Best practices for effective marketing. Inboxes are crowded places. Here are some proven tips to help your message rise to the top.

Transcription

1 Best practices for effective marketing Inboxes are crowded places. Here are some proven tips to help your message rise to the top.

2 BEST PRACTICES FOR EFFECTIVE MARKETING marketing is one of the most common tactics businesses use today because it s quick, targeted, immediate, and easy to measure. The most important consideration when you re creating a marketing is to know exactly what value proposition you re making to your target audience. What are you promising them in exchange for their attention? What incentive do they have for doing business with you? What is it about your pitch that will make them respond? How can an help you stand out from the competition? Those are just a few of the points to consider in your message. Of course, you want your to be newsworthy, valuable, and compelling. Which almost always means including a unique, relevant offer. And you want to make it easy for recipients to respond. But you re also competing for attention inside inboxes that fill up with dozens of messages every day. To help your message get attention and move people to action, here are some best practices to keep in mind. 2

3 FIRST, START PLANNING WITH A SIMPLE, STRATEGIC CHECKLIST. When you re developing your message, there are three crucial things to keep in mind: Nail your subject line This is the first message your target audience will see, so it has to be just right. A subject line is the message that will make recipients decide whether your is worth further reading. Keep it specific, short fewer than 50 characters and highlight your key value proposition. Avoid red flags that scream SPAM, such as overly promotional language, words like FREE and SALE, and all caps. If you have the capability to do so, use the recipient s name in the subject line. Stick to a single call to action It might be tempting to give people two, three, or four ways to respond, such as an , phone number, web link, or mailing address. Just ask people to do one thing even if you repeat that call to action (or CTA ) more than once. Committing to one CTA helps recipients understand exactly what you want them to do. Make sure your message lets readers know what the next step should be, and what s in it for them when they proceed. Make it easy for people to respond Once you ve settled on your single, powerful CTA, pepper it throughout your message. Readers have different habits when it comes to . Some scan an entire message looking for the key points. Others skip to the end. Others read carefully from open to close. Give recipients the flexibility to click immediately by noting the offer and the CTA near the top of the message; within the message as you talk about the offer; and again when you close and sign off. This spares people the frustration of waiting until the end of the message before they know what to do. And it lets people who like to cut to the chase get in and out faster. Make sure your CTA repeats your offer, benefits to responding, and a sense of urgency. For instance, Click here to take advantage of this exclusive discount before it expires March 31, And when possible, design your CTA so there s a response button that is obviously clickable, to make it as clear as possible to your readers. COMPANY LOGO MAIN VISUAL HEADLINE COPY TO BE PLACED HERE INSET VISUAL 3

4 NEXT, MAKE YOUR DESIGN SHINE. design has come a long way in recent years. Designers have a lot of freedom to build in eye-catching visuals that echo your brand. But there are a few basic design rules you should follow to get the best results: Keep the layout simple When the eye has too many elements to digest, a user can become quickly overwhelmed and likely to leave the . Giving the eye a calm, organized, and simple layout makes it that much more inviting to spend time with. Start with a strong leading visual Make sure to create a clear visual hierarchy for the content of your so recipients are immediately drawn to the most important piece of information. You can do this by varying type size and weight, placement, and graphics. Creating a visual hierarchy shows respect for your readers time by getting to the most important content quickly, while including deeper details for those who want to get into the nitty gritty. Keep the image count low You re working with a limited space, so limit the number of images and visuals so people know where to focus. Using too many visuals causes confusion and makes it difficult for the eye to land anywhere. Besides overwhelming the recipient, using too many visuals also increases the load time of the message. It could even prevent your message from getting through at all, for recipients who have their configured to prevent images from loading automatically, as is the case in most corporate environments. Make sure images have descriptive alternative text It s important to prepare for users whose systems don't automatically load images by including alternate information that s useful. Tag your images with copy that contains clear information to serve as a useful substitute if they never see the visual elements of your message. It s a good way to reinforce your offer and your benefits. This is what your image will look like without alternative text. Don t forget to proofread and run everything by your legal department Overlooked misspellings, typos, inaccuracies, and questionable phrases can give you a black eye and even leave your business liable for promises you didn t intend to make. Let a trained proofreader review your final piece and share it with your legal experts to make sure everything s buttoned up. 4

5 WAIT! BEFORE YOU HIT SEND There are three final, vital things to check off your to-do list: Make sure you create a browser-friendly version of your message that users can open in their web browser if they prefer. It s a convenient way for people to view graphic s as intended when their program is too restrictive. Include your company s physical address and an unsubscribe link at the bottom of your message both of which are now legally required in the U.S. It s also just polite to do so, and helps to validate that you re a trustworthy sender. Test across every environment,but remember, your recipients are using all kinds of clients, web browsers, and devices to read their messages. Test your message in different systems, operating systems, and desktop and mobile devices. With so many screen sizes and platforms out there today, a fluid, responsive design is critical to keeping your message and your brand looking sharp. About Butler/Till We are a media and communication agency that delivers progressive ideas for engaging audiences across multiple platforms, channels, and media. We dream it up, build it, execute it, measure it, and continually improve it. We d love to start a conversation with you. Actually, Amanda would to be more exact adevito@butlertill.com Amanda DeVito Vice President of Engagement 5