At Clicksmith we provide an email marketing service to clients in Guernsey, the UK and internationally. It’s an extremely valuable marketing tool, which gets your message directly to the people you want to speak to – those who have subscribed to receive updates from your business.

A good email should capture your reader’s interest, actively engage them with the content you wish to promote, and provide incentive for them to keep subscribed.

One primary component is layout – making sure your email has a clear layout means its structure lends itself to readability. A structured layout breaks down the information you want to convey into digestible sections. When creating your format, remember that minimalism provides a much better approach – an abundance of content can be daunting to a reader.

Start with a headline, followed by essential text and a visual to support. Your headline needs to be strong and concise, backed by text that gets across what you’re promoting and why we should care FAST. Visually, your email needs an image that makes sense in the context of your messaging – avoid abstract or hard to decipher artwork.

Another crucial aspect lies with the CTA (call to action.) A good CTA grabs the reader’s attention and provides them with a clear path to your desired action. Examples of this are “find out more”, “get in touch”, “contact us”, “stay up to date” and “complete your order”.

Further on from this, personalising your email to reflect your audience’s behaviour encourages engagement as well as customer loyalty. A number of email builder platforms provide insight into your readers’ behaviours and how they interact with content. By tapping into these habits (eg how does this recipient interact with a certain type of product) you can tailor featured products in upcoming emails to match their interests. Dividing subscribers into segments based on purchase history and engagement level allows them to receive more personalised and relevant content.

Additionally, other seemingly small factors can be the key to a killer email:

1. Timing makes all the difference – avoid early and late send outs. Pick a time when your audience would likely be free and willing to click on your email, whether that’s after work or during lunch hours.
2. Subject lines are also crucial. It’s the first thing anyone sees before opening your email, as well as being what incentivises them to open it. Get to the point with a clear message that includes a CTA. It’s the summary for the entire email, so make sure it stands out.
3. Mobile-friendly designs ensure your email is accessible to phone users, which make up the largest sector of email recipients. Checking your content is receptive and displays properly on mobile devices is paramount.

What’s more, including endorsements, testimonials, or reviews from satisfied customers is an excellent way to provide social proof for your business by promoting credibility and trustworthiness in your service.

Language can also play a big factor. Establishing a unique tone with your audience can make your emails come across as more personable. However, a brief and formal approach without an over-reliance on descriptive language means your emails may be more accessible to new readers and subscribers.

Most importantly – learn from your emails. A low open or click rate means your subscribers didn’t engage as much as they could have. You can test, review, and refine content in many ways, such as exploring user behaviour and tracking conversion rates.

Fundamentally, a good email should make you want to read it. It needs to meet and capture the interests of its reader, whilst showing them exactly what to do next to interact with your business – whether that’s through purchasing a product, getting a quote, or starting a conversation.

At Clicksmith, we’re experts in email marketing. Get in touch to learn how we can help your business.