When done correctly, email marketing is not only affordable, but extremely effective; it shows a higher ROI than social media, and has more quantifiable results.

However, it’s important to make an irresistible first impression when sending out an e-shot or a company newsletter, as it makes the difference between your email being opened, read and clicked through, or sent straight to the bin; or even worse, marked as spam.

 Tell your reader what they will get out of it

This one might seem obvious, but it’s really important! Your readers want to know what they’ll get out of your email; how they’ll benefit. We’re talking about value.

To encourage someone to open your email, you need to convey why they simply cannot afford to miss out on what you have to say. And if you believe in the message you are sharing, it shouldn’t be too hard to explain why someone needs to read your email. Always ensure you don’t misrepresent the content, however, as this may lead contacts to unsubscribe.

Snappy subject lines such as ‘How to Be a Better [XYZ]’, ‘5 Simple Ways to [XYZ]’’ and ‘Save More and Stress Less with [XYZ]’ all offer the reader something. They may contain quality information to help boost performance and productivity, or to save time, effort and money.

Connect emotionally

To increase email open rates and drive clicks to your website, you need to show that you are human, whilst appealing to the human emotions of your recipients.

Use powerful words to inspire and intrigue – what would bring them joy? What might they get excited about? How can you pique their interest and make them curious to read more? What would prompt them to react with urgency and speed?

Seeing ‘7 Steps to an Awesome Website’ in their inbox would certainly please and interest a business owner looking to redesign and relaunch their company website, whilst ‘Last Chance to Get Your Free Marketing Audit’ might prompt them to act quickly to analyse their strategy and take action to drive revenue.

Keep it short and sweet

According to the Litmus Email Analysis (2016), 55% of all emails are opened on a mobile device; keep this in mind when constructing your perfect subject line. On a small screen, longer lines of text will likely be cut off and won’t be seen, so aim to keep the line at 40 characters or fewer, and make sure the important information comes first.

With a clear and to-the-point subject line, that captures the attention and emotions of your recipients, you can look forward to increased open rates and more click-throughs to your website.

Don’t forget to keep a record of which subject lines work and which ones aren’t as effective. Split testing (also known as A/B testing) is a great way to learn what your contacts are interested in. To split test an email you simply distribute one subject line to half of your contacts, and a different one to the rest; then monitor and analyse which performed best.

At Disruptor Media, we are passionate about effective marketing strategies, and are constantly looking at ways to improve our clients’ marketing outputs. Our friendly team of experts are always on hand to offer the best advice for all things digital, so get in touch today if we can help you.