3 very easy tips for accessorising your emails for better responses

Getting through the mountain of messages we all receive each day is not getting any easier –  Experian data shows thatthenumberofemailssenthasrisen 10% inthepastyear. Copywriters and designers have long known that sparkly ‘accessories’ (or small pieces of text or icons) can attract a busy reader’s eye better than a big chunk of prose in an email.

We all know that, to engage the reader, email campaigns need a compelling subject line and a great CTA. With reports that emailopenratesonsmartphoneshaverisenby 34% sofarin 2012, we also all know that to grab readers’ attention, email campaigns have to display properly on all screens. But there are many other tricks smart marketers are using to engage their email audience more effectively.

 To make your emails stand out this Autumn/Winter season, have you considered dressing them up with the following accessories?

1.     WYSIWYG (‘What You See Is What You Get’)

This is a single sentence used as a headline in the email telling the reader exactly what they can expect to find in it. If it takes a reader too long to work out what you’re going on about, they’ll abandon your campaign to the inbox compost heap. By creating really compelling WYSIWYGs, you’ll lure prospects into reading the whole email.

2.     Social Shares

I’m sure you’ll already know how easy it is to add Social Shares to your design. However, just sticking them in the email and hoping for the best is not really going to get you the results you want.

You need to set objectives as to what you want to achieve by having them in there and play around with the content to see what gets your readers sharing it the most. Then you need to do the same with the automatic messages that get shared on the social media sites to see what drives the most engagement there. As with all new social media tools, and marketing as a whole, it’s a long-term cycle of watching, learning and adapting until you get the optimum results. ReadSocialEmailMarketing: Howtoencouragesharingwisely, notrandomly for some really good examples.

 3.     P.S.

In emails from friends (and lovers!), we all know the P.S. is where you are going to find the most interesting part of the message; and probably the real reason for getting in touch. Rather than an afterthought, a P.S. is an excellent tool to get your reader’s attention – it’s often the first thing scanners read, and it can be used to make an important point appear prominent. Consider replacing CTAs with a P.S. that they just can’t resist clicking on.

 P.S. For tips on how to use a P.S. effectively, readP.S. FiveTipstoIncreaseEmailClickThroughRates.

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P.P.S. Join us on a journey through the MarketingCosmos to find out how you can use marketing automation to transform your emails even further…

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