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Email Guts – The Guts of an Effective Email Marketing Message

In terms of their success as effective marketing tools, the composition of email messages is more important than ever. With the mountain of email being thrown into cyberspace these days, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for marketers to get their messages delivered, opened, and read by prospects and customers. The success and effectiveness of email marketing campaigns, large or small, essentially come down to one factor: the message. If the message is not well developed, nothing else matters.

Here are some tips for creating email marketing messages with the best chance of reaching and being read by your target audience.

great subject line – Just as using the wrong key to open a treasure chest will bankrupt you, not creating a great subject line for your email will have the same effect. In the absence of a dynamic subject line, there is at least a 90% chance (in my humble estimate) that your email will NOT be opened and immediately deleted.

I cannot overemphasize this point. You need to have a subject line that grabs your reader’s attention, arouses interest, and compels them to open and read your message. It is not a small thing. Unfortunately, too many marketers choose their subject title almost as an afterthought, when in truth, this line is arguably the most important part of their message.

It is worth every minute of your time and your best effort to create a proper subject line for your email. If accomplished correctly and consistently, this one element can put you light years ahead of your competition.

attractive first paragraph – After your subject line, this section is the next most important part of your email message. Many readers never get past the first two or three sentences of an email. You’ll lose them if you can’t give them a reason to read on and suggest or demonstrate that what’s to come will be of great interest or benefit to them.

The copy developed within this paragraph should be the “anchor” for the rest of your message. It should contain your best and most persuasive writing. This is your chance to draw the reader further into your message. Entice them, whet their appetite, arouse their curiosity until they are absolutely motivated to read more.

a great story – People love stories. When they get immersed in a good story, it’s hard for them to remember that they’re being marketed and that people hate being marketed. The stories you create can be informative, educational, and interesting, as well as entertaining. Stories provide a great way to communicate your message and lay the foundation for building a kinship or relationship with your audience.

Keep your message focused – Every piece of email marketing should have a single theme and purpose. It doesn’t matter that you have ten different websites or 100 different products or services. Focus your message on one thing and one thing only. Your message will be most effective when you laser-target your audience, without relying on a “hit or miss” approach.

great copy – Only the highest quality copy will do. Well written, persuasive, clean. Stupid mistakes like misspellings and incorrect grammar ruin the most compelling marketing and sales copy. It will immediately brand you and the company or organization you represent as amateurish and of low quality. If you can’t write copy, learn or hire a professional to do it for you. If your copy is of poor quality, then sending your email is pointless.

Another point about copy: keep your information organized and brief. Keep the paragraphs short. Use “bite-sized” snippets and numbered or bulleted lists. Choose your words carefully to communicate your message effectively, but in the most efficient way possible.

Be nice, but find a balance – You know the stereotype of the “sleazy car salesman”, something creepy and super sneaky? That’s what it’s like to read an email from someone who’s a little “too familiar” or casual. He gives you goosebumps. It’s not a reaction you want your readers to have of you.

Trying to build rapport with your audience is a good thing and makes your email more personable, warm and engaging. However, keep in mind that there is a delicate balance that must be maintained.

You are not friends with your reader (at least not yet). You are a stranger, a seller; not a neighbor, not a confidant. Be careful to recognize that there are invisible boundaries in your communications. And, if you make the mistake of making your reader feel that he has crossed one of those limits, it is very difficult to repair the circumstance.

bass drum – Remember that your readers receive hundreds and hundreds of emails. This makes your “radar hype” extremely sensitive. Instead of using a lot of exaggeration and bragging, provide statements, statistics, facts, and resources to support or provide proof of what you are telling them. Doing so will go a long way toward persuading them that your message is valid, valuable, and credible.

Be clear about the “question” – If you’re marketing a particular business, product or service, don’t make the mistake of creating a great marketing message only to fall flat in the end. Be clear about asking about the business, inviting the reader to receive more information, directing the reader to subscribe to a list, or any “call to action” you may need.

By the time your reader gets to this part of the email, if they’ve done their job correctly, they’ll be ready to do what you ask. So ask! Courteous, professionally, yet confident.

The email marketing tips discussed above are by no means an exhaustive list, however I think we’ve covered most of the basics. While keywords weren’t mentioned above (because emails don’t require search engine optimization), it’s always a good idea to use them in emails when practical. The advantage of doing this is to keep the reader focused on the subject of your message. Then, at some point in the future, if the reader misses the email’s initial information, they will still know what keywords to use to find it via search engine search.

Email marketing can be a very effective and profitable marketing strategy. Used wisely and with planning and foresight, it can be informative and beneficial to your readers, and incredibly advantageous to you.

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