If you aren’t able to catch your audience’s attention
Depending on the sources you believe, people spend between 2.6 and 30 seconds on the email you send them. Hopefully your efforts are able to create more engagement than these reported numbers.
However, a lot of engagement through email isn’t always the case. People receive dozens of email messages each day. Some of these are information-based or deal-based, while others are purely promotional pieces aiming to create a sale.
With the time spent on email, your communications are doomed unless they can stand out and provide real value.
For all of the naysayers, it’s worth pointing out that the value of email correspondence is still high. According to a survey from research firm Ipsos, email is used by 85% of respondents. This is compared to 62% of respondents who use social media, which is often considered an email killer. This survey polled nearly 20,000 people throughout 24 countries around the world.
To protect against falling victim to the dreaded opt-out, here are five tips for staying in tune with your email recipients. If you aren’t currently using these practices, give them a shot. I’m sure your email database will thank you.
Five ways to engage email audiences
It may only take one experience with your email newsletters or email marketing campaigns before audience members understand how you communicate through the popular medium. Consider these five strategies for engaging your audience through email.
Clarity: Email subscribers don’t like cluttered email inboxes, nor do they like cluttered emails. Your emails need to be clearly viewed, read, and understood or recipients will quickly lose interest.
Give a reason to open: There are primarily two main reasons I can think of for opening an email: great content or special deals. Groupon is one email that I also open because I know there will be great prices associated with things I might actually care about. Publishers need to constantly present high quality content in their newsletters or audience members will grow weary of receiving the newsletter.
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Are you providing great content? Try using this quick checklist:
-I provide actionable information that can help my audience do more things.
-I provide up-to-date information on my industry.
-I educate my audience on topics of interest to them.
-I ask to further the relationship through comments and social interactions.
If you checked at least two of those tips, then your content is probably in good shape.
Appeal to the senses: Providing imagery is one way to appeal to the senses of your email subscribers. Have you noticed pictures of people used in email campaigns, on websites and in brand nameplates? Seeing pictures of people makes a personal connection and brings a human element to an impersonal medium.
Appeal to emotion: Sometimes the features of your products aren’t enough to persuade a consumer to buy. Discuss the benefits too, and the hidden value behind owning a product may then become more apparent to the customer.
Ask your audience to get involved: The social aspects of the Internet are interesting to people because they get to share their life experiences, their knowledge, and the things they like. These social relationships need to be harnessed by online businesses, digital publishers, and content marketers.
How are you engaging audience members with email marketing? Please share your insight in the comments below.
