INSIGHTS

In a digital world cluttered with fleeting content, users with short attention spans, shifting algorithms and fickle social media channels… email is one of the few remaining ways to have a personal, direct line to your audience.

You’ll know if you’ve spoken to me or Dan at the Hutch: we love email marketing as a tool.

“But people don’t read emails anymore!”

“Email marketing is dead!”

Common misconceptions! And the stats back us up on this one: 50% of people buy from marketing emails at least once per month.

There’s a golden opportunity with email marketing, and today we’re showing you our top tips on how to do it right.

Understanding your audience

The focus and content you put into your email is crucial to the level of engagement you will get from your newsletter results. However, figuring out what type of content you should create is by far the most difficult part.

To get started with your email content strategy, think: who are you talking to? What sparks their curiosity, fuels their passion, or solves a problem for them?

Think about what content they would be interested in reading, what industries they work in, and what topics they care about. Then you can write content that’s relevant to them, and that will keep them engaged and subscribed!

Our 3 rules for email content

In a nutshell, our three CH rules for email content? Make it:

• Relevant: It relates directly to the reader’s industry, interests, and topics they care about.

• Interesting: It entertains, educates, or delights the reader.

• Valuable: It teaches the reader or provides them with something they find useful.

Email segmentation

If you’ve made it this far, you’re bound to be wondering the relevance of our header pic? Well, email marketing is just like oranges – if you find any without segments, you know something’s a bit off…

Segmented email campaigns can see a 54% higher Click-Through-Rate than their non-segmented counterparts (especially for e-commerce businesses).

What is email segmentation? It sounds fancy, but it’s nothing complicated. Email segmentation is where you divide recipients into groups based on interests, behaviours, or demographics.

Segmenting your list (for example, into customers and non-customers) then drilling down even further, allows you to tailor your messaging so finely that it feels personal. And in today’s digital landscape, personalisation isn’t just nice to have; it’s expected.

Here’s an example of how you can do it:

Style, layout, and the art of engagement

Your email campaign’s style and layout give that first impression of what your business and brand is all about. In every campaign, ensure your emails:

1. Have a consistent theme, message and branding style which ties into your brand core values and keeps brand consistency across all of your emails.
2. Ensure the top banner image is compelling and encourages a scroll. For example, impactful product images.
3. Make sure you add your call-to-action (CTA) button to the top of your email. Most people won’t reach the bottom of email to click on your call to action!
4. Your newsletter should encourage your readers to click through to your website content and directing traffic to site wherever possible.
5. Keep your copy short and punchy.
6. Use around five sections, to maximise engagement.
7. Create a community (a blog-style newsletter, with consistent content.)
8. Have a go at testing your subject lines with A/B testing to improve the email open rates.

Best practices for content that converts

Provide exclusive value: Offer something unique that they won’t get from your other channels.

Segment and target: Doing this will boost your metrics and result in higher open rates, more engagement, prolonged interest, and greater customer loyalty. Fewer readers will unsubscribe or file spam complaints.

Clarify your message: From the subject line to the CTA, clarity is king. Audiences need to get what your newsletter is about as soon as they read the subject line. Once they open it, they also need to understand quickly what they should focus on and which calls-to-actions (CTAs) to take. Otherwise, you won’t see good open and engagement rates.

Let us help you build outstanding emails

At Creative Hutch, we’re all about crafting emails that not only reach inboxes but resonate with the people who open them.

Our team – from Debbie’s design genius to Dan’s digital background –  help your emails stand out, engage, and, ultimately, convert!

Fancy a chat about levelling up your email marketing? Drop us a line.