Is Something Missing in Your Email Marketing?

Improving the impact of your email marketing calls for a three-tiered focus: growing your email list, increasing the number of opens for your messages and getting more clicks from the people who open. Each of these tiers has its own set of strategies.

Grow Your List – An email address is a thing of value, both to you and to the person who is considering turning it over to you. So, you need to offer something of value in exchange for this address. For prospects who visit your website, this “thing of value” is part of your email capture form. Let’s say you promote “Sign up for our free tip sheet on energy savings,” for example. If the perceived value is high enough, you get the email address.

Be aware that the more fields you require to get the free thing, the more friction you create in the prospect’s willingness to cough up an email address. If you are simply offering a tip sheet, you might include fields for a name and address, even phone, but only “require” the email address. If the offer is for a free estimate, however, that perceived value is higher, and you can require the rest of the information. Clearly, for residential contractors, your service is in the home, and customers understand that you need to know where they live and how to get in touch.

Also, be sure to collect email addresses as often as possible as part of your interaction with customers and prospects. As call-takers, sales staff or techs record contact information, include the email address in the request. If a customer hesitates, assure them that this is not for spam but is a way to send helpful information and reminders.

Increase Your Opens – Inboxes are full, and people are busy. Getting them to open your email amid the other things clamoring for their attention partly has to do with your image as a company and your reputation in your community. So, your integrated marketing strategies, word-of-mouth and customer service strengths influence how receptive prospects are to your message. The relationship you are building with your current customers also influences whether they click to open. When they see you as a credible advisor and a trusted resource, they’ll be interested in what you have to say.

Beyond that, other strategies include strong subject lines that present a benefit, entice with curiosity or make a promise delivered by the body of the email. Shorter subject lines tend to work better than longer ones, especially since people open email on their smartphones. Remember too, sending an email from a person instead of a generic “[email protected]” also increases opens.

Increase the Number of Clicks – While getting an open is great, getting a click inside the email is the true goal. You’ll get help here when the strength of your offer (and its perceived value) is fully expressed by the strength of your copy (including a slate of benefits, emotional triggers to get a response and social proof – such as statistics or testimonials).

Be clear in your message as you lead to a call to action and keep your copy to a minimum. Don’t junk up your email as if it were an all-purpose ad. Importantly, emails should be mobile-responsive so they can be read on a smartphone.

Make your call to action prominent to let scanners see it at a glance and remember to focus the CTA on their next step. Customers and prospects should be able to easily understand what you want them to do.