SubscriberMail’s Opt-in News offers tips on email marketing best practices. One recent article reveals The Catch-22 of Email List Building, explaining how a larger list can hurt your conversion, open and click-through rates. 

Here’s the Gist of That Article . . .

Your list may have deadweight subscribers, those who do not interact with you. They signed up for your newsletter months ago, but they don’t read your email. This doesn’t help metrics or reputation. How can you fix this?

The Opt-in article mentions three ways to deal with deadweight subscribers . . . 

1. Send them a feedback survey. This is a great way to try and reconnect with the portion of your list that hasn’t interacted with you in a long while. Ask how you can make your emails more interesting to them. 

2. Isolate them. Before you delete names and email addresses from your prized opt-in list, consider giving these deadweight subscribers their own list. That way, you can measure mail out success more accurately. 

3. Examine your list generating plan. Is your list coming from a pre-checked opt-in form on your website? This may damage your list. Making sure you build a strong double opt-in list will limit deadweight subscribers.  

Learn more on how to deal with deadweight subscribers, visit the Opt-in News site. 

Hire an Email Copywriter to Help You!

Having a strong email marketing list is the key to your success. The other key factor is a well-planned message with highly targeted content. The right email copy can motivate your list to interact with you—again and again. 

Let me show you exactly how email copy can maximize your message. Send me a note and let’s talk text.

What are the hottest trigger words? The answer depends on what your target audience wants in an email from you. There are many ways to grab attention in a subject line—and we can debate word choices and testing outcomes for hours—but there are five great ways to shape your subject line into a must-read element of your message.

Here they are . . . 

The question. Know the problem your list faces. Address that issue in the subject line. Do it in a way that creates a desire to read on for the answer. Quickly resolve the issue in your message body

The teaser. Know what your mailing list wants. What do they need from your product or service? Speak directly to their top desire. Use your email message to show how you can fulfill that need.  

The direct subject line. Your list is filled with busy people. Get to the point—fast. Cut to the chase. State precisely what benefit you can offer them right now. Put all other details in the message. 

The personal touch. Each list has unique preferences. Feedback surveys can clue you in. Target your subject line to a very specific email marketing list. A targeted list brings better results. 

The event tie-in. Your list observes holidays and events. Celebrate with a subject line that connects your product or service benefit to upcoming dates to remember. This works great with retail.

What’s your method?

Whether you pose a question to newsletter recipients or promote a holiday sale to top customers, email marketing is a direct, interactive way to connect with your target audience. By sending out an HTML- or text-based message, you’re marketing beyond a static web page—meeting your opt-in list at the mailbox with an offer they want to see.

Know your strategy. Know your list. Follow more of my email marketing tips by reading my blog.

When I sit down to think up a subject line for my client, it isn’t just words that sell in a strong call-to-action. Connecting via email is the result of collaborative brainstorming, clarified marketing objectives and—most importantly—a high quality, well targeted mailing list. 

Since email marketing can be a highly effective substitution to face-to-face selling, it’s critical to have a good plan in place before crafting any email message. Think of how your email campaign can engage your target audience. How can you build credibility? What’s your goal?

Need help planning your email campaign? Subscribe to my blog or send me a note.

Recently, Funny Email Messages began posting inbox material to a blog.  On it, email content to make you laugh combines with jokes, including a few written in Filipino, to cheer-up your day. Check it out, and if you speak Filipino, tell me what it says. Subscribe here. 

Maybe one day there’ll be a museum for messages like these. I seriously doubt it.