To Generate More Leads
Email marketing and content creation are dynamic duos. The peanut butter to jam. Total superheroes.
While building or maintaining a brand it’s a great idea to create a compelling email marketing campaign. It increases brand awareness, engagement, and is a great tool for conducting further market research.
When I started freelancing, I decided to venture out and try my hand at email marketing templates. I wanted to show prospective clients that I could, in fact, create a digital newsletter that produced results.
The first few times, I can humbly admit, weren’t the best. But because we all have to start somewhere—I took the feedback I received, did a lot of research on effective email copy, and my email marketing templates have improved. A lot.
So, without further ado I’m going to share what I’ve learned and how it’s helped my clients increase their leads.
Number one, you have to identify your target audience.
You can’t create great content without knowing who you’re creating the copy for. Or better yet—the people who will provide you or your client conversions.
By the way if you’re new to writing digital copy, you might not be aware of what conversions are. Conversions are defined as: actions that prospective and current customers take that add value to an eCommerce business. This could be clicking on downloads, purchasing merchandise, or signing up for digital newsletters.
Now, let us continue.
Once you’ve identified (or a client has told you) what your target audience is you have to follow the next steps. These are in no particular order. But it’s a great way to make note of everything that should be done to create the best email marketing campaign.
1. Craft an engaging subject line
The subject line of you or your client’s email newsletter is the first thing that customers see. So, this is most important in crafting a compelling email marketing campaign that customers will definitely open.
Here are some tips on creating a catchy email subject line:
- Attention grabbing
Simply put, the subject line should be catchy, descriptive, and personalized to the recipient. Experts suggest, keeping it short (no more than 9 words), limiting punctuation, and using no more than one emoji.
Examples of catchy subject lines:
“Here’s the sale you’ve been waiting for 💅”
“5 Ways to Improve your Instagram”
“Isn’t it time you add to cart?”
- Relevant
While writing your subject line, be sure that it’s relevant to the intended email newsletter. Customers want to have an idea (or a sneak peek) of what they are going to read when they open your email.
- Encourage Customers to Complete Action
Remember conversions? Well here is where your subject line is going to tie into that.
It should be clear and concise in encouraging the desired action that you want customers to do. For example, if your goal is to have customers shop a 50% off sale—your subject line should have information related to that.
2. Header
After reading your catchy subject line—customers will click the email and the first thing they’ll see is your header.
Your header can be:
- You or your client’s logo
- The product or promotion that you are offering
3. Body of email newsletter
The copy of an email newsletter is the main character of any marketing campaign. Essentially, it’s the “what”, “why” and “how” of what you or your client’s business is offering.
While writing content for an email newsletter you want to make sure:
- Your voice and tone are consistent with your brand
- Content is easily understood
- Images are optimized for mobile and web browsers
- The body of the email is simplistic (you don’t want to overwhelm readers)
- Call to actions are clear
4. Call to Actions
A great call to action is going to get your customers to do exactly what you want them to do. Which is great for (yep you guessed it), conversions.
Things to consider when writing a CTA:
- Action-based rather than passive language (example: try our new app)
- Place text on a visually appealing button
- Keep it concise
- Emphasize a sense of urgency (example: 40% off sale—two days only)
Things to consider when designing the CTA button:
- Bright colors are your friend: they’re inviting, engaging, and improve the likelihood of customers clicking the button
- Place it after the header—you want customers to immediately be encouraged to do the intended action
- Don’t be afraid to experiment. Nothing is a one size fits all, since audiences are all different, so it’s always a good idea to complete A/B testing to make necessary changes or improvements
5. Consistent Typography and Brand Colors
Design is honestly one of my favorite steps in composing an email newsletter. And sometimes when you’re designing an email marketing newsletter you might want to use different font and colors that are different from the brands’ identity. My honest opinion: don’t.
When customers become familiar and loyal to a brand—there are certain elements that “tickle the brain” to remind customers why they fell in love and kept coming back. These elements being fonts and brand colors.
So, it’s always a smart idea to keep typography (fonts for headings, copy) and color palettes consistent in all marketing emails.
6. Images and Emojis
While it’s not advisable to change a brand’s fonts and colors in email marketing, it’s totally suggested to use different images. It’s also a great idea to use emojis (depending on your target audience)—just remember, don’t overdo them! One to two in the subject field are suggested.
7. Unsubscribe Button
Now, I’m sure you might be raising an eyebrow at the thought of someone unsubscribing. Because isn’t the purpose of a marketing email to generate leads? Well technically, yes.
But in the world of free will—some people just might not be interested in your product offerings—and that’s okay! So having an accessible and visual opt-out or unsubscribe button will show that you’re okay with someone potentially saying “no, thank you” to future emails.
Remember:
Writing and designing a marketing email doesn’t have to be that tedious. Remember your target audience, your overall message, and two goals: conversions and engagement.
Interested in cool marketing emails to get inspo? Check out: milled.com