That’s what you’ll be saying about the first email you send to your customers after you finish reading this article. Are you ready for that? We think you are, and we are fantastic judges of character. That’s how we know that you’re smart enough to be sending emails regularly to your potential and existing customers. You do that, right? If so, you can probably skip the bullet points below. If not, WHAT!? You’re crazy! Email marketing is an incredibly effective marketing tactic that needs to be taken advantage of. Not using it would be like Louis and Clark owning an ATV with unlimited fuel but deciding to walk anyway. No shot!

If you need a little bit more convincing, take a look at the stats for email marketing.

It’s no secret. Email marketing is legit, like too legit. But you have to do it right to unlock its full potential, and that’s the part that is difficult for most. Since we’ve sent out thousands of emails for dozens of different clients in a wide variety of industries (weird flex), we’ve noticed some trends. Some things seem to work well no matter what you’re offering. We’re no chefs, but we’ve concocted an email recipe that is sure to leave your customers wanting more. Too cheesy? Good. Cheese is delicious. Let’s head to our “kitchen” to see what kind of emails we’re cookin’ up.

Are You On The List?
QUICK NOTE: you’re going to need some email addresses to send your marketing emails to. Surprise! Make sure you’re gathering emails on your website, in-store, or wherever you can. Keep it simple and easy by only asking for their first name and email address if possible. It should look something like this:

This one is a bit more exciting with a cool image of tacos (YUM!), and they decided to ask for the last name as well, but you don’t have to. The general idea is to make it quick and easy for people to sign up and to provide a short, sweet message about why they should do so. This company entices people with “first to know” and “promotions and discounts.”

What’s Your Point?

When you’re designing your email, the main thing to keep in mind is your goal. What is the point of the email, and what do you want the reader to do? Focusing on this as you go will help you make decisions. Do you want them to visit your website or do you want them to purchase a specific product? Whatever the goal is, always go back to it when deciding what you want to include in the email.

The Actual Ingredients

Subject Lines

In general, studies show that shorter subject lines are better. Also, nobody likes a cliche. Be out there! Be weird. Be funny. The more unique and creative you get with your subject lines, the better your open rate will be. If you sell mattresses, try “DO NOT OPEN IF YOU HATE SLEEP” instead of “25% Off Your All-New Mattress.” Make it personable instead of making a sales pitch.

Images

There is a fine line here. You want to feature eye-catching, striking images in your email but don’t use too many! Many businesses like to use GIFS in emails because they attract attention. Also, try to stay away from boring stock photos. They may be right in specific scenarios, like networking emails, but when you’re reaching out to your customers, shoot for “Woah” instead of “eh.”

CTA

Something every single email you ever send your customers must include. The call to action. Remember that goal we talked about? This is the key that opens the door to completing that goal. So yeah, it’s kind of a big deal. It’s usually in the form of a button, but it doesn’t have to be. Whatever it is, it needs to be very noticeable, and the accompanying text should be short and precise. One of the most common CTAs out there is “Buy Now!” Sure, it fits the bill, but you can get a bit more creative here, depending on your business. Going back to the mattress example, the button in the email that links to the store on the website could say something like “Yes, Give Me Better Sleep.” See the difference?

What A/Bout A/B Testing?

When measuring the success of an email to see how many people did the thing you wanted them to do, there are two data points that you definitely want to look at: open rate and click-through rate. (CTR) How do you know what works? Tests. Create varieties of emails with the same goal in mind. Try out different subject lines, different imagery, different color schemes. All of these things combine to make an effective email and the more you test, the more you start to figure out what works for your audience.

Show Me The Money

Now that you’ve got an idea of what makes a successful marketing email let’s look at an example! Check out this email from Postmates:

Subject Line

Great! Eminem himself is “hooking me up!” What a guy! Also, great use of slang for all of the cool kids out there. This is a much more creative way of telling me I’m getting $10 off instead of simply saying, “Get $10 off your next order.”

Imagery

Also great! Eye-catching and the text in the image has almost a retro feel to it. Perfect idea considering the content of the email. As much as some of us may hate to admit, Eminem’s target audience and main fanbase consist of people over the age of 30. Retro makes sense.

Content and CTA

Another “great” from us! The offer is very clear. It’s probably font size 10,000. (Not really, but you get the point.) And can we talk about that last line of text? Genius! You may not understand it if you’re not a fan of Eminem, but this email is CLEARLY aimed at those who are, and those who are will get it. Very smart. If we had to nitpick, the button itself could be a little more attention-grabbing, but it does align with Postmates branding.

Now that you’ve got the secret recipe and you’ve seen a good example, it’s time to start creating your own awesome emails! Still not sure where to start or just don’t have the time? No worries! Running a business ain’t easy! Let us help you out and use our email expertise to get you on a schedule sending out consistent, effective emails to your customers. We can even help you grow your email list too! Let’s chat about how we can help you with your email marketing strategy today!