer email for a real person.

3. Loosen it up

A lot of times, when reaching out to a new person, we are afraid of coming across as not professional. So we try to use the right kind of language and be strict in general. Which is quite understandable and does do the trick in some cases. 

But nevertheless, you shouldn’t shy away from making jokes and delivering your message in a less serious way. First of all, your email will stand out among all those serious once. Second of all, if your email is entertaining to read, there is a higher chance people will actually do it. 

Imagine you are talking to your good friend Jack and you need it to explain to him why he needs to buy that very car. You would try to highlight the advantages in simple terms rather than going too technical or too promotional about it. Essentially, the message is the same but the delivery is what makes all the difference.

4. Create a burning desire

Even if a recipient has made it almost till the end of your email, it still doesn’t mean the victory is in the bag. You need to create a burning desire in them to make a decision now. 

Why? 

Because if they close your email to sleep on your proposal, what are the chances they open it again? With time and resources spent on your email campaign, you don’t really want to gamble on that. Plus, you might not even have a second shot. The first impression matters a lot. 

So think hard about what you can leverage to make people do what you expect them to do after reading your email. Short on ideas? You can:

• give a discount;
• point out that the offer is limited;
• give away freebies to, say, first 100 subscribers;
• give a guaranteed gift for signup.

This step is quite important but it can do wonders if you did it the right way.

5. Place a CTA button to click on

Congratulations, your potential customers are finishing the email you polished so many times. And the only thing left is to place a perfect call-to-action button to press on. This is pretty straightforward but not everyone gets it right.

Don’t make your leads figure out how to get to the desired page, etc. Your email should end with a clear and easy to follow instructions on how to purchase or sign up for your product. It’s crucial that the process is as effortless as it gets. 

Final words

There’s no doubt that email marketing can open great opportunities for any type of online business. But you need to master it well before getting all the benefits. Your preparation and dedication to being original will play a significant role in your email marketing campaign. 

Which means you need to know how to unleash your creativity while talking to a huge number of people. This is a true art that takes a fair amount of error and trial. But with the tips above, you can give your strategy a different perspective that is more customer-centric but at the same time not less solid or efficient.

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