Is email still worth the effort? When I first wrote this in March 2018, I said yes, definitely. McKinsey research doing the rounds at the time said email was 40 times better than social media for winning new customers.
But email only works if people open it, read it and do something. Think about how many emails land in your inbox in a day, and how many you actually read.
Who are you writing to?
Most lists aren't one group of people. Some joined for a free download. Some bought something. Some came in through one particular page, or told you what they're interested in. Send them all the same message and it's only really right for a few of them.
The closer an email gets to what that person cares about, the more they'll want the next one. Ask people what they're interested in when they sign up, and use the answer.
Then think about how often you send. Too rarely and people forget they ever signed up, so you look like spam. Too often and they unsubscribe. If what you send is useful, they'll be glad to see your name.
The subject line sells the email
We all sort our inbox the same way. Who's it from, and what's the subject line? There are a few people we'll always open. Everyone else gets judged on the subject line, and most get deleted unopened.
The subject lines that get opened usually do one of five things. They make you curious. They give you a real reason to act now. They're clearly meant for you. They tie into something happening right now. Or they speak to a group you feel you belong to.
One warning on urgency. Only use it when it's real. Cry wolf too often and people stop believing you, and then they stop opening.
One idea, one person
In 2018 I wrote that email newsletters were dead. What I meant was the kind that squeezes six different topics into one message. Pick one idea for each email, and tell a story that explains it. A fact on its own is easy to forget. Wrapped in a story, it sticks.
Only one person reads your email at a time, so write to one person. Imagine a friend who's interested in what you do. What would you say to them, and how would you say it? Write that.
That means dropping the corporate speak. Nobody wants to read "here at XYZ agency". If you wouldn't read it yourself, why would they? Your readers don't care about your brand. They want to learn something or be entertained.
Keep it simple on a phone
Most email gets read on a phone. Fancy layouts built for a desktop screen fall apart there. You don't need logos, lots of pictures or lots of colours. Make each email look like a simple message to one person. Try writing it on your phone and you'll see what they see.
Count the clicks, not the list
Opening an email isn't the same as reading it. Give people one clear thing to click, like a blog post, a video or a download, and count the clicks. That's the engagement that matters.
Test things too. Most email tools let you send two subject lines to a small slice of your list and then use the winner for everyone else. Try different days, times and lengths as well.
And be careful with list size as a measure of success. If people on your list don't remember joining, a bigger list doesn't mean much. Keep an eye on opens, clicks, unsubscribes and the reasons people give for leaving.
The man who said newsletters were dead
Funny thing. The man who said newsletters were dead now has one of his own. It's called The Mix.
I'd stand by the rest of it. One idea. One person. Plain words. It's the same thinking as Build a community, not a list, and if stories are the hard part, I wrote about them in How to tell stories in your business.
Before you send your next email, picture one person on your list you'd love to read it. Rewrite the opening as if it's only for them, and cut anything that isn't about the one idea.
First published March 2018.
