The email inbox is a unique and fantastic place to get readers' attention on your product or service. However, there is a catch — their attention is being divided by all the other content in their inbox. Furthermore, emails opened on mobile are at an all-time high of 58%. By considering how readers today interact with email, we can design our messages to capture the attention of our audience and drive them to the goal with ease. Here are a few tips to remember when crafting effective email marketing in 2016.
Focus the Message
The most effective emails contain a single clear message. The reader should know what the point is as soon as they open the email or else the focus will be lost. While outlining the content of the message, continually ask the question, "What do I want my readers to do?"
Be Concise
Reduce the length of your email until you can simplify no more. Readers are opening their inboxes several times a day to a variety of email content, and half of users spend less than fifteen seconds per email. With their attention so divided, it is important to communicate a message that is both simple and swift.
Make It Scannable
If your email follows the previous two points, then this one should be easy. A big block of text is not going to be very user friendly in the short time you have the reader's attention. Talk about your topic in little bite-sized sections that support the main message. Consider a sentence or two under a section header followed by a call to action when applicable. Effective white space will let your layout breathe and keep the reader going.
Visual Media
Beautiful photography and animated gifs have been seen throughout many successful campaigns. J.Crew often takes a unique approach with their email campaigns by using animated gifs of food behind the promotional clothing text. It's no surprise to see a company that follows trends incorporate one that is still growing strong. The extra element of motion is more engaging for readers, but it's not for all brands. Remember to consider your audience, and keep it relevant to your product or service.
Prompt an Action
Calls To Action (CTAs) prompt your readers to external content like a website ("Read More") or to complete an action ("Subscribe Here"). Using active language that is short and clear will motivate your readers to act.
Be Responsive
With over half of all emails being opened on mobile, it is important to ensure the designs respond well on both desktop and mobile devices. Several email clients such as MailChimp, ConstantContact and CampaignMonitor provide options between premade responsive templates as well as the ability to build your own custom responsive code. You could see a click-through rate increase of about 10%.
How we view email marketing is constantly changing as well as the type of content that is most effective to readers. While taking note of usage statistics change over time, we can improve our email marketing to benefit the reader, and in turn answer the question, "What do I want my readers to do?”
