Spring Cleaning Your Email Marketing

With all the rain we received this weekend, it’s finally starting to look like spring here in Southeastern Wisconsin. If you look closely, you can see the daffodils poking their green shoots out of the ground. Plus, nearly every tree is beginning to bud. Yes, warmer weather it on its way.

You know what that means – it’s spring cleaning season. No, we’re not just talking about getting all the fingerprints off your windows and dusting the floor trim. We’re talking about spring cleaning your email marketing. Take a look at the suggestions below and make sure your email marketing is squeaky clean!

Spring Cleaning Your Email Marketing

 

Add Subscribers

Subscribe Button

One of the easiest ways to get more e-newsletter subscribers is to add a “subscribe” button to your website. Try placing the button in different spots around your website to see which location gets the most click-throughs.

You can also add a “subscribe” button to the newsletter itself. If your newsletter is forwarded from someone who is already a subscriber, the new person receiving your newsletter will have a chance to subscribe right away.

Sign Up Locations On-Site

This one is like creating a “subscribe” button, but with pen and paper instead of HTML. Have a sign-up sheet on-site so that you can get subscribers who might not be regularly visiting your website. If you don’t have much foot traffic to your location, this step likely won’t be as effective for you. However….the next tip might.

Links in Email Signatures

Do you send out emails during the work day? If so, consider adding a “Subscribe to our Newsletter” link to your email signature. If you’re sending out many emails during the day, you’re giving many people the opportunity to sign up, just through the simple act of sending an email.

Publicize on Social Media

Are all the people who follow you on social also subscribed to your newsletter? Probably not. This group of people is a potentially untapped market to get the word out about your newsletter and your newsletter content. But. Let me give you a word of caution. If you’re sharing the same information in the newsletter as what is shared on social, your followers and subscribers might start tuning out your messaging. By providing the same information in both outlets, you are training viewers to tune out one or the other of the repeat information. Instead, keep it fresh, creative and interesting in your newsletter and on social.

Rethink Your Imagery

Often times, images sent within newsletters will show up as being initially blocked. Readers must then adjust their preference settings to allow such images to be seen. Be cognizant of  the fact that readers will not always necessarily take the time to do so. Use images sparingly, and create a vibrant newsletter that is prepped and ready to go from  the moment you hit send, to the second they open your message.

Rethink Your Content

Try to formulate what your main message will be. Rather than using an indirect approach, get right to the point. The moment that users have to scroll down to read more of your message or put excessive amounts of effort into interpreting your message, the sooner they will move on to other messages in their inbox.

Also think about your subject lines. The titles that you decide to insert as your email subject lines can be the deciding factor to whether or not recipients will even open and view your work. Be fun, be creative, be engaging. Try new techniques. Will you pose a question, offer a discount, or make a bold statement? There a variety of options to try. Play around and see what works best for your target audience.

Simplify Your Design

When in doubt, take the simple route. Truly, you don’t want to overwhelm the reader. Keep design minimal. Instead, let the powerful verbiage and outstanding visuals do the talking. With simple, minimal design, you can direct your audience to quit reading the email and head to the website instead, where full copy and design are waiting.

These tips will definitely get you started as you begin spring cleaning your email marketing. For even more useful advice, check out this video here and this blog post here. There’s always room for more improvement, and this spring is a great time to get started.