The 3 Steps to Getting Your Emails Read

Emailing your customers is a privilege. Use it well, and you’ll build loyalty that translates into sales. Abuse it, and they’ll cut you off faster than you can hit “send.”

Email is still the preferred method of reaching customers with 77 percent citing it as their top channel. Used correctly, it has the potential for a huge return on your investment- as much as $28.50 for every dollar spent, according to the Direct Marketing Association.

If you’re like most marketers, however, just getting your customers to read your emails is probably your biggest hurdle. Here are three steps to writing emails your customers will actually want to read.

1. Build Targeted Segments

Before you write a single word, you need to know something about your audience. Understanding your customers is the most basic principle of effective marketing, yet it’s quickly forgotten in the rush to get information out and make the sale.

Use customer data to create in-depth subscriber lists. A good subscriber list will group your customers by industry type, job title or function, stage in the sales cycle, click-through rates and interests. In the Lyris Annual Email Optimizer Report, 71 percent of email marketers said list segmentation significantly improved their results.

2. Create Relevant, Personalized Content

Your customer data will help you determine what your customers care about, making it easier to speak to what they want. If you’re promoting your outerwear to young female athletes, you’ll want to write different copy than if you’re reaching middle-aged men who enjoy hunting. Personalized content can intrigue them, make them think and, ultimately, call on them to take action.

3. Use Compelling Subject Lines

Too many marketers spend hours crafting the perfect email copy and make the subject line an afterthought. If you don’t think carefully about your subject line, all that work on the copy is a wasted effort. You may need to rewrite your subject line several times before you have one that’s strong enough to use. Don’t forget to test it to ensure it meets this criteria recommended by Copyblogger:

• Useful: Is the promised message valuable to your readers?
• Ultra-specific: Does it clearly explain what they’re going to see?
• Unique: Will it tell them something they haven’t heard before?
• Urgent: Does it entice them to read right now?

The more you know about your subscribers, the better you can create relevant, engaging, deliverable marketing messages. Customer data helps email marketers understand the individual behind the email address. With this insight, you can unlock a more accurate demographic and lifestyle profile of your subscribers and more easily send the right message to the right people at the right time and in the right way.

Want to see how Email Intelligence can enhance your list and enable you to send more personalized, targeted mailings for better results? Click here for a free match test!

Photo Credit: visualpanic