There’s plenty out there about crafting the ideal blog but not so much about how to write a winning email campaign. I’m giving some recommendations tried and tested from my time in marketing.
Have a goal
Are you inviting your contacts to an event? Encouraging them to double opt-in? Be clear and concise in your email; otherwise it’s less likely that you’ll get the results you’re hoping for.
Keep it short
According to Litmus, the average attention span when reading an email is 18 seconds! There’s not much time to wow your audience into clicking. We recommend you keep your campaign a summary of what you want your contacts to click through to.
The magic number of links
Try and keep your links to no more than five per email. Last year, our research found that the first two links got 25% more clicks than the rest. And you’ll see any more than five dropping off into the abyss.
Buttons vs linked text
We also found that blue underlined text links outperformed stylised buttons tenfold! So, while they might look smart, they don’t work as well. Think about how Google’s search results look. With many years of testing, their simple blue links outperformed any other colour. If it’s good enough for Google, it’s definitely good enough for you.
Design
Finally, through extensive testing, I’m finally ready to wave my white flag to Simon Moss. Yes, Outlook style emails DO outperform glossy looking branded emails. It’s been hard to swallow; I have spent much of my career in the B2C realm where emails are often, highly visual.