Last week we talked about email sequences and email nurturing… Let’s talk about some best practices when it comes to email marketing.
Personalize the email greeting
Start every email off with your reader’s first name. This sets a personal tone for the email and although most people know that your email goes out to a large list – it still makes your email feel like it was written specifically to them.
When you’re writing your emails, write them as if you’re writing to one person. This not only drives home the feeling that your email was sent only to that one person – BUT it also changes the tone of your email. Most times, if writing to one person – you’ll come across more personable and less salesy!
Don’t purchase lists
One of the things we see people do is purchasing lists. Now, this is more popular in the US because they have different rules and regulations than Canada’s Anti-Spam Law. But we still see this mistake happen.
When you purchase a list and send them unsolicited emails, you’re starting your relationship off on the wrong foot. You haven’t built your relationship on mutual trust. Instead, you’re sliding into their inbox with no context or former touchpoints.
Most people will hit unsubscribe and/or spam. They won’t appreciate the email – even if you ARE leading with value. Instead of purchasing a list, run some ads towards your lead magnet to grow your list quickly and authentically.
Avoid using No Reply in the sender email address
The goal of your email list is to build a relationship. And to do that, it includes two-way communication. You want to be asking questions. You want to hear from your readers.
By using a no-reply sender email address, you’re saying to your audience that you don’t value their input. You don’t want to hear from them. It often comes across salesy – even if your intention was to provide value.
Avoid using multiple fonts (3 or less)
Using multiple fonts in your email doesn’t say professional. Using one font for the entire email is fully recommended – but if you MUST include more than one, don’t do more than three.
The more fonts, the harder it is to read. You want your audience to have a good and easy experience when reading your emails.
Include an email signature
Every email you send should have an email signature. You want your readers to be able to find more contact information from you easily.
The best email signatures include any/all contact information from you. A website to learn more information from you and maybe one call to action. A signup link for an offer, event or additional resource (webinar, Facebook group, etc.).
Your email signature should look clean and professional.
It should also include an unsubscribe button. Don’t make people search for it. If people want to subscribe and can’t, they’re more likely to label it as spam OR they simply won’t open the emails anymore. But of which can hurt the health of your email list.
1 Call To Action
You don’t want to confuse your audience. The more call to actions you include in one email, the less likely you’ll get your readers to do anything.
You need to pick one action you want your audience to take per email. Focus your email around that. This will improve your results drastically because your audience knows exactly what you’re looking for them to do.
Speaking of email… need help building your email list? Click here and download our free case study on how I grew my email list by 85% in less than three months.