Love her or hate her, Hillary Clinton just can’t seem to escape the public eye. It’s said that she enjoyed her work so much that she even used her personal server for official correspondence. Even though the FBI has found her to be innocent of any crimes, Hillary will always have a special relationship with emails. Here are 10 (pssst, top secret!) things that we learned from Hillary Clinton about email marketing.
(Jokes aside, this post has nothing to do with politics or Hillary, it’s just 10 killer tips for upping your email marketing game!)
1. Optimize your landing page.
Seriously, make it easy to subscribe to your newsletter!
Don’t irritate your visitors by being too pushy about it. Understand that people visit potentially hundreds of websites every day.
They get pestered to give up their contact information all the time – both on and offline.
If you want to truly connect with your audience, give them something that they like and want. Do something that sets you apart from the competition. This way, you are perceived to be ‘high value’ and trustworthy. Nobody has ever succeeded at any form of marketing by simply taking; you have to be a giver first.
The key to optimizing your landing page is that it should not look like a conventional landing page.
It shouldn’t smell ‘salesy’ at all!
It should still be emotional, but it must spike visitors’ emotions not by creating fake hype but by providing valuable information and driving user engagement.
A fun test or survey makes people invest in the interaction and thus they care more about the result.
2. A/B testing.
Create two or more versions of your landing page, emails etc. and test which one works better.
- In version A of your content, put something impulsive like ‘Buy Now’
- In version B, something more sensible like Click for Best Price’ or ‘Check Availability’.
See how people react to each of them and continue with the one that gets the best results.
Split test everything; subject lines, content anchor text in links, short vs long copy, etc.
Generally, the content of your website and emails must match the tone and voice of your brand. Use the A/B testing method for page layout, color, call to action, email subjects etc.
3. Write a killer subject line!
Even if you write the best, most fantastic and valuable email in the history of the internet to your subscribers, it’s essentially an exercise in futility unless you can get them to open it!
The fact is, most emails do NOT get opened.
It’s also not uncommon for people to have hundreds and even thousands of unread emails (which eventually get deleted). THIS is why it’s important to write a killer headline!
Here are a few tips for just that:
In your subject, include Numbers like 3, 5, 11, etc. help to grab the readers’ attention.
- 3 Tricks to Lose 30 pounds in 30 Days
- 11 Things Billionaires are doing that you aren’t
- 7 Tips from Expert Preppers on Surviving when SHTF
- Are You Eating These 5 Super Foods Every Day?
Powerful words help to generate emotions.
Thought-provoking questions aid in triggering curiosity.
Include elements that are already popular among your audience – this adds a sense of relatability to your subject line.
Here is an example of a bad headline:
- Good advice for newbie email marketers.
Here are a couple of good examples:
- The 3 email marketing techniques that I used to make 1 million dollars!
- How to make $100,000 through email marketing?
See the difference? Good!
4. Make your emails personal.
Your readers should not be able to tell that you wrote this email for thousands of people. It should feel personal – almost as if you’re talking to just one person. This helps you to earn the reader’s trust. Always write while putting yourself in the reader’s perspective.
5. Always write or type fast.
When you type fast, your real personality and enthusiasm can really shine through. It is OK if you make errors while typing – you can fix them later.
Typing fast allows you to write with a nice natural flow to your emails. Typing slowly makes you over-analytical and boring.
When you type fast, you automatically come across as decisive and appealing.
Personality and voice are the elusive ‘x-factor’ that is missing in most websites and marketing campaigns. Most sites are too generic to make any real impact on visitors. People have become averse to generic – they crave something real.
6. Tell your subscribers what to expect when they sign up for your newsletter.
Tell them (beforehand) how often they will hear from you and what the content will be about. This prepares them for what’s to come and adds credibility to your brand. It makes you appear non-needy, unlike the hordes of other marketers who seem desperate.
7. Send people information that they want.
People like things that can make a positive change in their life immediately.
So instead of sending them a 36-week fitness routine, give them a tip that will help them lose two pounds on that very same day! Save the longer routine for later. Understand and implement the power of ‘NOW’! If you deal with several topics such as personal development, health, finance etc., ask people to tick boxes that are interesting to them.
Save the longer routine for later after you’ve built trust and rapport with them and they see that you’re ‘the real deal’.
Understand and implement the power of ‘NOW!’
If you deal with several topics such as personal development, health, finance etc., ask people to check boxes that are interesting to them, or even invite them to email you with requests or suggestions.
8. Keep emails short and easy to read.
Do not expect your readers to give you their undivided attention, even if you have done business with them before.
People are BUSY and often won’t read large chunks of text. The way people read text has changed radically over the past 2-3 decades.
Earlier, people read the entire content, but now they usually just SCAN through the information (like you may be doing now with this blog post).
Use lettering, spacing, and colors to make your email more readable.
If your email takes more than 2 minutes to read, it’s simply too long. If you MUST write a long email, make sure that you include the call-to-action several times through the entire content.
9. Don’t sell until the prospect is ready.
Spend time and resources on developing a meaningful relationship with your potential customers.
You have probably heard about the company Uber.
When the company expanded to new countries, it offered people their first Uber ride totally free of cost! Sure, this did take quite a bit of investment but it helped Uber attract tens of millions of new customers within a very short time frame.
People took a ride in a new car with a polite driver without paying a single cent – they signed up for more free rides using their family members’ accounts.
Within weeks, they were totally hooked on Uber.
Understand that people will buy from you only when they have had a series of positive experiences with your brand. Focus on creating these positive experiences and see your conversion rates go through the roof.
This is the tested sequence that I personally use for each of my own newsletters.
I suggest starting with 7 emails, 1 per day:
- The First Email will be a link to their free download
- The Second Email should be a ‘hi, how’s it going” type email, reminding them to download their free report, and offering help if they need it
- The THIRD email can be your first promotion, send an email promoting a product related to your free offer or report. You should be able to find swipe copy (pre-written emails) in the JV/Affiliate page for the product you’re promoting
- The Fourth Email – I like to send a motivational video from TouTube, something inspiring that everybody can relate to
- The Fifth Email I’ll do a follow-up promoting the same product again
- The Sixth Email, I like to scour the internet for some useful information they might be able to use. I’ll either send them a link to the article I found, or write my own version of it and include that as the content of the email
- The Seventh Email: Promote your product one last time, using another swipe file from the JV/Affiliate Page
Rinse and Repeat with 7 More Emails and another product, if you so wish. This works. Trust me. Just try it.
10. Don’t think of email marketing as a way of marketing.
Yes, you read that right – don’t email of email marketing as a way of marketing, but rather think of it as a way of talking to your audience.
This will help you to see through the complicated mess and achieve clarity of thought.
Always keep testing and improving your strategies. You cannot stay on top of your game for long if you aren’t creative.
Over to you
What are your favorite tricks for making email marketing great? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Related: Clinton, Trump, And Email Marketing