Email Marketing: Spurring People to ACTION!
Last week I wrote about font sizing and types to use in email marketing.
This week I want to focus on the content of an email; specifically about how to spur the reader to DO SOMETHING.
If you're putting together a meeting, open house, reception, webinar, event or conference, answer the following questions first:
Why is the program being produced? (Goals and objectives)
Is revenue involved? Do people register and pay to participate?
How much time is available from start to finish for marketing?
What are the platforms that will be used to deploy the marketing?
What kind of a “look” will be used to represent the messaging?
How will we “brand” the event throughout the duration of the marketing campaign?
My first rule of thumb is to write out everything you want to say and then back into the actual email copy by taking away extraneous words, sentences and/or paragraphs that don't add to the overall message. Next is guiding the reader toward an action. I'm seeing more email communications that are short and sweet with a "click here to read more" hyperlink or a "register now" image that's linked to an online registration form.
...And this is where you really need to "think it out before you shout it out". Have an article of interest you want the recipient to read? Either post the article to the website (to drive traffic to your site) OR link directly to where the article originated (I love this, too, because it demonstrates confidence and is a great excuse to contact the author) Want people to learn more details about an event or a product? This is uber-important: Make sure you have a web page already designed on your website and then link the reader directly to the web page! Need to focus on people registering and generate revenue? Hyperlink the "register now" button or text directly to the online registration page (or a person's email if it's a simple RSVP)
To summarize, here's the steps to take:
Make sure you've added new information, articles and/or web pages to the website BEORE you dig in to write the email so you're prepared to elicit ACTION.
Using the questions I shared, let your mind go and write down everything you want to say...and then start slicing and dicing to pare down the message without taking away from relevant information that will engage the reader.
Determine what types of links you'll include and where they will be placed in the email to spur click-through.
