The âLawsâ of Effective Email Marketing

Here are some basic “laws” you can use to create emails that attract and engage your target customers.

Use A Respectable Email Address

Using personal email addresses for business is not a recommended tactic. This looks unprofessional and makes potential customers weary to open and read your email. There are lots of scammers that use email addresses of contacts and friends so personal email addresses are always subject to greater scrutiny. Use a business email address that is linked to your website URL instead.

Subject Lines

According to statistics, over a third of all people that receive an email base their decision on whether to open it or not solely on the subject line text. Truly compelling subject lines manage to spark a readers curiosity and encourages them to open and read . Many subject lines also creatively incorporate keywords they know their target customer uses to search for their product or service. You can use the 4 “u” formula to help write a catchy, effective subject line:

Unique- the message should be compelling and remarkable?

Useful- is the message of value to the consumer?

Ultra-specific- is it easy for the reader to understand what you are promising or what the deal is?

Urgent- does the subject line signal an urgency for the reader to open it and read it?

Optimise Your email Marketing for Mobile Devices

The more people that open and read your emails the greater your chances of making a conversion. Today, over 47% of all email is opened on a mobile device and 30% of consumers read email only via mobiles. This means you need to ensure your email messages are easily read on mobile devices and that your campaigns are optimised for mobile devices.

It is best to use a single column design with a width of 600 pixels or less. Font size is crucial for readability so choose 22 pixels for titles and 14 pixels as a minimum body text size. Always use a standard web-safe font like Verdana, Arial or Tahoma.

Quality Content

When it comes to email content, keep it short. People do not have the time or the attention span to read a long email. The general rule of thumb for email messages is 150 words or less. That equates to about 5 sentences.

Always utilise proper grammar and accurate spelling. Write clearly and concisely and do not say more than you need to. The content should target consumer’s pain point, solve a problem and/or point out the benefits of your product or service.

Use simple language and a well placed relevant image or video. Humor can be very effective to get your point across. Use simple, easy to understand language and do not forget to include a strong call to action with a button or link that clearly stands out against the rest of the email.

Optimal Time to Send An Email

According to a recent Mailchimp study the optimal time to send emails may be different to what yo had expected. The study actually points to Mondays and Fridays as poor days to conduct email marketing campaigns. Mondays are often very busy and on Fridays, people tend leave early for the weekend. This means the optimal time to send out emails is actually midweek-Tuesday through Thursday. It is also important to send emails during regular business hours, between 1 and 3 pm local time or between 9 an 11 am achieve the best results.