12 tips for 2020 email marketing

I’m gonna sit right down and write myself a letter
And make believe it came from you
I’m gonna write words, oh, so sweet
They’re gonna knock me off my feet

—Fats Waller, American jazz pianist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer

America may run on Dunkin’, but business runs on email. 

Planning out your email marketing missives for the new year? Try writing your marketing emails as if you’re writing to yourself. 

Read your draft out loud. Let your colleagues vet it before you load it into Constant Contact or MailChimp. Test it on a trusted customer. Edit as needed. Then press send. 

Here are 12 more tips for effective email blasts.

1. Be clear and concise — it sounds obvious, but we all get an ocean of email that uses a lot of words to say nothing in particular. Words matter. Make them count.

2. Pay attention to your subject line — using an incentive can increase your open rate by up to 50 percent.

3. Create a sense of importance and urgency — if there’s a real time sensitivity, say it in the subject line and again in the close.

4. Use a compelling, open-ended question. Example: Are you ready for the XYZ Law?

5. Use an emoji — 56 percent of brands report higher unique open rates when using emojis.

6. Make sure your first 35-140 characters count — that’s all that typically fits in email- preview mode.

7. Avoid spammy words like buy now, win, and free.

8. Avoid all caps — it’s still considered shouting.

9. Avoid overusing exclamation points. Period.

10. Be conversational — talk human and avoid business jargon.

11. Encourage sharing — tell recipients it’s as easy as hitting forward or clicking on social buttons at the bottom of your message.

12. Resist using colored text — stick with black or dark gray for readability and professionalism.      

Steve Johnson is managing partner of Riger Marketing Communications in Binghamton. Contact him at sdjohnson@riger.com