The Simple Truth of Email Marketing

Agonizing over every word, hemming and hawing about whether your newsletter intro-sentence should be witty or shocking (looking at you, cool cats, and kittens) makes writing to your list a painful ordeal. 

Let me ease your mind. If you write your words just as you speak them, your newsletter will be fabulous. If you talk about something your audience is interested in, they will read it. 

I know what you’re thinking. *That’s crazy, Lisa! It can’t be that easy* and to that, I say, “Yes, it is.” I get that writing how you speak doesn’t come naturally to most people. After years of getting shamed for the tiniest typo on your Facebook post, it’s not surprising you’re a little gun-shy. 

But now’s the perfect time to break away from the grammar chains and be yourself. Why? People who sound like normal humans online are creating unshakable bonds with their audience, which has increased their sales. 

The best way for you to feel more comfortable with writing newsletters that people read is to troubleshoot your current process and make minor tweaks along the way. Let’s start with Open Rates.

What’s the point of pouring blood, sweat, and tears into a newsletter if no one bothers to open the email and read it? It’s a frustrating problem that can easily be fixed by doing one thing – improving your subject line. 

You’ve got to give people a reason to open your email, other than “great content.” What’s in it for them? Can you tease the topic a bit? How about making them curious? All three of those strategies work and so does using their first name as a subject line. I bust that tactic out when I really want to get someone’s attention. 

The point is, you’re not turning in an essay or emailing your prospective employer. You’re writing for an excited audience who was kind enough to give you their email address. Make sure your subject line reflects that and give them a reason to open it. Find out how your open rates stack against the competition here.

Here are a few more tips for improving your email marketing metrics: 

Personalize your emails

It’s so easy to personalize the email with merge tags. It’s as simple as placing the cursor in the right spot, click the ‘personalize’ button on the menu and voila – when you send out the email, it’ll include the subscribers first name. Also, important to note, you should be gathering their first name alongside their email address for this very reason.

Check all the boxes to ensure your emails are delivered.

Next, you need to do some technical background work to ensure your emails are getting delivered. Now, not many people are comfortable taking this on, but that’s why I’m here to help. To make sure your emails are landing in the right inbox, you need to add SPF/DKIM records. What the heck is that? Well, SPF (Sender Policy Framework) allows your email management software to send emails on your behalf. DKIM adds an extra layer of security by verifying that the content is trustworthy. I’m happy to make sure your emails are set up correctly, or you can check for yourself here. 

How To Stay out of Spam Land

The last thing you want to do is trip the spam alarm and get locked up in spam jail. It’s a real place that can easily be avoided by testing the score of your newsletter before pushing it out to your list. You’re going to want to do this because IF your email looks spammy what-so-ever, it will soft bounce into the wrong folder. Some CRMs have this test built into them (like ActiveCampaign), but if yours doesn’t, you can double-check your emails here.

There are countless resources at your fingertips when it comes to learning how to write emails people love to read, but what it comes down to – staying true to your brand voice, and not overthinking what you should say is key. Just make sure your subject line is something your audience would want to open, and if they do, you’ve won half the battle. 

Be sure you do your homework, know your audience well, talk about things they’re interested in reading, and make it worthwhile. Lastly, don’t get hung up on vanity metrics. Yes, it is good to see average or above-average metrics, but anything that does measure above can just be considered a gift. Don’t lose sight of why you’re emailing them – to stay connected! If you’re working on a project and need help with emails, I’m only one click away. My team can get you set up for a launch, write your newsletters, or warm a cold email list back to life – your call! We’ll even audit your current email management software setup and your last ten emails before sharing with you what to do next. 

Book your audit now.