Why Would Anyone Read Your Email Message?
Contractors are wise to ask “why.” Getting to the why is how you zoom in on messages that have value for your readers. “How” is another good question. How can you avoid having your awesome words and your amazing offers meet the fate of the delete button or get ignored in the inbox? What does it take to increase opens and response instead of getting shuffled off to the junk folder?
Creating content your customers will consume requires strategy. Strategy begins with…
Goals – If you don’t have a goal in sight, how will you know where to put your focus? What problems will your email content solve for your customers? Will you help them through to the close with lead-nurturing? Increase customer retention with service reminders? Your overall email marketing can have more than one goal (across the acquisition and retention spectrum), but know what those goals are. Then create measures so you’ll know if you’re reaching those goals.
Create Benefit-Rich Content – People read your email messages because they think something’s in it for them. Don’t make your email all about you. Show what you can do for your customers.
Dissect Your Data – If you’re going to go beyond mass emails to a broad list of email addresses, you need to mine gold from your data to know who’s in your lists, what they’ve purchased from you and what they’re likely to need in the near future. Use data (demographic, behavioral, geographical) to figure out what your customer stands to gain or lose.
Be Relevant – With your customer data as resource, create email that fosters customer connections. Segment your audience based on topics most likely to be of interest. For example, when a 20-year-old neighborhood is seeing a rush of replacements, or if another neighborhood is seeing an uptick in renovations, use geographical data to target your email.