Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to increase brand awareness and engage with your current and future customers.

Getting email subscribers is HUGE! However, it is not enough simply to have an email list and only send out an occasional message. You need to find ways to engage with the people on your list and keep them interested if you want to convert them into paying customers and keep them. 

Here are 4 Foolproof ways to start with…

1. Put Value First

It’s perfectly acceptable to include a call to action in your emails, but the bulk of your message should be focused on what your customer needs! Create content that is usable for an email subscriber. Take what you do and give them advice on it. For example, when we send content out to our clients, we give them website must-haves, marketing tips, and SEO ranking items to get started on. After all, you want to prove that you are the expert in your field and email subscribers should be working with you, or at the very least learning from you.

2. Draw Them In With Your Subject Line

One of the best ways to make it that your newsletter gets read is to use a compelling subject line. Whether you ask a question, tease your content, or add an emoji — do something that sticks out in their inbox. Afterall, all of our inboxes are flooded everyday and some get the delete right away or some get a glance before they're never returned to.  

3. Use Smart Design Elements

The design of your email can be just as important as the content. Don’t expect that a plain text email with no formatting is going to draw people in. You want to compel your visitors to actually read it! Find relative images to break up the text, or recently we've been really into using GIFs. A good model to go off of is 70% text and 30% images.

4. Segment Your List

It’s a good practice to segment your list, and communicate with different audiences in different capacities. For example, an apparel store might send out separate newsletters for women’s and men’s clothing, or for accessories. The idea here is to ensure the people who receive each email are those who have a genuine interest in its content. Making your content relevant only keeps a reader more engaged the next time you send something out. 

All of these pieces we've given you are important, but the key to using them successfully is to find ways to actively engage your readers. Get creative when you're testing different things out, and always adapt. If an idea that you put out there flops, adjust it until you get it right.

Also, we know that most places are trying to sell goods or services when they send out emails, but please make it less obvious. A good model to follow is for 5 emails you send out, 4 should be informational and 1 should be sales. This is not to say within those 4 emails you can't link to a service page, or a sales page — just do it subtly. Focus on the relationship with your customers or clients, and the rest will fall in place.

Happy emailing!