The whirlwind of the pandemic is unlike anything our society has ever lived through. It impacts everyone and has brought most consumers to a standstill. Most Americans have never experienced this type of rest in our fast-paced country, and while a few may love it, most are scrambling to fill their extra time.
While America is on pause, people are taking time to do things they normally do not have time for. For such a time as this, businesses need to step up their online presence to reach their consumers. And one way to do that right now is by improving your company’s emails.
Here are a few simple ways to improve your emails:
Create Catchy Subject Lines
Email subject lines are the first thing viewers see, so an attention-grabber is essential. To avoid an instant move to the trash, subject lines should be a balance of interesting and informative to hook the reader. Adding humor to the subject line can make your email gain attention. A clever subject line may increase a company’s click-through rate (CTR) as well. The following are several useful subject line generators to help create a catchy subject line:
Relatable and Appealing Content
When consumers open an email, they want the content to be relevant and appealing. When it applies to their lives and they are drawn to it, they will be intrigued to open links and look further.
Boring content is a hard sell. Stories and humor are more interesting for the consumer to read. Long suggests that along with relevant content, people are drawn to emails when they are personalized with their names.
During this time when people are isolated and socially distant, they want to feel connected and noticed, which can be accomplished through personalized emails.
Using Relatable Images
The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” applies to marketing emails. In the busyness of our world, adding relatable images can spark interest in people who otherwise would not take time to read it. Our world craves visuals because images are easy and instant to absorb.
To add images to your email, next time, try using sites like Pexels and Unsplash which offer many free and dynamic images without attribution for your emails.
Evaluate the Timing of Your Emails
Another way to improve your emails is to think about the time and days your company sends emails out. People have busy schedules, so asking them to invest time to click and read an email is futile, even if it seems like a simple task.
According to MacDonald, sending content before or after regular work hours, for example before 7 a.m. and after 6 p.m., may grab more people's attention than during the workday.
When people are relaxed, they are more apt to read through emails and click on a company’s campaign. Targeting the time of day that people are relaxed and available to process an email may require some experimentation. Things to consider are if people are sleeping in longer, staying up later, levels of boredom, and adjusted stay-at-home workdays.
Research shows that sending campaign emails on Mondays and Tuesdays results in a higher click-through-rate (CTR). Those days may or may not be affected by COVID-19.
When you’re sending your next email out, pay attention to the day you sent it, the time you sent it, your open rate, and your CTR rate of the email. Try to determine if there is a trend between these, then adjust the days and times you send your emails accordingly.
Don’t have an email tracking system in place? Contact us and we’d be happy to talk through your options.
Frequency of Emails
During this time of quarantine, everyone is swamped with emails. Competing with your competition may mean sending fewer but more pertinent emails.
Receiving fewer emails may cause your customers to feel less overwhelmed and happier about your company. When a company sends daily emails, consumers are more likely to unsubscribe. To avoid unsubscription, MacDonald suggests sending only 1 or 2 applicable emails a month.
Format of emails
Making sure your email campaign fits any device, especially smartphones, is also important. During this pandemic, phone screen time has skyrocketed. In addition, not everyone has access to Wi-Fi which makes formatting a company's emails to phones all the more important.
Increased screen time on phones includes checking emails frequently. When an email does not format to a phone, and people have to zoom in or out to see it, they get frustrated and will end up deleting it or moving past it. Having a format that works well on all devices will improve company emails.
For such a time as this . . .
Take advantage of this time of quarantine by taking these simple steps to improve your company’s email. In addition, take time for yourself to relax and look through other company’s emails. This may inspire new ideas for your company. Everyone needs extra help.
