If you’re anything like me, you are signed up on a number of email lists. I get a number of email promotions and newsletters. Some of them I’m excited to open because I know something good is inside. Others seem to gradually lose my attention until I either unsubscribe or delay opening them. With your emails, it makes sense that you want to create a positive impression on your subscribers. This article will tell you how to write emails people love to open and also how to insure they end up in the inbox.
Make it about them
Just like writing someone a letter, it can’t be all about you! Make it about them and really capture their interest and attention. Communication is a two-way street, but if all you are doing is promoting yourself and/or your products, even your most ardent fans’ support will fizzle out. If they feel involved, they’ll look forward to and want to open your emails. So, with every email you write, imagine you are the reader. Are you interested? What could be taken out and what can be added? Don’t be afraid to edit until you get it right. It never hurts to get someone you trust to proofread it.
Subject lines matter
Sometimes you’ve probably received emails that made you immediately delete them, maybe they even irritated you. Believe me, I’ve been there. So tell me why so many email senders don’t put a lot of thought into their subject lines? They’re not aware of how important it is! It’s an afterthought for them and, in reality, a creative subject line can make all the difference and intrigue that person whose inbox is flooded. What you don’t want is to be boring, irrelevant or annoying. Subject lines can be creative or reveal what value lies within.
Surprise them once in awhile
Just like any kind of communication, when it’s all the same thing it becomes monotonous. Can you imagine a comedian that told the same jokes every time? Eventually you’d have a crowd of sleeping people. People don’t sleep when it comes to useless or boring emails, they unsubscribe! So maybe you can surprise your audience once in a while?
Tis better to give than receive! It seems counterintuitive, but businesses that believe in the power of giving frequently reap great rewards. Give them a freebie every now and then. Maybe it’s a discount or free shipping the next time they buy from you. Or maybe some other content offer like an audiobook download or e-book. Take care of your readers. If they feel valued, they will want to open and read your emails.
Oh yeah, make sure they receive your email
If your emails don’t end up in their inbox, well, they can’t read them. As obvious as this may seem, it’s a problem that plagues a lot of people with email lists. They don’t take into consideration the importance of email validation.
Whether your list is small or big, it’s important to practice email hygiene, which includes using an email validator. Your list may start out in great shape, but over time it will end up with bad email addresses.
Some of them are invalid. Someone signed up with their work or school email address and they don’t work or study there anymore, or they just plain changed email addresses.
Then there’s spam traps. Internet service providers (ISPs) will create these email addresses to trap spammers and block them. Problem is, they end up on a lot of legitimate email lists and if your email hits a spam trap, you may get classified as a spammer too.
You may think that a role-based email, those that are “info@” or “admin@” are perfectly okay. They’re not good to have on your list because usually a number of people check that inbox. The marketing value is low and the chances are high that someone eventually marks it as spam.
One more bad email address type (and there are even more) are malicious or abuse emails. These are people who have a habit of marking emails as spam, whether maliciously or just because they forgot they signed up. They have no place in a good email list.
How do you use email validation?
It’s really simple. If you have a list, find a well-reviewed email checker and upload the list to the platform. It will separate the undesirable email addresses from the good ones. Also, to keep your list clean, a good option is an API. This integrates with your sign-up form and verifies the quality of those who subscribe. Typos, invalid, or otherwise low-quality emails are prevented from being added so the list is in good shape from the start. Email validation is critical because nobody can open and read an email if they never get it!
Good emailing takes practice and effort
For some people, writing good emails comes easily. Maybe they have exceptional talent, many years of practice, or both. If you feel that your approach could use improvement, continue to focus on learning about copywriting. Also, test your content as much as you can. Whether it’s your subject lines, email body, or call to action. Testing allows you to see what works and what doesn’t and concentrate on the tactics that bring you the best results.