Writing Your First E-Mail Promotion
Your current newsletter subscribers are a captive audience for your e-mail promotions--so plan them well and follow these writing tips.
June 01, 2004
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Let's say you're a business owner who usually only sends
monthly newsletters, but you're thinking about e-mailing
standalone product promotions to your subscribers. Do you think
you'll seem too pushy? Is this really a good idea? Yes, it's a good idea, and, no, it won't seem too pushy!
Need proof? A recent DoubleClick report found that 78 percent of
people surveyed said they wanted to receive e-mail from their
favorite online merchants. And eMarketer found that 67 percent of
U.S. consumers liked companies who, in their opinion, did a good
job with permission e-mail marketing. So you don't need to
worry about offending your customers with your promotion--provided
you follow a few simple guidelines. First things first: If you want your e-mail promotion to
succeed, you need to make sure it looks professional, and this
means proofreading your e-mail at least three times before sending
it to your subscribers. Have a friend or co-worker check it out as
well. If you send an e-mail full of spelling mistakes, it will cost
you sales and could permanently damage your credibility. Content Continues Below
Next, send a test version of the message to yourself. You should
sign up for a free e-mail account with Yahoo! and Hotmail, and
include these accounts in your test mailing. If you have a friend
or family member with an AOL account, send them a copy, too. The
point here is to catch any formatting errors that might show up in
the different e-mail programs. Believe me, you'll be surprised
how often you find them! And now for the most important part. Before you send out any
promotion, ask yourself, "How relevant is this offer to my
subscribers?" If your promotion doesn't answer this
question immediately, you have some work to do. Don't assume that your subscribers will automatically see
why your e-mail promotion is relevant to them--you need to spell it
out. Explain in detail how your product can help them and why now
is the time to buy. Two of the most effective ways to highlight the
relevance of your offer are to: - Put a strong emphasis on benefits. Let's say you
sell skin-care products. You need to highlight the benefit to the
customer (it gives them younger-looking skin) rather than the
features (it contains 12 different moisturizers). Can you see how
the benefit-centered statement is much easier to identify with than
the feature-centered one?
- Make your offer exclusive. Tailor your promotion so that
it's exclusive to the people who receive it, then give them a
strong reason to act immediately. You should let your subscribers
know that this offer is only being made available to them and that
it will only be available for a limited time.
Since this is your first e-mail promotion, you will definitely
want to feature one of your most popular products. This is no time
to try to unload old inventory or blow out last year's models.
If you write an e-mail that gives people a good reason to buy one
of your best-selling products, you can guarantee yourself a
fantastic response! 8 Writing Tips for Your Promotional E-MailThe proliferation of e-mail marketing can make it tough to stand
out. Here are eight tips for writing e-mails that produce top
results. - Choose a great subject line. Steer clear of misleading
or mysterious subject lines. Nothing screams spam louder than
"How are you?" An effective subject line includes a
benefit and relates directly to your offer, such as "Save 60
percent on tape stock."
- Have a solid hook. The first few sentences contain your
hook and are the most critical part of your e-mail. The hook is the
central message of your mailing. It should be clear and intriguing.
Be sure it focuses on what they'll get, not on what you
offer.
- Tell them what to do. Your e-mail should have two or
three paragraphs-no more. Total length should be less than 250
words. The body should support your hook using benefits, then close
with a call to action. Tell readers what you want them to do and
include hyperlinks such as "Click here to register."
- Use clear, direct language. A well-written message uses
the active voice and has short, concise sentences. This is crucial
because as many as half of your recipients will read just the first
few sentences before deciding to continue. If writing isn't
your strong suit, consider hiring an e-mail copywriter.
- Focus on your offer. Your e-mail should have one subject
and one subject only. Resist the temptation to make multiple
offers, which may confuse your recipients and dilute your
message.
- Don't drop the ball. Some e-mail marketing messages
fall short because they fail to include all the information
customers need. Be sure to include vital data, such as pricing and
deadlines. It's unreasonable to expect customers to visit your
site to get the information they need to evaluate your e-mail
offer.
- Include a P.S. While a postscript isn't mandatory,
it grabs attention. Often, recipients will read the subject line
and the hook, scan key elements and go directly to the P.S. It
should restate your hook and highlight your offer. After the P.S.,
give recipients a way to unsubscribe from your list. This is
generally the last link at the bottom of the e-mail.
- Make it readable. Even the best copy can't sell if
your e-mail looks too dense. Keep paragraphs to three or four lines
and double-spaced. Use bullets or stars to emphasize key points,
but avoid text in all caps or multiple exclamation points. Set text
width at 68 characters or less per line so it displays correctly in
e-mail applications. Also, avoid breaking or wrapping URLs into two
lines--it may cause technical problems. By eliminating these
barriers, it'll be easy for customers to take advantage of your
offer and dramatically boost your results.
Sources: Tips
for Your First E-Mail Promotion and No Fail
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