Bop Announces Tactics for Writing Marketing Emails that Compel Action
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) July 31, 2013 -- Email marketing remains a highly effective resource for connecting with prospective customers.
But for every well-crafted marketing email message, there are hundreds that fail to observe certain key guidelines, thus extinguishing any hope of converting the reader to a buying customer.
To make email messaging as effective and compelling as possible, Jeremy Durant, Business Principal at Bop Design, a San Diego web design agency, offers the following tips:
Understand the reader’s needs. “The message a business sends is only indirectly focused on what it sells,” Durant says. “Far more important is the ability to empathize with the email recipient by demonstrating knowledge of his or her business challenges.”
What problem is the email recipient attempting to solve? What resources do they need to overcome an obstacle? People respond when they feel a marketer has identified what’s important to them.
Get to the point. Forget the flowery introductions, long-winded accounts of the origins of the business. Let the reader know immediately what the email message is about and why it’s worth their time to read.
Offer a solution, not a sales pitch. Understanding the email recipient’s “pain point” is just the beginning. To have any hope of a response, the marketing email must offer value related to that pain point. This means sharing information aimed at solving their problem. This way, the email isn’t yet another message clogging up the reader’s inbox. It actually provides value—and the more value added, the more a prospective customer will see the sender as an expert and a valuable resource.
Stay on message. A common mistake of email marketers is the urge to do too many things at once. “Don’t try to address all of the reader’s concerns or challenges,” Durant advises. “Focus on one message, identifying one issue and offering one solution. Depending upon the reader’s response, there will be opportunities to address other issues as part of an ongoing email campaign.”
Make the call-to-action crystal clear. Even some of the best-written emails fail to make clear what’s expected of the reader. Should they click on a link? Register for a free newsletter? Take advantage of a one-time offer? Make absolutely certain that the call-to-action is clearly spelled out and that there is a compelling reason to take that next step.
Short is better than long. Marketing email messages should be kept as short and concise as possible—at most, two to four paragraphs in length, with each paragraph made up of no more than two to four (short) sentences. Can the point be made in less than 100 words? Readers will get that the sender is respectful both of their time and attention-span.
Pay attention to the wording. All industry jargon and buzzwords should be ruthlessly expunged from the email message. Anything that comes across as overly formal or technical will also lose a reader’s attention. The best advice is always, write like you talk. Be conversational. Use your “real” voice.
After the first draft of the marketing message is completed, look over the wording again. Is there anything unclear or ambiguous in how the message is stated? Get rid of any words or phrases that do not contribute to the overall point. Take the same action for anything that sounds “sales-pitchy.”
Subject line—first things last. The email’s subject line is crucially important to grabbing the reader’s attention. For this reason, it’s often helpful to write this after the message itself is completed. That way, there is a better understanding of exactly what to say in an eye-catching way and in words a reader can identify with. Remember—always focus on the prospective customer’s wants and needs.
“Crafting an effective email isn’t easy,” Durant says. “But by giving proper attention to what the message should say (and how it should be said), the odds are greatly increased that someone will actually read it.”
Bop Design is a San Diego web design agency with offices also in the New York metro area. We express a business values through branding, advertising, design and web design. We also help attract a firm's ideal customer through search engine optimization and search engine marketing. The marketing firm's focus is on small businesses that want an external team of marketing specialists to help give their brand an edge in the marketplace.
Jeremy Durant, Bop Design, San Diego Web Design Agency, http://www.bopdesign.com, 760.470.1275, [email protected]
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