I received an email today from one of the top marketers in the world (I’d argue he is simply THE best but we’ll save that for another day) and I noticed a few small things stood out which could make this email even better.
Really Mitch, you’re going to improve the email copy of one of the best marketers ever?
Yes. Here’s how.
1. What does your email look like on an iPhone?
Here’s a few simple pointers to help you get more impact from your marketing emails. This message was received on an iPhone 5C. Nothing fancy, just like the millions of others out there.
Check out the subject line. Make sense to you? Nope, me either. If it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t get as many opens as it could. What should you do? Make it short. It has to be short enough to now work in about 22 characters. This is hard to do, but it’s worth it.
Next, what do you see in your preview pane?
I’m reading “This email was sent as HTML only. To view it.” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
I’m just a busy guy trying to decide whether to read or delete this message.
The ONLY reason I’d read it is because it’s from Jay Abraham. He could send anything and I’d read it.
You see my point? Oprah could get away with this. Arnold Palmer could get away with this, but most likely you need your subject line to help your message get opened.
Make sure you have a short, compelling one.
Then, make sure the copy in your email message is not pushed aside by some non-marketing tech mumbo jumbo. It is meaningless and doesn’t help you get your message opened and read.
If it doesn’t get opened, it won’t get read. If it doesn’t get read, no sales for you!
2. See the full message
Now you’re starting to see the message as intended. See the full subject line? It’s good but too long.
Suddenly, I see personalization. Excellent.
Then I see the first line of the message “… in the business world today–you grow or die!” Got my attention. Check!
Don’t let the technical execution of sending your email prevent your good marketing copy from doing its thing.
3. Run a full test
When we’re running email campaigns for ourselves or clients we run a FULL production send to a series of email clients, Gmail, MSN, AOL, MS Outlook, iMac, Yahoo, and on an iPhone. We take a look and make sure our formatting isn’t ignored or modified by the email software.
Then you know your email has its best chance at doing it’s job.
CONCLUSION:
Don’t make the mistake of assuming email marketing is a simple, throw copy into a template, hit send, check results type of process. Technical issues can mask your marketing and prevent you from getting optimal results.