Today’s inboxes are flooded with unwanted, unwelcome emails on a daily basis. When you’re trying to reach customers by email, how do you keep your marketing messages from becoming more background noise? One way is to craft emails that put your customer’s needs first.
Shifting your goals for email marketing from growing sales to providing useful information can feel like a big leap for some marketers, but this tactic has been proven to help companies get the best ROI from email marketing outreach.
So, how do you get better results with your email strategy with user-centric messaging?
Shifting your goals for email marketing from growing sales to providing useful information can feel like a big leap for some marketers, but this tactic has been proven to help companies get the best ROI from email marketing outreach.
So, how do you get better results with your email strategy with user-centric messaging?
An email marketing strategy should be thoughtful, deliberate, and measurable. Consider all aspects of your email plan, from templates and designs to segmentation and personalization. Planning for email workflows may not seem like much fun, but upfront strategizing leads to getting better results.
Before sending a marketing email, ask yourself—
Why are you sending this email?
This initial question is critical, as it will help to define your goal. Think about the purpose of the email, such as letting clients know about an abandoned item in their shopping cart or sharing a new webinar they can sign up for.For the abandoned cart, the goal is to help the user finish the purchase. It provides quick links to head straight to checkout and a description of the items in the cart for quick reference.
For the new webinar promotion, the goal is to get users to sign up for the webinar. It should again make it clear how the webinar is useful and include a simple call-to-action to register.
Pro tip: Cramming too many calls-to-action into an email can overwhelm your customers. Keep it simple and include only one primary CTA whenever possible.
What value does your email marketing provide?
When thinking about the content for each email message, ask yourself what your contacts will get out of this communication. When emails are promotional and lacking context (or even when they are sent out of the blue), your chance of meeting your goals with the message is less likely.However, if the email is triggered by user activity on your website and provides information or an offer that the user might find interesting, your odds for success increase. For example, if a user downloads your ebook of kid-friendly crockpot recipes, and then you follow-up that interaction by sending them an email that includes tips to easy crockpot clean-up, the user will likely find that email useful (making them more likely to open and click future messages from your company).
Who in your contact list will find this email helpful?
Even an email that has a defined goal and adds value may not be appropriate for everyone on your contact list. For example, previous customers may get a loyalty discount that would not make sense to send to email list subscribers who have only expressed interest in your company.Consider your contact list and ways to segment it that will give users the best experience based on the content and context of your email message.
How do your contacts typically read emails: phone or computer?
Once you’ve answered content strategy questions, you’ll need to consider the logistics of actually building and sending the email. A big consideration is the screen size. Let how your users will see your emails drive your design decisions and then ensure your message still displays properly no matter the device.Ultimately, a good email marketing strategy can help your company see better returns with your customer base. In fact, according to HubSpot, each dollar spent on email regularly sees a $40-$44 return. With that in mind, take your time to be strategic and thoughtful before sending those first marketing emails, and the quicker you’ll see a return on investment.
