Part 1: Anatomy of a Marketing Email
Getting to that first click
Part 2 of a newsletter-style email. Part 1 is is what gets you to click to this point.
Over my career, I have sent hundreds and hundreds of marketing emails (not to mention the thousands of auto-send action and system emails I’ve edited to reflect various clients’ unique brand promises.)
What I’ve learned is with each marketing email you’re hoping the reader will perform ***at least*** two actions.
Desired Action # 1: After scanning the sender name/ subject line/ and pre-header text, the reader chooses to click open to the full email.
Desired Action #2: Once in the email body, the reader then clicks on a link or button with a clear call to action (e.g. Buy Now, Reserve Your Spot, Join the Club, Read More…)
Most marketing emails are not so much read as scanned: for that ineffable vibe, for what’s new, the sale, for inspiration. And all are assessed by the reader with the underlying question: “does this content earn a place in my inbox?”
Because even if you are getting very good click-through rates, for every email sent to a list of a decent size, unsubscribes ***will*** happen. (And that’s why you’ve always got to be growing your email list: to replenish and expand your audience.)
What’s Your Focus?
Before even setting out to create an email, it’s imperative to establish a clear hierarchy of goals—to make sure that the folks who do click through quickly and easily know what’s being offered or asked of them.
Goal-setting and knowing the focus product or service are some of the most critical parts of any marketing calendar, and I refer back to my plan frequently throughout the creation process to make sure I’m staying on course.
Setting the plan in motion with concrete goals. I also use the email plan as a driver to review/ renew/ and create new blog content.
TO BE or Not to Be? Sender Name Style Matters, Too
Sender names. Most keep it short.
The subject header needs to build on or establish trust with a recognizable/ legitimate-looking sender name, and even here the sender has a few stylistic choices to make: all caps? sentence case? a name of an employee or a specific program run by the organization? what about an abbreviated name to allow for more space in the subject header?
A/B Testing the Subject Line (and Preheader Text!)
The amount you segment your email list into various customer personas depends on the size and provenance of your list. But even if your email list isn’t in need of crazy segmentation (e.g. small or fairly homogenous), testing subject headers with a small sample set is supported by all email marketing services, and can help you get your message out and opened by even more people.
A test subject header with a split appeal to competitive and humanistic buyer personas.
B test with an aim to capture the spontaneous buyer (think pink!) and methodical (shipping included with details of how to access).
You can also test headers and pre-header text options over the course of a campaign’s resends, refining which appeals—including subtle changes of word order, use of emoji, and all new ideas—work best.
Pre-header text is one of my favorite areas to play with emphasis and see which calls to action generate more action. Does my audience better respond to time sensitive offers or free shipping? (Though as a note, in the land of alcohol promotion, you can’t technically offer free shipping as that is a clear inducement to drink. Compliance is the name of the game in that industry!)
Sender Name + Subject Header + Pre-header Text= ?
When your readers check their email inbox, they are filtering through a complex, almost alchemical message about who or what you are representing, and are being offered a chance to enter into the “now what?” part of the conversation, as elaborated in the body of the email. Part 2 goes through a long form e-newsletter to review how to build clear calls to action.