Digitalks #08. Email Marketing Best Practices
Does email marketing still effective, though?
Digitalks is a virtual brown bag lunch meeting by Breadnbeyond’s Digital Marketing team where all valuable information, feedback, ideas, seminars, and training sessions are shared.
You have probably heard this a lot. Social media has replaced emails. Who even reads emails nowadays?
Well, in fact, most of us still do.
Sure, there is a sharp rise in social media marketing, but no one has stopped using emails completely.
In 2020, an average of 306.4 billion emails were sent and received per day. 89% of marketers use email as the primary channel for generating leads.
From pop-ups to verifications, emails apparently still alive and kicking.
But, when we talk about email marketing, those traditional emails with impersonal messages and bulky paragraphs — that is not even properly formatted are indeed so dead.
This is why it’s crucial to take email marketing to the next level to appeal to today’s savvy prospects.
As an outreach manager at Breadnbeyond, Fabri shared her go-to tips for utilizing emails for generating backlinks and leads and building connections with business partners.
Pay attention to the subject line
Since the subject line is the first thing that your prospect or recipient sees when they open your email, it’s important to make it clear, interesting, and (if possible) personalized.
Your subject line should be specific to the content of your email and reflect what’s inside. It should also be short enough that it can be read easily on a mobile device.
Introduce who you are and demonstrate your credibility
When you’re first reaching out to someone, it’s important to introduce yourself and explain why they should care about what you have to say.
In your email, make sure to include your name, title, and company so that recipients know who you are.
You can also share a brief overview of your experience or highlight any awards or recognition that you’ve received.
By demonstrating your credibility, you’ll be more likely to earn the recipient’s trust.
But, remember to be honest and not exaggerate your experiences.
If you have any personal connections with the recipient, be sure to mention them as well.
For example, “I saw that you’re speaking at the XYZ conference next month. I’m also presenting there and would love to meet up.”
This will show that you’re interested in what they’re doing and build rapport from the start.
Be straightforward
Your prospects receive tons of emails every day, be concise, and don’t waste their time.
Go to the point quickly, why do you send the email, and what do you want the recipient to do?
Be clear about what you want from the recipient and why they should care. If you’re making a request, include all of the relevant details upfront so that there’s no confusion later on.
Build your own voice
Robotic, templated messages will never capture attention as a personal, human message will.
Instead of using generic phrases, write as you would speak to a friend.
This will help you sound more genuine and build trust with the recipient. However, remember to still be professional.
If you have a large email list, you can still add a personal touch by including merge fields.
These allow you to insert the recipient’s first name or other information into the body of your email.
This makes it seem like you’re writing the email specifically for them, even if you’re sending it to hundreds of people.
Make it mutually beneficial
No such thing as free lunch, what’s in it for the prospect if they do what you want?
When crafting your email, always keep in mind what’s in it for the recipient. What are they going to get out of reading your email or taking the desired action? If you can’t answer this question, then your email is likely to be ignored.
Think about what you can offer that will be of value to the recipient.
It could be a helpful resource, an exclusive discount, or access to insider information.
Whatever it is, make sure that it’s something that they would actually want and find useful.
Always follow up
Sometimes, emails just get buried in inboxes and never get responded to.
If you don’t hear back from the recipient after a reasonable amount of time, follow up.
This shows that you’re still interested in what they have to say and gives them another chance to respond.
When following up, keep your message short and to the point. You can simply say something like, “I just wanted to make sure that you saw my previous email and didn’t have any questions.”
However, don’t bombard the recipient with too many messages. If they don’t respond to your first follow-up, it’s probably best to move on.
Breadnbeyond has useful resources that can help you hone your social media marketing skills. You can subscribe here to get free e-books!
