3 Ways You’re Screwing Up Your Email Marketing

4.48 billion. That’s the number of people who will use email by 2024. That’s up from 3.8 billion in 2018.

Chat apps and messengers on mobile make keeping in touch with family and friends easy. But when it comes to interacting with brands and spending money, email is the medium of choice.

Businesses can expect an average return of $42 for every $1 they spend on email marketing.

With high returns and numbers pointing up, why don’t more businesses use email marketing?

It’s hard.

MailChimp and Klaviyo make it easier. But they don’t create concepts, plan strategies, or write emails.

That’s up to you. And you don’t want to screw that up.

You want to crush your email marketing so you can get your hands on that sweet, sweet ROI.

Sounds good, right?

Alright, but first, we have to avoid these simple ways that you can screw it up.

You Talk About Yourself Too Much

It makes people turn off. Not that people don’t care about your brand’s story. They just don’t want to hear it right now. They’ll read it when they click on your website’s About page.

What they want is to hear about how you’re going to make their lives better.

That’s what you want to communicate in every email.

Knowing your customer’s problem and your company’s role in solving it should be the foundation of every communication you send.

So how do you sell your product or service without talking about yourself?

Position yourself as their Guide.

The Guide has the answers. The Guide has experienced the same troubles and come out on top.

What’s the best thing you can do to establish yourself as a Guide?

Empathize.

Talk about your customer’s problem. Agitate their pain points. Don’t be afraid to ramp it up. I know it doesn’t sound nice. But remember, you want to make them act.

After talking about their problem and agitating their pain points, then can you begin talking about your solution.

Of course, it’s not as simple as that. It takes knowing your customers and their problems.

But it’s a great place to start. Once you figure out your customer’s problems, you can start telling them about your company’s solutions. Then, you can begin writing the emails.

And for that, you need to invest your time in the most crucial part: the subject line.

You Don’t Spend Enough Time on Your Subject Lines

A great subject line urges your subscriber to open your email. It creates urgency. It’s unique. It’s ultra-specific, and it’s useful.

Create urgency by adding an element of time. Use words like “Now,” “Today,” or “While Supplies Last:”

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Write a unique subject line by providing new information or offering a different perspective on a common topic:

Introducing, the Only Tee

Oh, this? It’s a brand exclusive.

A New Classic You’ll Wear Forever

A subject line specific to your audience allows you to show your audience that you know about their problem. Tease a solution to their problem to get them to open the email.

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Set the table for the rest of your email by telling them there’s useful information when they open it. The strategy delays gratification and plants a seed of curiosity.

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Your subject line doesn’t have to be urgent, unique, useful and specific all at the same time. But you want to hit at least two or three of the elements.

So before you sign off on your subject line, ask yourself these questions:

• Does the subject line have an element of time?
• Does the subject line say something new or unique?
• Does the reader know what the email is about?
• Does the subject line promise something useful for the reader?

You need your subject line to set you up for success. It’s that perfect pass that sets up an effortless alley-oop dunk. It does a lot of work for something that’s only a few words long — so you want to get it right.

Making that perfect pass with the subject line makes writing the rest of the email a lot easier. But another problem can pop up with that too.

You’re Writing too Much

When you have a concept that addresses your subscriber’s problem and the subject line, writing the rest of the email flows like a river.

But watch out. There’s one thing that you need to avoid: writing too much.

Writing too much halts the progress you made with your subject line. You got their attention with your subject line. Now it’s time to deliver on your subject’s promise.

And the reader doesn’t want to wait.

Follow a few of these rules to make sure you get to the point, hold your reader’s attention and guide them to a conversion.

Get to the Point — If your subject line talks about a sale, direct them to the page where they can buy the product. Choose a great photo and create a link. There’s no need to make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Agitate the Problem in the Intro — If your email has a little more lifting to do, don’t waste time with anything other than describing your reader’s problem. They know their problem. But you have to show them that you know their problem. Then you can position your product or service as the solution.

Keep it Short — Write short sentences. Use short words.

Avoid Using Commas — I have to confess. I’m guilty of writing commas. But avoiding commas makes your writing punchier.

Write a Conversation — Write like you’re talking to someone. Don’t tell me what you’re going to tell me: I’m writing to tell you we have a new collection of shirts. It sounds odd. You’re not a snake oil salesman. Don’t sound like one.

Be Confident — Be direct. Don’t be wishy-washy. Deliver a strong value proposition and a clear call-to-action. They’ll develop confidence in you and follow you to the next step in your sales funnel.

So, how are you feeling? Ready to tackle your next email and crush some business goals? Yes? Great!

Read more about improving your emails: How to Write Subject Lines that Crush Your Email Metrics and Writing Better Emails: 4 Ways You’re Getting in Your Own Way.

Get support with creating your next email campaign; email me at hello@jerichobundac.ca. Cheers!