As more and more emails flood our customers’ inboxes, how do we know they’re even getting viewed? What’s the measure of success and best practices for small businesses looking to drive more revenue out of their email campaign?
Start with an Objective
It’s important to understand what your main objective is when sending emails. A lot of people get hung up on open rates, thinking they need to be focusing on subject lines to get more opens (“click bait”), and in turn will drive clicks. What most will find out, however, is that there’s usually a disconnect between the subject line and the content of the email. People open an email but don’t find the content they expect, so they immediately click off or delete. Even if the content is good, most people don’t give it a chance if it’s not the content they are looking for because the subject line is too vague or misleading.
Instead, think about your target audience. What content will provide them with the most value? Being empathetic about the needs and concerns of your target audience is the quickest way to create meaningful email content and campaigns that will be both valuable to you and your customers.
Use a Clear Subject Line
It is far better to use a clear subject line that tells the reader exactly what is inside the email, content that describes what benefit you are providing and creates an immediate emotion (curiosity, urgency, fear, etc), and then provide an enticing call to action to drive to a landing page where the offer or content lives. This may mean sacrificing opens for a higher click to open rate, but what is more important? Generating more opens where people leave without reading the content inside? Or driving clicks which lead to conversions? Professional email marketers focus on conversions.