SEO 2.0

There are the explicit rules for writing successful email messages when you’re marketing a product or service with email. The average American is exposed to 30,000 ad messages a day. How are you as an email marketer supposed to “break thru” the clutter in order to get your message heard? Here are the guidelines to help you bread free from the “noise.”

1. Craft a compelling and relevant subject line: The subject line determines if your email gets opened and read or not. Subject lines targeting your readers’ interests on an emotional level are obviously most effective.
2. Short, sweet and to the point: Lead with core benefits and keep your posts between 250 and 400 words. After you write your message, review it and delete as many words as possible. Keep the focus on your readers and your core intention for that email message.
3. Use bulleted lists to let readers quickly scan your points: Only 11 percent of email recipients who read an email will read it thoroughly. Make your messages user-friendly.
4. Wrap your message around the human experience: Use your own experiences, or those of your clients. One compelling way to frame an email is to write about your own mistakes, and then describe a lesson learned. This works because readers can relate to mistakes and will begin to trust you.
5. Use statistics, testimonials, case studies, and expert references to support your point: Your readers are BS’d all day with spam and junk - online and offline. Do your research, don’t exaggerate and provide useful info backed by facts. These are great to use in your bulleted lists!
6. Go easy on the hype: A good tip is to read your content aloud. If it sounds like a commercial, rewrite it to sound like a conversation. Be friendly, yet professional. Over-use of power-words will trigger the delete finger.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 4th, 2007 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Email Marketing, Variety Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.