Looking for expert information about email best practices ? Here are 3 great sources.
Offer something of value
“Be their helpful ambassador, not their slimy salesperson.”
Back when the interwebs and emails were still fresh, new, and exciting, people used to say “Content is king.” Cranking out content was accepted as an email best practice. And it resulted in a lot of bad copy being fired around the world like a Ricky Vaughn fastball in “Major League.”
As this article points out, content is still king, but only if it’s optimized to work–for the recipient. That means avoiding non sequiturs, keeping an eye out for banner blindness and (get this) offering something of value.
Read more about it on the Marketing Experiments blog.
Take care of your body(copy) and head(line)
“No one wants to get an email from their good friend ‘Do Not Reply.'”
Here are some things that don’t qualify as an email best practice: Subject lines that bore. Stock photos from 1994. Copy that would make the smarmiest of used car salesmen blush. An email blast from Mr. Do Not Reply.
Are these your marketing emails? If so, they’re probably not getting to your targets, much less compelling anyone to do, well, anything.
Put yourself in their in-box
“Put yourself in the role of your intended recipient, and write to persuade yourself.”
“Be the ball, Danny.” It’s a line from “Caddy Shack” about thinking clearly while golfing. But it also applies to email copywriters.
No, you don’t need to imagine yourself as a ball when you sit down to write. But if you follow this email best practice and imagine that you are your audience, you’re more likely to hit the sweet spot. It’s a great tip for writing great copy.
Want more? Get it on the Marketing Experiments blog.