The 1-2-3 of email campaigns reads like this:

  • Write an interesting, eye-catching headline
  • Continue with a mail that interests and sells the idea of the product
  • Take the customer to a landing page or home page to close the deal

Whatever you do- get those emails to generate business or help you create a list of potential clients.

That’s the theory.

The reality is of course totally different- open rates can be awful, campaigns can bomb, the best ideas seem worthless when the cash registers don’t chime. That’s why it’s good to know what your boss thought you knew all along! The basics of email campaigns.

(N.B- this is not an exhaustive list- it’s the very basics that need to be adhered to in every campaign and to help you remember I have added an infographic for you. Read on… )

  1. Identify Your Target Audience:

The best ideas need a receptive audience. Look at it this way- your words need to resonate with your audience and how do you do that?

Only if you know your target audience well.

So, if your target market is – males and females above the age of zero– then know that the marketing team has just junked the thinking cap and is dozing on sedatives.

Think about it?

Do 30 year old men in corporate jobs and 30 year old owners of family businesses have the same problems?

Do women in their 60’s and men in their 20’s buy products for the same reasons?

Do working moms and college going girls dream the same dreams?

They definitely don’t.

So how can one email address them all successfully.

To be counted as a success, your email campaigns need to be addressed to one particular segment even if your product can be used by all.

The deeper your knowledge of your target audience the better letters you can write to entice them.

The dream definition of a target audience would contain deeply detailed particulars like- A male in 30’s who dabbles in the stock market while working a corporate job and loves to party wears snazzy clothes and cries at movies!

No, it’s never going to be that detailed. but you can still get your marketing team to define it finer than people who reside on planet Earth!

  1. Write them a persuasive letter:

Remember this letter is not to your mom- who will read it no matter what it says.

This letter is to a person who is:

→usually low on time- so the headline has to immediately catch attention

→being wooed by others too- so the letter has to stand out

So, to be even counted as persuasive your letter should:

  • Use Action-able Words- words that tell them what exactly they need to do. For example

A restaurant can offer- “Just Take Mom to Lunch” in the subject line.

Words and phrases like “download Now,” “reserve,” “ask,” “buy Now”, “Don’t Miss”- tell the reader what to do when.

  • Be clear– Respect your client’s time and they will respect yours. Do not start with a headline about 50% discounts and say the sale ends in 2 hours in the letter.
  • Address the client– Use “you”, “your”. Be direct- your client doesn’t have the time to read, “We have an offer that can really excite a person who loves fishing”. A letter with a line like this is doomed.
  • Give a Valid, Urgent, Actionable “Why Now”– There are offers and then there are offers that make customers bite. Gary Bencivenga one of the best marketing gurus who ever shared his secrets once simplified the best campaigns into 3 points:

Why You?

Why Now?

Why True?

(More on Bencivenga gyan in later posts…)

Why Now is the the key to making your customer Act Now. Make sure you give a valid reason- “offer expires in 2 days”, “Limited Stocks”, “Extremely Fresh Vegetables from Farm”

  1. Solid Gold Tip:

The more valuable and risk free your offer seems to the reader, the better will be your response

The reason behind the success of those free templates and ebooks is that they cost the client nothing (ok! wifi cost for a few seconds if you are really counting) but give important and relevant information. As an added plus these offers create a reliable base of authentic and potential clients. A win-win wither way!