Why? Email Service Providers (ESPs) frown on sending unsolicited messages to the readers.
They want to ensure that their clients,i.e email readers, receive only the mails they actually “want”. ESPs make sure of this and have built systems to make sure unwanted emails are not sent to inbox but to the Spam folder.
Whats more, every time somebody reports your mail as spam, your credibility goes down bit by bit. Suppose, 1% of your subscribers report your mails as spam, then your emails may probably not reach other 99% too.
Understanding how the email ESPs work is very important if you want to ensure that your mails land in the inbox and generate response, in other words, keeps your audience engaged.
Here are 10 simple ways to keep your email audience engaged :
- Define Expectation: It is a good idea to specify what kind of mails you are going to be send. -Are your mails about events, offers or informational? This will tell your audience what to expect from you. It would also not hurt if you come up with a list so a person can pick the kind of mails that would interest him or her.
- Use Recognisable names and domains: When you use an id which has a name associated with it instead of a “customer service” or no-reply, you increase your chances of people opening your mail and to a certain extent of remembering you.This ultimately works towards your product’s recall and company’s engagement.
- Subject Line: You can never stop stressing on a great subject line.You might be offering a great deal or a lot of discount but if your mails are not being opened, it is all a waste.You have to get people to open your mails and subject line decides if your mails are going to be noticed in an inbox.
- Relevant Content: Instead of sending generic mail, send content which uses the past preferences of your clients or their order history. The relevant content will not only increase your open and click rate but also helps in getting more business.
- Personalize: Everybody likes it when people remember their name. The same thing applies to an email. Email subject line and content that has readers name usually gets more responses. – You can even take this a step further by sending messages for anniversaries, personalised birthday messages.
- Delivering What Was Promised: So, you promised to send a voucher as soon a person subscribed to a service you were offering. You have to make sure you deliver it and on time!
- Aesthetics: Does your email look pleasing yet professional? You may not want to look like a piece of art but can you risk being plain? A balance needs to be stuck between the appearance and content, while keeping your brand in mind. E.g.-a lot of colours and images may be good if you are a company selling cameras, or holidays but if you are an educational institute or a daily blog? The email should look appropriate.
- Keep the List Clean: Clean your list of unwanted contacts. Remove inactive subscribers, or in correct addresses. There is no point in sending your mails to somebody who is not interested in reading about you, is there?
- Keep it Simple: You need to sell your service or product to the customer but if you send them the same thing over and over again, it is only going to annoy the subscriber. You have to give them the options, deals and the offers but you also need to let them make their own choices. In this field, beieng pushy doesn’t help.
- Call To Action: If a subscriber wants to take up the offer, the call to action should be very clear and visible. Make it easy for people to find a Call to Action instead of keeping it right at the bottom.
Finally, you should montior the email metrics which will give you an insight into what your audience is finding attractive. Periodically, try out new ideas or methods into your emails, to work out a formula which works for you.