In our previous post, 10 tips for successful email marketing, we discussed how you can ensure your marketing emails don’t get filtered out by your customers’ spam blockers, and what you can do to make sure your emails are opened once they land in your contacts’ inboxes.

Now that you’ve got your campaign recipients’ attention, here are six ways to get them to click through to your website and increase the ROI of your email marketing efforts:

1. Include a call to action.

   You send marketing emails to your customers because you want them to do something, so make it easy and tell them what that something is.

   • Write your call to action using commanding words like “read more”, “subscribe”, or “download free” to encourage readers to follow through.
   • Use contrasting colours to make your button or text stand out and ensure it is above the fold when readers open your email so they don’t miss it if they don’t scroll down.
   • Remember that readers may not download the images in your email, so make sure you include a text version of your call to action they will be able to see.

2. Use your copywriting skills (or find someone who has some).

   If your subject and message are poorly written, you’re not likely to catch or keep your reader’s attention.

   • Write subject lines that tell your reader why he or she should open your email by making them useful, specific, and urgent. For example, “20% Off Men’s T-Shirts, This Week Only” gives your customer significantly more information than “Summer Sale”, and is much likelier to catch his interest.
   • Be enthusiastic in your email writing style. If you want your customer to get excited about the information you’ve given, you need to be excited about it. However, there’s a line between enthusiastic and spammy, so avoid all-caps, multiple exclamation points, and overuse of superlatives.
   • Maintain your brand voice. As with all your marketing communications, your emails should be written to reflect your brand persona and purpose in a voice your customer can relate to.

3. Personalize your email for each customer.

   Most email services include mail-merge functions that enable you to address your email to each customer by name, but this is just one way that you can appeal to each reader directly.

   • Break out your mailing list into segments with similar needs, and create email messages tailored specifically to each segment. Different emails could go out based on region, industry, company size, past purchases, or any number of other differentiating features. By only sending your customers information that applies to them, you’re more likely to gain their attention and encourage them to investigate your email further.
   • Let your customers know why they are receiving your emails by telling them when or how they signed up for your mailing list. Segment your list according to source, and remind your customers that they visited your booth at a trade show, met you at an event, or signed up over your website in order to create familiarity and advance their relationship with you.

4. Provide validation.

   People receive a lot of emails every day, and they’re wary of marketing messages that could be spam. Provide validation of your content and company to set them at ease, especially if you haven’t contacted your customer in awhile and they may not remember you.

   • Provide testimonials from well-recognized clients or spokespeople to demonstrate the quality of your products, services, or content.
   • Include names or logos of media sources that have positively reviewed your company, and include links to those reviews.
   • Post seals of industry associations you are a part of or accreditations you have earned.

5. Time your messages appropriately.

   Email marketing is part of your effort to build a relationship with your customer, and too many or too few emails will impact that relationship.

   • Unless you have a strong existing relationship with your reader and a unique proposition for each email, one or two messages a month is enough. Too many will make them feel like they’re being spammed, and may annoy them enough to unsubscribe and put your email address on their junk list.
   • Conversely, don’t ignore your customer for months and then pop up in their inbox out of the blue, expecting them to remember you. Building relationships takes constant attention, so send at least once every couple of months to keep your brand front-of-mind.

6. Give incentives for your customers to convert.

   Your customers are more likely to click through to your links if there’s something in it for them.

   • Provide discounts and coupons your customers can redeem online or in-store to entice them to buy something
   • Run a contest to help them engage with your brand and give them a reason to visit your site, provide you with information, or make a purchase.
   • Offer free downloads, trials, or gifts so your customer can sample your product, service, or expertise.

These tips will keep your customer’s interest, make it easy for them to follow through to your website, and give them a reason to do so, which will significantly boost the ROI of your email marketing campaigns.

So what’s next? Check out our 8 design tips for effective landing pages to drive conversions once your customer is on your website. You can also contact us with your email marketing and web design questions, or leave them in the comments.