Business owners receive tons of marketing emails in their inbox every day, but not all emails are opened or read. Because many emails are generic, generic, and not tailored to the recipient, managers can quickly review and determine which emails are worth reviewing and which are destined for garbage.
As experts, members of the Forbes Business Council have experience managing email communications as both senders and recipients. Below, each of the 17 outlines specific actions marketers can take to create marketing emails that will grab the attention of business leaders and encourage them to read them.
1. Create a post “Skins in the game”.
When a marketing email addresses an issue or problem we face, it's natural to read it. In other words, if an email contains some kind of “skin in game” message, someone is more likely to read it. For example, a marketing email that says “We can help you generate leads” doesn’t work. But if it says, “We can help you turn your prospects into clients,” the recipient gets curious. -Vasudevan Swaminathan, Zuci Systems
2. Be direct
We all have a limited number of cognitive calories, so if you make your question too vague or too complex, you'll be asking the reader to do all the work for you. Start with what you can choose and don't worry about ego. Make it easy for the reader to make the quick decision that often makes the difference between success and futility. -Jason Haddock, Sozo Labs
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3. Do your due diligence
Prudence goes a long way in making an email stand out from the crowd of people who have sent the same message to thousands of recipients. Instead, find out who to contact and at what level within the organization the responsibility for making decisions will lie. Leaders tend to focus on the entire company and do not necessarily have access to all the tools or services that the organization uses or needs. - Maurice Harari, Tender Lab
4. Add something bold to spark curiosity.
People don't read, they scan. If something is important to them, they may take a second to read it and take action. For me, it's a bold statement, a statistic, or something interesting that immediately jumps out at me to tell me more or answer a query. - Lindy Tentinger, VGM Forbin
5. Customize your email subject
A personal and relevant subject line is an important feature that grabs my attention and encourages me to read a marketing email. This demonstrates that the sender understands my needs by addressing a specific problem or offering a personalized benefit, making the email more likely to be engaged. -Anuraag Sunder, Aon
6. Align your approach with how your business operates.
When the message and vision align with how I do business, it gets my attention. For example, we are a private client company. When I receive a personal, detailed email, it means someone took the time to do the research. Many emails are generic and impersonal, so I'm interested in those that offer value without expecting reciprocation. - Joe Crandall, consultant, Greencastle Associates.
7. Tell a story
Marketing messages should tell stories. The stories could be about how a product helped a company achieve its goals, about a team that strives for excellence, or about a service that consistently delivers satisfaction. Stories capture attention and bring a company's products, people and processes to life! - Liatt Rothschild, full of purpose
8. Personalize emails according to your readers' needs and preferences.
When an email is carefully tailored to a person's specific needs and preferences, addresses them by name, and discusses topics that truly matter to the company, the value of the email immediately increases in their eyes. The art of personalization shows that the sender has taken the time to thoroughly research and deeply understand the recipient. - Michael Shribman, APS Global Partners Inc.
9. Focus on the benefit, not the product.
The emails that interest me have one thing in common: they focus on the benefit, not the product. Another tip is to never compromise on price because price doesn't matter much if we think it has value. Like everyone else, companies tend to buy with emotion and then justify it with logic. - Marian Evans, Elevate BC Ltd.
10. Provide value
Does email have value beyond the most obvious subject line? Is this just self-promotion, taking advantage of us, us or me? Or is it clearly related to my problems and offers actionable and thoughtful ideas that can help me? I may not have responded to this email yet, but I have a much better chance of opening and reading the next one. - Mike Easterday, Integrity Solutions
11. Combine personalization and urgency
A marketing message that stands out in a business manager's crowded inbox combines personalization and urgency. A personalized item that suits the task at hand will generate interest. A specific internal message that offers real value and is backed by data captures attention, while a clear call to action holds it. Together, these elements ensure that the email message is read and responded to. - Chris Kille, Payments Pilot
12. Demonstrate that you understand their problems and goals.
In a sea of words, the whisper of importance is the loudest call to action. If you can make me feel like you understand my journey, you will listen to me. When a marketing message seems to understand the recipient's specific problems or goals, it cuts through the noise and grabs attention. - Eli Y. Katz, National Retail Solutions (NRS)
13. Be informative and interesting
The important thing in email marketing is to get people's attention. Marketing should be informative and entertaining. You can do this by using beautiful images that are relevant to what you are selling. Also, make it fun and use the person's real name rather than just "Insert name here." This way, your emails will be unique and more likely to be read. - Chris Clear, Clear Storage Group, LLC
14. Speak directly to your readers' interests.
I'm much more likely to use marketing messages that specifically relate to my company's needs, pain points, or goals. The amount of points goes directly into the basket. If the topic and background text provide valuable information about the problems I'm facing, I'll take the time to read more. Attempts to understand and adapt to my context are noted in my inbox. - Chase Hughes, Professional Business Plans
15. Communicate sincerely
One of the things that keeps me from using marketing messages is the obvious attempts at personalization and personalization. If an email contains statements like, “I love what your company does,” it demonstrates a lack of effort to understand our business and comes across as an attempt to manipulate my attention. The natural conclusion is that the sender will not be a reliable partner. - Denis Grabchak, Performometrics
16. Follow the seven principles of obedience.
A quick scan of any marketing email will reveal whether it contains any of the seven principles of persuasion. We ourselves use these principles in all our marketing communications to achieve tremendous results. The seven principles are reciprocity, non-adequacy, authority, consistency, agreement and consensus. - "Smitty" Robert J. Smith, Robert J. Smith Productions
17. Be precise and to the point
Many marketing emails have a very broad subject line, such as “We thought you might like this,” an email that was in my inbox recently. I suggest being specific and explaining as briefly as possible why the value of opening the email is. Business leaders tend to be busy people, so focus on them by setting a subject line that clearly conveys the importance and value you have to offer. - Jason Foodman, Leaf.page
