In today's digital age, when so much of marketing takes place behind a computer screen, it's sometimes difficult to remember one of the most important parts of successful marketing - that the whole purpose is to connect with people.
Think of how quickly and simply you can send an email - with just a few clicks of the keyboard and one press of the "send" button, you can communicate with your entire list of prospects.
However, before sending off emails becomes an empty habit, ask yourself these five crucial questions:
- Is this interesting?
- Is it relevant?
- Would I want to read this?
- Am I creating value and educating the end user?
- Am I encouraging people to take action or turning them off?
If you answered 'no' to any of the above questions, it might be time to rethink your email marketing strategy.
Here are six tips to help you humanize your marketing emails and increase engagement:
1. Have Emails Come From an Individual
Your recipients will be more likely to engage with your emails when they come from an actual person, as opposed to "[email protected]" or some stock "bot" email.
Sending emails from an individual at your firm is a great way to humanize the interaction without adding much extra effort - you can even include a signature at the bottom when it seems appropriate.
Some employees at your company may be hesitant to send emails from their actual email address due to the potential to get spammed with responses. You can avoid this by setting up a separate email account that still comes from a specific name - just make sure someone is in charge of checking it.
2. Pose a Question
Asking a question in your email communication is one of the best ways to encourage engagement and let your recipients know you care about hearing from them. While this tip works best for email surveys, you can even include a response question with the content you send.
For example, let's say you're sending out a link to your latest research - you can conclude your email with question like: "What statistic in this new research surprised you the most? I'd love to hear your feedback"
3. Incorporate Visual Content
Break up the content of your email with relevant images to draw your readers in and make the text easier to scan. Promoting a new eBook? Add an image of the cover. Conducting a webinar? Add an image of the presentation cover.
You can even include a thumbnail headshot of the individual sending the email to add an extra personal touch.
4. Personalize As Much As Possible
Just as it humanizes your emails to have them sent from an actual person, the same goes for addressing the recipients. With so many choices for CRMs, it's now become standard practice to use the name of your prospects, rather than calling them "subscriber" or some other vague and impersonal address.
Beyond simply using names, try to find other ways to segment and personalize your emails based on what you know about where your prospects currently are in their customer journey.
5. Be Entertaining and Personable
You're not a robot and neither is the person reading your emails - so why not add a little humor and personality into your emails? Remember, the emails you send are an extension of your brand, so you want to make sure they represent your firm well while still connecting with your prospects on a personable level.
One easy way to make your emails more entertaining and improve your open rates is to create catchy and engaging subject lines that grab the attention of your prospects.
6. Send "Just Because" Emails
Your clients shouldn't feel like every email they receive from you is trying to get them to complete an action. Instead, nurture your email relationship by sending "just because" emails that let recipients know how important they are to you.
This might be as simple as a 'thank you' email that lets your clients know how much you appreciate them (you can even throw in a discount offer), or a funny holiday email that showcases the personality of your team.
Even though email marketing is now largely automated, that's no reason to take the human element out of your communication. When your marketing becomes robotic, your leads, prospects, and clients are more likely to start tuning you out. Instead, use your email correspondence as an opportunity to think creatively and connect with your recipients on an authentic and personable level.
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