Email marketing when done correctly can be a fantastic way to generate leads from prospective and existing customers.  We all have an email client on our phone, or tablet device – and people check their inbox on a regular basis – so if you aren’t currently operating an email marketing strategy – or if it simply isn’t working for you, have a look at our top tips for creating a newsletter that converts.

Create a Title that Encourages a Click Through

You will most likely have heard the term open rate before.  This is the percentage of people who open your email send.  Of course, the higher that number is, the more likely you are to get a conversion.  This is where the title comes in.  In order for the user to be interested enough in the content within your email, you need an engaging title that will spark their interest.

The first thing you should do is keep it short and sweet, you don’t want a long-drawn out title, and make sure that they are familiar with the sender name you have inputted – otherwise they will likely categorise it as spam.  Make sure you give them a hint as to what could be inside to entice them to open. There needs to be something to capture their attention.

Personalise your Email Content to Speak to the User

Emails are most effective when they speak to the user.  That’s why it’s essential that you segment your data lists correctly.  For example, it could be that you have clients that are solely interested in a very specific product/service – in which case it would be pointless serving them content that would  be irrelevant to them and potentially cause them to unsubscribe.

When you are thinking of what to include in a newsletter, you need to make sure that you have the recipient in mind when creating the content and speak to that individual audience.  If you go down a one-size fits all approach, you will find that your stats won’t improve.

Make Sure it’s Designed Well to get them to the End of the Content

Remember the email you send out represents your brand, so it needs to be well-designed.  Of course it should have your logo and branding incorporated added to it, but there is much more to it than that.  Some experts say that the inverted pyramid model approach is what works best – and leads the user further down the email.

It should also be broken up – you should never have an email that is solely text.  Make sure you add images, and incorporate CTA’s where appropriate.   You should be sure to incorporate a strong CTA, to drive the user to the destination.

Make Emails Time Sensitive and Time Appropriate

As they say, timing is everything.  There are a couple of things to take into consideration here.  Firstly, you should be analysing your data to see at which times emails are most regularly opened and look at this on a regular basis.

Then there is the timing of campaign specific emails.  If you are example planning an email for Black Friday, Mother’s Day etc – ensuring that your emails are timely (although do take into account, there are a lot of emails that are likely to go out on those occasions).

The other thing you need to do is create a sense of urgency.  If there is an offer where there is an expiry of a month away for example, it could be that the prospective client goes to your competitors and has a long, hard think about the purchase.  As soon as they click away from your email – the less likely they are to convert.

Ensure there is Some Consistency Between Email Sends

There needs to be some consistency with your email sends.  If a client doesn’t hear from you for a year, and all of a sudden there is an email outreach with no warm-up – they may get a shock or else consider it to be spam and delete straight away.

You need to get the balance right as to how often to contact them.  Although you don’t want them to send them content irregularly, you also don’t want to overwhelm them, so they get fed up being spammed and unsubscribe.  Again, this is where the personalisation of email campaigns come in – so the designated recipient receives content that interests them.

There is a lot more to email campaigns than people tend to think, and a lot of variables that can impact their success or failure. If you are starting out with your email campaign strategy, or it simply isn’t working as well as you’d hope so far – then make sure you implement these tips for best results.