Email is a highly effective way to reach people today, whether you’re selling or looking to build an audience. However, the human attention span is short - and getting shorter. Recent research found that our attention span has reduced from 12 seconds in 2000 to eight seconds today. That means that you don’t have long to get your message across. So, what does it take to create high performing emails that get both opened and clicked?
● Make sure your email is from someone the recipient will recognise. 68% of people base their decision on whether to open an email on who it is from. So the name in your ‘from’ category needs to be the name they are expecting to see there, such as your brand name for example. If it’s not a name they recognise, people are less likely to open the email in the first place.
● The subject line really matters. In fact, it’s the second biggest influence over whether your email is going to get opened at all. Keep your subject line under 30 characters and think about including some ‘power’ words, such as ‘invitation,’ ‘update,’ ‘sale,’’event,’’offers.’ But most of all, make sure that the subject line is a genuinely accurate description of the content of the email so your recipients don’t end up disappointed.
● Don’t forget the preheader text. This is what will show up in someone’s inbox under the subject line. This chunk of content should work well with the subject line, talk to a specific audience and give them a reason to open the email to investigate further.
● Use straightforward and engaging content. If you want to write high performing emails, the secret isn’t to use any specific words or magic tricks but just to be very clear about what you’re offering, what the benefits are and how people can buy this for themselves. Steer clear of jargon and buzzwords and just be very clear about the reason you’re getting in touch so that someone can instantly see why what you're offering will apply to them.
● Optimise the buttons in your email. Research has found that creating benefit-focused text for your buttons means they are more likely to get clicked on than if you’re simply using the generic ‘buy now’ etc options. It can also be useful to remove ‘friction’ words - these are the words that might imply the recipient has to do something they may not necessarily want to, such as download, apply, order or submit. It’s simply to replace these with more benefit focused words, such as ‘learn’ or ‘get.’
● Steer clear of spam. If your emails are ending up in the spam box then they are not even getting in front of the intended recipient so it’s important not to make some basic mistakes where spam is concerned. For example, avoid overusing words like ‘buy’ or ‘free,’ as these can make your message a target for the spam box.
If you’re keen to do more with your emails, try these high performing tips. Find out more by booking on to our Delivering Excellence via Email Training Course