Email as a Direct Marketing Tool

When Target Marketing Magazine wanted an analysis of email marketing promotion, they turned to Gary Hennerberg to analyze over 300,000 emails in their Email Campaign Archive. His report is available in the new book “All About Email Creative” at DirectMarketingIQ.com. Hennerberg's contributions to the book include:

• Email seasonal trends
• Campaigns from 180 categories
• Over 300,000 emails analyzed (and growing every month)
• Common characteristics of repeated emails
• Average word count trend
• Hot keywords in subject lines
  
• Days when most email, and least email, is sent
• And more!

Hennerberg also contributed a chapter in "All About Email Creative" titled Getting Email Messaging Right.

 

Email as a direct marketing tool continues to grow. We’re a direct email marketing firm that delivers a smart plan using proven email copywriting techniques and we’ll work with you to develop an email marketing plan or autoresponder messages.

 

It’s no coincidence that the most effective email copywriting is written by proven direct mail copywriters who have successfully made the transition from print to digital.

 

Consider these similarities:

Element	Direct Mail	Email
Teaser	Outer envelope copy has a single mission: to get the envelope opened.	Subject line and From line determine in mili-seconds if the email will be opened or deleted. Direct mail might be tossed, but there is still a remote chance of being reviewed later. Once an email is deleted, it’s gone forever.
Subheads	Used in long copy to build a sales message.	Enables shorter paragraphs for the reader to breeze through the email, but don’t make the subheads a sales pitch! Rather, build the story.
Lead Paragraph	The reader determines in the headline / lead paragraph if they will continue reading.	Like direct mail, a strong lead is essential in an email. Without grabbing the reader instantly, your email message that you or your email copywriter slaved over can be deleted in an instant.

So based on this, would you say that most email copy that comes to your in-box is good stuff? Or is it just junk?

 

If you think most of it is junk, then you have to ask yourself what you should do differently if you use email direct marketing as a tool to sell. My first piece of advice: stop trying to emulate those marketers who don’t know what they’re doing. And consider that just because “everyone” is sending a certain style of email copywriting doesn’t mean that it’s proven to generate response.

 

So a couple of don’ts:

• Don’t put the recipient’s first name in the subject line.
• Don’t use a boring copy in the first sentence. If it ain’t worth reading in the first sentence, the rest of the email won’t be read.

 

And a couple of do’s:

• Your first sentence must be powerful. Short. Generate curiosity to keep reading.
• The content must mesmerize. Teach and reach, but not teach too much.

 

And consider, too, that an email’s purpose is to grab enough curiosity to get the reader to click through to a landing page. Email is classic lead generation. Sure, you’ll sell in the email and the buyer’s mind can be mostly made up before clicking through, but don’t over-sell in the email.

 

Successful email direct marketing is a tool that’s best successful when written as infotainment. You entertain with information. You want the reader eager to read more.

 

Contact us to learn more about how we’ll work with you to develop an email marketing plan, autoresponder copy, email copywriting, SEO copywriting services, or other internet-based marketing strategies.