Tech Trends: I use iContact to reach my audience. I send out an e-mail every workday to over 80,000 people. Outreach is important. But it’s not about the size of your database or the number of e-mails that you send, it’s about so much more. Here are some things that every good e-mail outreach must include.
First, who you are needs to shine through in every e-mail. The more personalized an e-mail, the less likely it is to get lost in an inbox of spam. There’s an easy way to make an e-mail more personable – have it come from a person, advises Sean Peak at Business News Daily. He has written more than 100 B2B-focused articles on various subjects including business technology, marketing, and business finance. In addition to researching trends, reviewing products, and writing articles that help small business owners, Sean runs a content marketing agency that creates high-quality editorial content for both B2B and B2C businesses.
“As a side benefit, this helps differentiate your company as a small business,” said Peek. “Some e-mail marketing software even allows senders to include the recipient’s name in the salutation. (This will depend on the level of friendliness you’re going for.)”
“One thing we saw an instant bump in open rates from was when we put the e-mail coming from the owner’s name instead of the company name,” added Jeff Moriarty, who runs marketing and web development for Moriarty’s Gem Art. “Customers appreciate not being hit by just sales e-mails and find the ones we send much more valuable than most other retailers.”
Second, everyone lives on their smartphone, so make sure that your e-mails are mobile friendly. In 2022, 46% of all marketing e-mails were opened on a mobile device. “When you send an e-mail to a subscriber who reads their e-mails on their mobile device, but the e-mail is not optimized for that device, what do you think they do with it? Mostly, they unsubscribe or delete it,” said Steven Macdonald, a renowned digital marketer based in Tallinn, Estonia.
So, what should you do? “Implement responsive email design (RED): Creating a responsive e-mail design means that the user experience is optimized regardless of the device or screen they use. Most email service providers (ESP) offer this solution within their email functionality,” said Macdonald.
“Also, keep the subject line and pre-header short. The subject line is crucial. Keep it short so the reader knows exactly what the email topic is about. And the pre-header text (also known as snippet text), don’t let it go to waste, summarize the e-mail, or include a call to action,” continued Macdonald.
“In addition, make the CTA big and obvious: Mobile devices vary in size. While a text link may work on a tablet or larger screen, you might be alienating your readers who have a smaller screen (or bigger hands!) if your call to action is too small. Make the call to action, big, bold, and simple to click,” noted Macdonald.
Lastly, keep your e-mails to the point. Nobody has time to read a lot these days. “On average, a person sends and receives 121 business e-mails each day; an e-mail you send a subscriber is just one in an endless digital pile. Give your e-mail a better chance at being read by keeping e-mails short and to the point,” said Fadeke Adegbuyi, Senior Content Marketing Manager at DigitalOcean. Her marketing and editorial experience spans tech, government, academia, and media. I’m passionate about telling stories of better ways to work and live.
I hope this helps you better use e-mail outreach to get the best results. I know you’re busy, so I’ll leave it there and provide more tech trends next week.
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