How to Craft More Useful Email Content for Your Target Audience

Digital marketers continue to pinpoint email marketing as the most effective online tactic for building awareness, acquisition, retention and conversion. But according to a B2B Marketing Insider Report, 43% of readers of B2B marketing content identified “blatantly self-promotional content” as their biggest turnoff.

Blending the promotional aspects of your email marketing with a helpful angle can be more beneficial for your subscribers than a weekly product update. In addition to sharing news about your product or the latest promotion you’re running, incorporate something truly useful to engage your subscribers in a different way. We’re talking about content that will make their lives easier, intrigue them by providing an interesting viewpoint on a challenging topic or meet a specific need as it relates to your industry.

The good news is you can deliver this type of useful content while promoting your brand at the same time. Here are three things to consider as you get started:

1. Know Your Audience

Email intelligence helps you understand your subscribers by telling you who the email address belongs to, the activity status of the email address and additional methods of communication, such as social media profiles and alternate email addresses.

While email intelligence can enable effective email personalization, you can take additional measures toward better understanding your audience’s needs. One way is to interview your colleagues and customers. Ask them questions about how and why they use your product and the everyday problems they face. This insight can help you discover what type of content may be the most helpful to your subscribers while promoting your product or service.

2. Find Your Content “Sweet Spot”

Once you have a solid grasp on who your customers are, the everyday challenges they face and the solutions they seek, take a step back to consider how your brand can help. This is called your content sweet spot, or the place where your customers’ interests and your expertise as an organization overlap. These are the topics you can prioritize when developing email content because they address the main concerns of your customers while promoting your brand viewpoint and value at the same time.

3. Keep Your Story Alive

Email content that promotes your product while helping your subscribers doesn’t have to begin and end with a single email campaign. Your sweet spot can be carried through a series of lead nurturing emails that aim to enlighten and educate your audience, ultimately guiding them to purchase or register for a key conversion opportunity.

Elements like animated GIFs showing how to use a new feature, or a snippet of an interview with a thought leader at your company are just two types of helpful email content you can integrate into your workflow. These additions bring educational content into your email mix, all while showcasing your product and brand expertise.

Knowing the ins and outs of your subscriber data will help you create the most appropriate email content and achieve optimal engagement.

To start winning over your customers and improve your email communications today, download our free email intelligence guide, 3 Ways to Use Subscriber Data to Modernize Your Email Marketing.