Originally published in our InTrends LinkedIn newsletter on August 14th
I have a love-hate relationship with Summer. I love how everyone goes on vacation at the same time. Things just slow down so we can all enjoy our long days by the beach without worrying about the work piling up.
Ironically, I also hate the same exact thing!
Everyone barely works during the summer which slows down all projects and, definitely, no one reads emails they’re not waiting for: aka Email marketing
I always advise my B2B clients to limit their campaigns to one per month during July and August,
And to make it count!
To help you do that I mapped out some key advice to help you convert clients regardless of your open rate
I’ve divided the tips into three categories: the inside; the packaging; the metrics
Nailing the Inside
1- Start by answering why would your potential client or subscriber care about your email
Are you directly addressing a key challenge? Sharing a piece of information crucial for their line of work? Announcing an exceptional promotion? Launching a new product that directly helps them with pain points?
Why would they care about your promotion? new product launch? Your success story, press release, and more?
Begin your email clearly answering: Here’s why and what you’ll get when you keep reading.
(P.S: Of course, I won’t go into the basics of refining your message to your key buyer persona, or how to match their tone, that’s too basic for you folks over here.)
2- Get to the point:
This state keeps changing, but according to Litmus, email marketing solution provider, the average time subscribers spend reading an email is only around 8.97 seconds or an average of 36 words, according to research that shows the average English silent reader reads 238 words per minute.
3- Jargon-free, assumption-free, and well-formatted:
No matter how technical your audience is, email marketing is a tool. Keep it simple, easy to read, and don’t assume the reader will reach a conclusion without stating it.
Don’t increase the reading effort for your audience.
4- One message per email:
This is not a newsletter, it’s a conversion tool. We will help you achieve A, B, and C through the following Y, X, and Z. Here’s the next step.
Speaking of the next step
5 – Aim for the two CTA and TCTA per email:
B2B sales tend to be investment heavy, that’s why transitional call-to-actions (TCTAs) are an important tool. Essentially, it tells the reader, you don’t have to commit but here’s how to learn more, ask us for a call, see our how-to videos, read our success stories…etc.
6- With text-rich emails, use the annoying LinkedIn style:
Yup! I said it, writing half paragraphs so the copy is easier to scan is going to reduce us into a bunch of 8-year-olds.
That said, this is a very effective way to ensure your key points get read! 🙄
7- Use headers, sub-headers, and bullets:
They are reader-friendly and help you also guide your audience towards key points.
8- White space is important and so are visuals:
At a minimum aim for 20% of white space in your email. Lean heavy on dividers and separators in your email.
We are visual creatures, 9/10 times your reader will look at the image first before reading the text.
The Packaging
9- Emails from humans have a higher open rate:
Use a person’s name in the “from” field.
You’ve probably seen it a million times, a big real estate company or a supermarket chain sending you their latest offers from a person, not an automation tool. We all know it’s automation but still, it works.
10- Follow the persuasive header tactics with your subject line:
- Include a number in your header, this tends to get more opens
- Use strong verbs, they grab attention easier
- Phrase it as a question, we’re wired to answer unanswered questions
11- The subject needs to be 55 characters or less
Your entire subject line should be visible.
12- Use the preview text to answer: Why am I receiving this email?
No, your client doesn’t remember subscribing or maybe even buying from you. Remind them why they need to read your emails.
Ideally, keep this under 90 characters to ensure it’s also entirely visible on small screens.
13- A/B testing isn’t a luxury
Always try different sending times, experiment with different titles, or use different headers. These small tweaks will help you identify what your specific audience best engages with.
The Important Metrics
14- Your sender reputation and score:
This is essentially why your email ends up in the junk folder. This metric tells you how email providers such as Gmail, MS Outlook, and Yahoo view the quality of your email address and domain.
It’s a score from 0 to 100, and if your score is less than 70 you need to fix a few things. The score is based on IP address, domain age, website quality, spam reports, the quality of the email provider you are using (i.e Mailchimp, HubSpot…etc), among other things.
15- Open rates are dead, focus on CTR:
Did you know that Apple mail privacy protection (MPP) seeks to obscure real user opens by burying them in a tsunami of auto-generated opens? That’s why some marketers get huge open rates.
But open rates are still useful in deciphering click-through rates.
Compare the ratio of openers to clickers allows you to understand two things:
- How aligned your subject line is with the body content of your email
- How effective your body copy is at driving clicks
Open rate dips also tend to point to a problem with the subject line.
16 – Segment your distribution list, and customize your emails accordingly:
Not all your contacts are the same, some have previously engaged, some never reply, some are current clients, and some subscribed in case they need your service 5 years from today.
Each warrants a different version of your message.
17- Clean your email list:
Don’t just remove hard bounce emails, consider removing ones that haven’t been engaging for over 3 months.
18- The “we’re removing you” email:
Before you remove inactive subscribers send a last email with the title clearly stating that it’s the last email from you, asking them to click on a CTA if they wish to remain subscribed.
19 – Adopt Lead Scoring:
This helps you prioritize your leads by assigning a numerical value to each potential customer based on their behavior and fit with your ideal customer profile.
The higher the score, the more likely the lead is to convert into a customer.
20- And the most important tip: Are you selling?
Your email stats are fantastic, great CTR, open rate, and decent engagement. BUT clients aren’t really progressing through the sales funnel.
This is a symptom. Either your emails have great topics but aren’t really pushing your potential clients toward the endzone (purchase).
OR you’re sales and marketing teams are operating in completely different directions.
Finally, if you need help discussing how to get starteted or how to improve your email ROI, ask for a consult call.