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To be effective, email messages must have a professional design, compelling content, and appear trustworthy. With great calls to action, emails can be a powerful part of your marketing mix.
Things to Consider
- What do your emails look like to recipients? How does your name appear in the "To" field?
- Is your branding present in your email template design? Is it up to date and consistent with current website branding and content?
- Where do you host the images contained in your email messages and templates?
- How many calls to action do you commonly include in your emails? Do you feature any regular ads or promotions as part of your template?
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As soon as an email lands in a subscriber's inbox
0:00
it has some challenges to overcome before it actually gets read.
0:03
First, it helps to be a trusted source.
0:07
If your email appears and the user doesn't know you
0:10
they may be confused or even upset.
0:14
In fact, there are laws outlining how businesses can use email to contact people,
0:16
and by contacting them without permission you may be breaking the law.
0:21
Therefore, make sure you send emails to people who subscribe to you
0:25
and are expecting your message.
0:29
Upon first glance, only your business name and your email subject line
0:32
may be visible, so make sure the subject is an effective one.
0:37
Keep it short and to the point,
0:41
and make sure it's relevant to the content within your email.
0:44
If you're worried about spam filters penalizing you for certain keywords
0:47
like free or save, don't be.
0:51
Today's filters are more advanced and take a number of variables into account.
0:54
As long as your email is on the level and the subject line is clear
0:58
and concise, you should be fine.
1:02
If and when the recipient opens your message,
1:05
you want to create an ideal first impression, just like when they open your website
1:08
for the first time, and with that in mind, it's important to maintain consistency
1:13
with the branding and language you use on your site.
1:17
Designing email templates with your logo, colors, images,
1:21
and other familiar elements can improve the effectiveness
1:25
of your email, especially because loyal customers
1:28
will be more likely to read it.
1:32
Part of designing emails means generating images
1:34
that will be included in the message.
1:38
Most email tools require that you host these images
1:40
on your own web server, meaning they need to be publicly accessible
1:44
just like the images of your website.
1:48
MailChimp is one of the few exceptions that allows you to upload the images
1:51
to their site where they will host them.
1:55
But in either case, try to be conservative.
1:58
The more images you include in an email message the riskier it is
2:01
that the entire message from beginning to end will be seen
2:06
exactly as intended.
2:09
Opting for a simpler design that focuses on content
2:11
can save you a lot of design headaches
2:15
and increase the effectiveness of your messages overall.
2:18
If you can craft a clear, focused message with a nice design
2:23
you're ahead of the game, but when it comes to email campaigns
2:27
you don't want users just to open your email.
2:31
You want them to take action.
2:33
Marketing emails should include calls to action
2:36
just like the pages on your website.
2:39
Also, messages should not be too long.
2:41
Consider how many people are opening emails on mobile devices these days,
2:44
and you'll understand the need to be concise.
2:48
Only include the most necessary content and links,
2:51
and consider the subject of your email.
2:55
Are you promoting a product or service, an event, a sale or discount,
2:57
or an important update for your business?
3:02
Match up the calls to action with this content.
3:05
Provide pictures of new products,
3:08
basic details on events, discount codes to use for sales,
3:11
but above all, link them back to your website.
3:15
Sending messages like these can become easier if you do so on a regular basis.
3:19
Creating a weekly or monthly newsletter
3:24
around the important content and calls to action is an easy way
3:28
to pull all of it together, and don't forget to include your social media icons and links
3:31
to raise their profile as well.
3:37
But regardless of how often you email your users,
3:39
consider each one an opportunity to further your relationship with them
3:42
and to accomplish a business goal.
3:47
As long as users have opted in, the line of communication
3:50
is open, so be sure to use it to your advantage.
3:54
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