The Often Overlooked EDM Musts

As you’re reading this, you probably just received another email notification (we’re up to 30 non-work-related emails and it’s not even lunchtime yet…).

Yep, email marketing is still alive and VERY well — with recent research finding that 99% of us continue to check our email every single day! But think about it for a second… out of alllll the emails you receive each day, how many do you actually digest? And how many do you ‘mark as read’ to make the little notification go away?? *guilty*  

Whether you’re just about to piece together your first EDM (Electronic Direct Mail) or you’re not happy with your campaign results so far, let’s take a look at what’s often overlooked. After all, it’s the little things that count… 

1.  Take it from the top

First impressions count - and a strong, unique subject line is a must for hooking your readers! Think about the most intriguing part of your EDM content and make that known and clear, while keeping what others are doing in mind to stand out from the pack. If someone’s receiving 10 EDMs that read ‘Happy Valentine’s Day!’ (including yours), what are the chances they’re going to engage with all 10? Let alone any...

In other instances, you can test a more subtle teaser that will intrigue your subscribers to want to find out more (e.g. “Want to up your social media confidence?”…). 

And remember to keep it on-brand. If you can get away with being witty or humorous, great! But if you need to keep it more serious or informative, that’s completely fine. Your target audience is with you for a reason! Either way, keep it short and sweet to avoid your main point being cut off. 

Don’t forget to take advantage of your pre-header as well! That little element is a great run-on from your subject line, which can either elaborate on your main point or offer a preview of the rest of your EDM content. (e.g. “on a scale of one to ten, how confident are you that your social media strategy will work in 2021?”).

2. Let’s link up

Don’t limit your hyperlinks to Call To Action buttons. Where appropriate, add them to the images and other elements of your EDM and ensure their placement makes sense. 

Incorporating a menu bar for your website as well as social media icons are great ways to drive traffic to additional places and have more people interacting with your brand! 

3. Copywriting: there’s a time and a place for everything

Learn to read a (digital) room. If you’re wanting to direct people to a blog or any landing page that’s chock full of information, they’ll have plenty of reading to do when they get there! If you drop ALL your key points in your EDM, then, there’s no real reason for them to click through to learn more… Most EDMs are a taste of what to expect when your subscribers click through, after all! 

Of course, if you have an important message to get across or you’re telling an intriguing story - go for gold! Always use your best-calculated judgement and think about the purpose of your EDM. 

4. Target the right people 

Particularly in the e-commerce world, segmentation is a beneficial option for your email marketing campaigns! This will allow you to group up your customers who have certain attributes in common, letting you send out different EDMs based on those particular groups interests and needs. 

If you send an email to your entire list, your content could be irrelevant to some. So do us all a favour and break it down! 

5. Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...

Always, and we cannot stress this enough… ALWAYS test your EDM before it goes out! 

Send a test to yourself, send a test to someone else, and begin the proofing process. You want to make sure that there are no spelling errors, broken or incorrect links, or things where they shouldn’t be… especially in ‘Mobile Preview’. Human error is practically inescapable, but we can do our best to eliminate mistakes before they’re sent out to thousands of eyes! 

SUMMARY 

Remember: don’t neglect the little things, they’re what count the most… Mistakes happen when you overlook something that seems so simple!! 

Of course, we’ve only just scratched the surface of results-driven EDMs here. There’s a lot of work and testing that goes into successful campaigns, and if you need a little bit of help we’re always here for you. Get in touch and we’ll be in contact via, you guessed it… email!