So you’ve generated a bunch of great leads at your trade show and you have started the process of nurturing your leads. Part of this process is accomplished with good email marketing content. So how can you generate quality content so your lead does not click on the “unsubscribe” button?
What are you trying to accomplish?
Your Email should have a single focused goal, such as asking for a demonstration or downloading a white paper. If you have more than one goal, you will probably have content that is too long or will lose the interest of the reader. Your goal may be awareness or drive to purchase, but it needs to be specific. The content of the Email needs to be built around that goal.
Understand Your Audience
You need to know what appeals to your audience. Use terminology and imagery that appeals to that group. An email to young professional women should not be treated the same way as an email to retired seniors.
Keep It Relevant
Now you that know your audience, it is important to stick to content that your target readers will find relevant. You need to do this consistently. If your content varies too much from their core interests, you will simply be dismissed as just another site drumming out noise.
Include Facts
A key to effective Email marketing is to back your comments with facts. One of our most popular articles, Why You Should NOT Give out Thumb Drives at Your Trade Show backed up its assertions by pointing to a number of scandals caused by the use of thumb drives. Graphs and charts are also effective.
Include Quotes
Quotes from industry and thought leaders are always attention grabbers. Because of the popularity of social media, it is often as effective to include quotes from “normal” people. Both of these are great validators of your organization and product.
Use Correct Grammar
You will quickly lose credibility if your spelling looks like a text message. At a minimum, use your grammar and spell checker to validate your content. Even better, find the English major in your office to review your article!
Avoid Lingo
Do not assume everybody uses the same jargon or acronyms that you like. It is best to avoid these and stick to plain English.
Have a Great Subject Line
It’s not enough to have great content to get your Email read. You need a strong subject line to get the reader’s attention. Keep the subject line under 50 characters and ask yourself if it follows the Four U’s:
- Useful
- Ultra-Specific
- Unique
- Urgent
One of the keys to valuable content marketing is getting the readers’ interest from the beginning.
Avoid the Huge Mistakes
All of your good work creating email marketing content will be destroyed if you make one of the HUGE Email marketing mistakes. These include:
- Bogus Sender
- Lousy subject line
- No easy way to unsubscribe
- Message is unreadable without downloading images
Engaging in valuable content marketing is hard work. To succeed you need to be consistent and follow best practices.
