Digital marketing is an important part of any business repertoire today because most of your consumers are probably researching everything online before making the decision to purchase. The reality now is that without a website or online presence, you could end up getting left behind. Email marketing continues to play a vital role in getting important messages out to your prospects and customers. And the more engaged they are, the better for your overall SEO efforts. Here’s how you can make your emails more engaging for your audience.
Identify Opportunities Valuable To Your Customers Or Prospects
Keep in mind that your customers or prospects don’t always want to read about something you have to sell to them. Sometimes, it pays to send them something valuable – a resource, a tip, training or something else that will be beneficial to their lives. For example, assume you sell clothing. Consider the following:
- Prospects don’t always want to know about every new product in stock.
- If you try to sell, sell, sell, then chances are they will get turned off and turn to a competitor that offers much more valuable resources.
- Consider sharing tips of fashion trends, best clothing styles for body types etc.
- Eventually when the customer is ready to buy, they recall your advice and will more than likely purchase from you.
In this case, your emails will act as a ready resource for prospects and customers to find value from your business. And the best part? You didn’t actually have to keep selling to them. When they see your emails adding value without always asking for something in return, you’ll start to notice more engagement – which is exactly what you want for better SEO over time.
Be Short, Sweet And To The Point
You know how busy you are. Your customers are the same. They simply don’t have the time to sift through heaps of content to get the point of your email. Make sure you have a simple message that is easy to understand from the start. Consider the following:
- Identify the most important message you want to get out to your customer and use that as the underlying theme of the entire email.
- Bring the key message to the forefront and get to the point right from the first word.
- Use a strong call to action that is clearly visible and articulated so your customers know exactly what is expected of them once they open your email.
- Avoid using fluffy words and long sentences that cause your audience to lose interest.
Time-poor buyers today only skim through content without going into it in too much detail. Remove the fluff and keep only the important information that adds value to their needs. The shorter, the better.
Encourage Two-Way Participation With Your Target Audience
One of the biggest drawbacks of emails has been because they have been a one-way form of communication. But you could find ways to create more engagement with your audience, so they know you’re really listening to them and want to hear from them. Consider the following:
- Ask your customers for feedback about your business – when people feel like their opinions matter, they will be far more likely to engage with you.
- Offer incentives for opinions – people like to be incentivised so give them something in return for their valuable feedback. This could be an offer, a discount, a freebie or something relevant to your business.
- Ask for reviews – don’t hesitate to ask your customers for reviews about your business because the more people write about you positively, the more you are likely to find new customers.
- Ask your customers to share your content on their social channels. The more valuable your content is, the more likely they are to share. And if you don’t ask, you won’t get so make sure you do so.
At the end of the day, you don’t just want to be sending emails with no engagement from your customers. Take the time to consider how you can encourage two-way participation, which can help you with more business success in the long run.
According to SEO Shark, emails remain a powerful digital marketing strategy for any business – small, medium or large. But they can be even more effective with the right strategies to engage with your target audience.