Email: A critical way to communicate with your customers

You have so much that you’d like to communicate with your clients, but you feel like not enough of them are tuning in to your website or social channels or reading the direct mail you send to them regularly.

Maybe it’s time to start leveraging email marketing. Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways you can communicate directly with your customers. Here are some ways to make sure your emails engage your audience from start to finish.

Send information of value

Don’t waste your customers’ — or prospective customers’ — time. Only send e-mails when you have something important or of value to offer them.

Write a short, attention-getting subject line

The subject line is actually the most important part of your email. It’s the first thing your reader sees and it needs to be compelling enough to make them want to click. A good rule of thumb is to make sure your subject line is short (only about 5-10 words maximum) and creative. Hook your readers with a question, a unique fact, a current news trend or something else that will catch their interest.

Make the email conversational

No one wants to read an email that is too long, too promotional and does not relate to them. Incorporating a conversational tone will allow you to connect better with the reader and engage them until the end.

Keep the copy to around 2-3 small paragraphs

Studies show that the attention span of your audience is about less than a minute when it comes to email. This means you have to make the copy tight and straight to the point. This will allow your audience to quickly read your email so they then in turn will visit your website.

Include a high-quality photo

Emails have a higher conversion rate when a photo is included. A great place for the photo is at the top of the email before the text or on the top right or left of the email.

Include a call-to-action

After your audience is done reading your email, what do you want them to do? Make sure your call-to-action is clear at the end of your email.

Send often, but not too much

If you send out too many emails, you will end up getting a lot of unsubscribers. To avoid that, think about sending out your emails only once or twice a month, and no more than once a week. How often you send out emails will largely depend on the nature of your business and the content you are pitching in your email.

Following these tips will help to improve the effectiveness of your email marketing and can ultimately increase the amount of traffic on your website.