Email marketing can sound intimidating or mundane, but in fact, it is a simple practice that has the potential to grow any brand. Small equine businesses can raise their profits just by implementing these simple steps into their marketing strategy.
In this article, I highlight seven email marketing tips to improve your email campaigns.
Let’s dig in, shall we?
1. Powerful Subject Lines
Be honest: how many unread emails do you have in your inbox? Probably a ton, right?
Opening every single email you receive each day can be daunting and let’s be real who even wants to do that anyway?
Ask yourself which emails you tend to gravitate towards when previewing your overflowing inbox.
For me, I open the emails from people I know and secondly, I will open almost any email with an interesting subject line.
What type of subject line will catch the attention of your target audience, and cause them to take immediate action?
I can help you with what WILL NOT WORK. Subject lines like:
- Company Update
- Weekly Newsletter #77
- New Product Update
These examples are similar to what hits my inbox all. the. time. (Hint: do NOT do this!)
Let me give you some tough love. Please, oh please do better than the above examples.
- Think of your audience and what will make them excited and WANT to open your email.
You can literally double and triple your response rates, if you can just win the first hurdle in email marketing and that is getting them to OPEN YOUR EMAIL!
Here are some helpful tips you can always use to improve your subject lines:
- Keep it short and simple
- Use the question format
- Add a little humor
- Include the name of the recipient
- Add a shock value or curiosity
- Include numbers and lists
- Make the audience fear that they will miss out on a great opportunity
Curious to hear about my all time favorite subject line that literally stopped me in the tracks at Target? As many of you know I am a boy mom, so I had signed up for emails from Red Tricycle, a company that sends out emails with cool kid stuff, new product alerts and more. I would open them from time to time, but mostly I just archived them as they came in unless something caught my eye.
Needless to say, this email of theirs did more than catch my eye! I was scrolling and driving – not a car – a Target cart. It was a quiet night at Target and I was shopping by myself (and all the moms said AMEN!) so it wasn’t too dangerous – the scrolling and driving part.
As I refreshed my email, the email below popped up. I literally stopped the cart in the middle of the aisle and opened this email.
Friends, this is no joke! I was SO CURIOUS I took immediate action.
Is that not the feeling we want to elicit in our audience?
In case you were wondering, IKEA actually put a page in their catalog that was a legitimate pregnancy test. You can read more about this genius marketing play HERE.
2. Personalized Emails
When writing an email, it is easier to make it general and send it to our entire email list, but with the help of AI technology, now you can go the extra mile without the extra effort.
When creating the opportunity for someone to join your list, ask for their first name and email address at minimum. This will allow you to personalize each email you send out and customize the subject line with their name as well {think: how can I get their attention in this busy digital world}.
If it sounds complicated, don’t worry. There are plenty of email tools that can personalize emails by including names. You do not have to be a tech genius to make this happen! That’s great news, right?
Another way to personalize your emails is to adjust the tone of voice you use. Before creating content, you should customize so your audience can read and hear the information easily. Pay attention on how they communicate on social media and pay attention to and what content they react to the most. Do they prefer a professional approach or a friendly one?
Use your findings to adapt your tone to your audience, and they will feel like they’re talking to a friend. If you look over some of my emails and social media posts you will find that I, quite often, use the word y’all. Twenty years ago that would have been frowned upon; however, that is how I talk in real life. Building a business, especially as a growing entrepreneur, it is so important to establish that authentic relationship with your audience. Writing in your unique tone will only help your business!
3. Short and Sweet
Less is more.
For everyone in the back, let me say it again…
LESS IS MORE.
With all the content and constant distractions people encounter, short and straight-to-the-point content proves to be the most efficient.
Through your email copy, you want to:
- keep your readers interested
- make the text memorable and keep the reader engaged
- provide an easy to follow structure
If the text is too long, you risk your information not being read. People often skim through bulk text. That is why visual cues are so important. They guide the eyes towards valuable information and keep the reader going. Don’t forget to add images that will attract the audience while enhancing the content.
- EXPERT TIP: As you grow in business and learn what your audience enjoys and responds to, you may find they like long form content. If you find that is the case then, DO WHAT WORKS! As a general rule when starting to develop email campaigns, start with the less is more strategy and test and measure from there.
4. Creative Call to Action Options
All forms of content should have a purpose, and emails are no exception. A Call to Action or CTA is a way to get your readers to take specific actions. Here are some examples:
- purchasing your products
- buying tickets to your latest events
- booking horseback riding lessons
- reading one of your articles
- entering a giveaway
Moreover, CTA clicks are indicative of a campaign’s success. So, you can always guide your efforts based on the actions or lack thereof. The beauty of having a great CTA is that you can look at your analytics once your email has been sent and you can see what actions your audience has taken.
Of course we want to know the open rate, BUT the click through rate metrics are GOLD! There have been times I have shared 2-3 types of clickable actions within an email. The action I thought would get the most traffic was not the clear winner. The more you review your metrics, the more you learn about your audience!
What boosts the efficiency of a CTA:
- visibility
- placement
- links
Furthermore, make your CTAs stand out by adding visual elements such as color, bold text, or place the text in different shapes.
5. Engaging Preview Text
I am the type of person who likes LOTS of details.
If I ask for directions and one person tells me to go right then left and I will see the yellow house on the hill, I am sure I can find where I am going; however, if another person tells me to go right by the grocery store and then left by the cute house with black fence and then go exactly 1.2 miles until I see the yellow house on the hill, which person do you think I would ask for directions from the next time?
You guessed it, the person who gave me MORE information. I feel like that is the purpose of the preview text in an email. Not sure what I mean by “preview text”?
Check out the photo below. You can see who this email is from (The Food Charlatan) and the three subject lines in bold and then below is the preview text which gives you a beautiful idea of what comes next in the email. It is like someone just took my hand and walked me through what comes next.
Oh and by the way, it doesn’t matter who you are and what walk of life you are in, you need to get to know Karen at The Food Charlatan. She is a genius at blogging and creating email subject lines and content for her business. She may not be in the equine space, but she makes me want to be in the kitchen (and we both have little ones named Edison!). For those of you who know me, that’s not my jam at all, but the way she writes inspires me!
Karen is a one a kind story teller, so if you need some inspiration when you are sitting down to write, check out her blog! I promise you will thank me (and maybe gain 20 lbs too…lol).
6. Resend to Unopens
If a certain email doesn’t perform very well, don’t give up or feel you have failed. Give it one more try and resend with a new subject line to those that did not open it the first time. Sometimes, certain subject lines are just better and you will learn as you go what works and what doesn’t.
I have almost doubled my open rates using this strategy!
Quick Note: When reviewing your analytics once you send an email, you WILL have people unsubscribe. Please do not let this bother you. Do not dwell on the 2-3 that chose not to be on your list. Those are not YOUR people. Focus on who opened your email, who clicked and is really enjoying learning from you. Those are your people!
7. C-O-N-S-I-S-T-E-N-C-Y
Wash, rinse and repeat.
Talk to your audience frequently and consistently.
You cannot expect to send 1-2 emails and then forget your list. Set it on your calendar and stick to it!
If you have zero desire to create email campaigns, hire it out. Your list is insanely valuable. YOU OWN IT.
You have more to share with your audience than you think you do. I promise you!
Now It’s Your Turn
What do you think? Are you ready to become a master email marketer?
Knowledge is power, and it can help you get control over your business growth.
Furthermore, email marketing can make the difference between you and other small equine businesses. It can also bring more traffic to your website, encourage clients to buy your products and services, and re-establish a connection with previous customers.
Book a call
If you need further guidance on your marketing journey, I am here to help. Book a call and let me know more about your amazing business!
