My morning ritual consists of a little exercise, a lite breakfast, and a big cup of coffee. All of this is a lead up to the daily task of . . .
opening my email.
How many new emails will infiltrate my mailbox this morning? How long will it take me to weed through the unwanted mail to locate the jewels that are important to my day? Typically it ranges from 122 to 157. In which case, 3 to 8 of those are from coworkers or clients. The rest are adverts, updates, and junk. It can take up to 15 minutes to delete all the unwanted emails from my mobile device. A little less on my desktop.
Of the 120 to 150 emails most business people receive in a day - they may only open 34% of them, and the average email click-through rate is only around 3%. Knowing this it is more and more important to make your emails count.
As a marketer whose business relies on email to communicate with clients, I consider this every time I send an email. It is crucial to create
emails that count. That are Engaging, Easy to Grasp and Fun to Read. If not, I'm at risk of not being heard.
So, how do you make your emails count?
Be Yourself and Keep it Simple!
- Be concise - not wordy
- Don't use long complicated sentences
- Use easy to understand words
- Be positive not passive
- Be personable and creative but not condescending
Make it Personal
Use variable data if it is a mass email. An email salutation of Dear Sir or Mame will quickly get filed in the circular bin.
If you are using an email service make sure your images are bright and compelling and your email reads well on mobile devices.
Pay attention to your subject line. Make it pop with a few words but not threatening.
One Call to Action
Don't give the reader too many options or questions to answer. You have a few shorts minutes to keep their attention. So make your point quickly.
Choose your eMail Fonts Wisely
Some Fonts are easier on the eye and more "readable" than others. Georgia and Verdana are considered easier to read.
Georgia: Each letter written in this font has an additional stroke at the end. This helps your eye trail from one word to the next.
Verdana: The shape of the letters in this font is more open than in fonts like Arial. There's additional space between letters, and the spacing is evener.
Fonts such as
Helvetica and Arial are very common fonts but many designers deem them hard to read, so they strain the reader's eye. Helvetica's letters are too close together and Arial's design is too ambiguous.
It's like when you leave the house, always take one last look in the mirror to make sure you don't have food in your teeth. Before you hit send - read it one more time and make sure it's relatable, readable and on point.