One of the most effective marketing tools available to companies is the email marketing list. But these days, with more email traffic flowing into people’s inboxes, it’s not enough to simply fire off an email to your customers and cross your fingers that it won’t meet with the same fate as another unwanted forward from your brother Larry. With that in mind, here’s a short list of the top three email marketing best practices that’ll help ensure your message stays free and clear of the “Deleted Items” folder.
- Create a compelling email subject line. Don’t leave any mystery about who you are or why you’re emailing—and forget trying deceptive approaches that represent your message for something other than it is. Think of your email subject as the headline to a news story.
- Keep it simple. The last thing you want to do is overwhelm your readers with too much information. Succinct email writing can be something of an art form, but don’t get so caught up in this that you lose the plot. Stick to the facts, and you can’t go wrong.
- Make use of white space. More often than not, an email or newsletter that’s crammed with text is totally unappealing to the reader’s eye. Information should be organized in your email message in chunks of relevant information. Bullet points—when appropriate—make your email message attractive to the eye.