What is an Email Marketing Campaign?
An email marketing campaign is a collection of emails sent over time to a targeted audience with a specific goal in mind. Successful email marketing campaigns walk their audience through a decision-making process to elicit an action-oriented response. Email marketing campaigns can be broken down into three elements: a header, body and footer. Each element is vital to maximize open and click through rates but the content within each element is just as important. Let’s break down each element to ensure that you incorporate content that enhances your campaign.
The Header
A header has the power to make or break your campaigns success as its primary role is to introduce you to your audience. A header must be accurate and professional to gain trust from the viewer. It has become increasingly challenging to prevent cyber hacks, and people are reluctant to open emails from unfamiliar senders. Sending marketing emails from a recognizable name instead of an anonymous one will dramatically increase your open and click through rate. Be sure to use both the business name and your name where it says ‘From Name’ within the email as some people might recognize you while others recognize the business.
The subject line within an email acts as the bait to “hook” viewers’ attention. Its job is to attract readers’ attention in a personal, action-oriented and honest way. Although it’s a challenge to craft a subject line that is both short and attracts your audience, it plays a crucial role in convincing them to click and see the entirety of your email. Constant Contact found that subject lines below 50 characters increased open rates by 12.5 percent and click through rates by 75 percent.
The final key in an influential header is ensuring you don’t neglect your preheader. If you don’t add a preheader, the software will take the first phrase of your email which can be extremely confusing to readers. A software generated preheader is viewed as unprofessional, leading to lack of trust from your audience. The header is all about gaining trust and interest from viewers, so keep your header short and triple check for typos!
The Body
The body within a marketing email must maintain interest from viewers and turn it into action. The body allows freedom for creativity as you can add and manipulate various elements like color, shapes, buttons and more. Be sure to place the company logo at the top of your email to increase brand awareness and professionalism. Your company logo needs to be clickable, so it leads back to your website. It’s important to maintain a consistent brand identity across all marketing emails and platforms. Details like your company logo, color scheme and fonts used must be uniform across all channels so viewers will perceive your company as reliable.
To drive viewers to take action, ensure they read the text in your emails to understand your prompts. Your audience doesn’t want to see a cluttered block of text when they open an email; they’ll simply ignore it. Storytelling is a great strategy when walking your audience through a decision-making process. Just be sure to get to the point swiftly or interest will fall off. The call to action should be placed right after an introduction in the form of a button, banner, etc. to easily catch the viewer’s eye. Always keep in mind KISS: Keep it Short and Sweet!
The Footer
The main role of the footer is to ensure compliance and maximum impact from your audience. Including social media links like Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram helps your audience keep up to date with your brand and enhances customer relationships. Incorporating an address and contact information within the footer makes your email feel more personal. Customer feedback is crucial for growth and success; if viewers can’t easily access your contact information, your efforts will fall short. Lastly, don’t forget that CAN-SPAM laws require you to offer an unsubscribe option to viewers, which can be easily integrated into the footer.
Professional, Consistent & Direct
The key to successful email marketing is first proving to your audience that you’re trustworthy and professional. Once you are labeled a credible source, the second challenge is to captivate readers’ attention. Finally, you must demand your readers take action and evoke a sense of urgency within your message. Time is limited, so it’s crucial that your email is perceived as valuable enough to justify the opportunity cost for viewers.
