Developing great emails and email
strategies is, in my opinion, a bit of an art form. The great news is it’s an
art that can be learned. As an email artist, you have a small set of tools, but
infinite possibilities. In your toolkit, you’ll have:
Your copy
Correct spelling is a given, but “proper”
grammar isn't always the right path. You’ll use some, but you might also make
things a little more conversational. Tone, length, and style are all things to
play around with until you find what works. Don’t forget: this advice goes for
Subject lines as well.
Text, HTML and rich text
Should you use plain text, with almost no formatting
at all? Or should you choose HTML, using all the design capabilities of HTML
and CSS?
What about rich text, using simple
formatting such as hyperlinks, bold, and italics? HTML looks great and can
convey a message with more than just words, but it doesn’t work with all clients.
Plain text can feel more personal, but it lacks pop. Rich text sits somewhere
in the middle of these two extremes.
Design
If you’re going down the HTML route, you
need a design that helps support the action you’re hoping to solicit from a
customer through the email. Design carries with it a whole raft of considerations
and HTML email design is something of a black art, so speak to your designer
about what works and what doesn't.
It’s also important to make sure that that
person is an HTML email designer—not just a web designer. There are many
nuances of email that a rookie won’t know—that’s the black art stuff!
Timing
Time of day, day of week, and week of the
month are all elements that’ll have an impact on the success of your emails.
Testing is usually the best way to work out when to send.
Sequences, frequency, and series
The questions of how often you send your customers
emails, and how many you send on the same topic, fall into the category of
advanced email marketing, but be aware that these factors can make a huge
difference to audience loyalty and action. I can double sales on some marketing
campaigns by sending second and third emails one or two weeks apart.
Relate: How to write a business plan
Segmentation
Segmenting your readers and customers into
groups so you can send more targeted, more appropriate messages will see you
writing and sending more emails. However, the conversion rate differences can
more than justify the extra work.
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