How to earn your spurs in email marketing
by Stuart Clark
He may be a Spuds Spurs fan, but Red C Account Director Steve White is not completely useless. He knows an awful lot about Email Marketing for one thing. So when he gave me a 700-page document from MarketingSherpa called Best Practices in Email Marketing I thought to myself, this is probably worth reading.*
MarketingSherpa is a research firm that specializes in tracking what works in all aspects of marketing (and what does not.) Their goal: to give marketers of the world the stats, inspiration, and instructions to improve their email marketing results.
According to their Research Manager Stefan Tornquist this guide was written “to provide one-stop guidance on building a ‘best in class’ email program, whether you’re managing an enterprise level marketing department or a small business.”
Well I’m doing neither actually. I’m basically just a humble copywriter, looking for a few quick fixes to improve my email marketing credentials. And luckily for me, this guide is absolutely packed with them Here are a few of my favourites…
5 tips on subject lines
Tip #1: Ask your customer to do something
A simple, direct call to action can be very effective in driving action. But be direct, you’ll find it will increase response.
WRONG: Learn about Stuart Clark – Copywriting Legend
RIGHT: Open to discover the secret of Stuart Clark’s brilliant copy
Tip #2: Make them an offer they can’t refuse
Some people swear by putting a specific offer in the subject lines. And it makes sense to some degree, particularly if you run a company that’s proposition is based around low prices. After all, that’s what your customers are expecting you to tell them about.
However some marketers find that an offer led subject line is off-putting. And that makes sense too. The subject line is the equivalent of the envelope message on a DM pack – what legendary copywriter Bill Jayme refers to as “the hot-pants on the hooker.” So the more specific the information you put on it, the more chances you give the prospect to read it, decide it’s not for them and trash it.
WRONG: FREE DELIVERY plus FREE RETURNS before 6pm
If you are going to put an offer in your subject line, try being a bit more intriguing, like this one I got sent by online fashion retailer, ASOS, recently…
RIGHT: Open me quick! I expire at 6pm, payday treat
Both these subject lines present the same offer. Which one are you more interested in opening?
Tip #3: Use hot words in the subject line
Hot words are the words you think your prospect will find most attractive, and most likely to respond to. For example, if you offer a publication called “Copywriting Secrets,” it makes sense to test the words “copywriting” and “secrets” in the subject line. Like this…
Copywriting secrets revealed! Legendary copywriter’s award-winning advice
Legendary copywriter Stuart Clark reveals his copywriting secrets
Tip #4: Test long, short and super-short subject lines
It’s the eternal question: just how long should a subject line be? The consensus at the moment seems to be for subject lines of no more than 40 characters, largely because of the popularity of small, handheld email-readers like the Blackberry. On the other hand, some companies have received higher open rates from subject lines that are 70-80 characters in length.
So the answer, as it always is in direct marketing, is: test it and see. One thing to bear in mind is that your subject line is never going to be read in isolation. It’s going to be competing with lots of other subject lines in your customer’s inbox. So a particularly long subject line may stand out better.
Likewise, it’s worth testing super-short subject lines, ones of 15 characters or less. These may seem more difficult to write, but the trick is to be brave. Ask yourself how much information really needs to go in the subject line. Do you really need to spell out the entire contents of the email to get it opened?
The lifestyle e-newsletter, Daily Candy, use their own headlines as subject lines. The results are witty, intriguing subject lines totally in-keeping with their terse, informal, gossipy tone of voice. Like this…
Good Clean Fun, Homegrown, Give Saints, In Treatment, Too Cool For Drool, Be Mine, Felt Up
I’ve been getting Daily Candy emails for nearly a year now. And whilst they don’t reveal their open rates, their subject lines have never deviated from this format in all that time. So it’s fair to assume they must be pretty successful.
Tip #5: Include something newsworthy
It’s common sense really. Tell your customers you’ve got some news for them. Not the current affairs kind, just something your customer hasn’t heard before; something they will find useful for their job, hobby or lifestyle.
Use words like news, newsflash, update, report, important information. Then back it up with a benefit. Like this…
Update from Stuart Clark: amazing copywriting tip I’ve just learnt
Stuart Clark news: really profitable copywriting tip revealed
Copy length
Yet another eternal question and, just like the subject line length debate, there can only be one answer: test it. As a starting point you should provide enough copy to get your customer to do what you want them to do – and no more.
Plus, obey the “What’s-In-It-For-Me” Principle. Your customers don’t care how delighted you are to be able to offer them this great deal, or what your opinion is on a subject, or how many adjectives you can cram into your sentences. All they want to know is how what you are saying benefits them. Consider these two sentences…
1. Our copywriting tips are comprehensive, insightful, up-to-date and relevant helping you to write better copy faster
2. Our copywriting tips will help you write better copy – faster.
Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter how long the copy is, as long as it gets to the point, is easy-to-scan and is crammed with customer benefits. And when people say to you: “I don’t like long copy,” remember… it’s not a question of taste, it’s about what performs better.
The FROM field: 3 points to consider
It may seem insignificant, but the “From” field is important. It’s probably the first element of your email your customer reads, and it lets them know where the email has come from. There are 3 guidelines you should follow when considering your FROM field.
1. Always include the name of your brand
If your customer has opted-in to your email programme, it means they want to receive your emails. They may even look forward to receiving them. So you should always include your brand name in the “From” field. That way your customer knows that the communication they have been looking forward to receiving, has arrived.
2. Keep it consistent
As with the point above, if your customer is expecting to receive emails from you, it doesn’t make sense to change the “From” field periodically. It will become confusing and may even result in your email being trashed because the customer doesn’t recognise the sender. Not a good thing.
3. Try using a person
Some brands find that using a person’s name in the “From” field keeps open rates high. Copywriter and author, Andy Maslen, sends his emails from “Andy Maslen, Sunfish.” He includes his name and the name of his business. The reason? It’s more personal. You feel like you’re getting an email from him. If the email came from just Sunfish it wouldn’t have that effect. Somehow it would seem less personal, more corporate. and we all know how people feel about big faceless corporations.
NOTE: If you don’t have an actual person to send the email from, why not invent one? It’s perfectly legal to do so, as long as that “person” doesn’t encourage your customers to participate in any financial transactions.
So there we have it. Hopefully that’s been useful. I know I’ve certainly learnt a lot more about Email Marketing from reading this excellent guide.
If you’d like to have an effective email marketing campaign created for you, call 0161 872 1361 or click here to contact us.
*Actually, I didn’t think that. I thought “I’ve been properly stitched up here. Mark my words I’ll get you for this, Spurs boy.”
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