How to Email Market without Spamming Your Clients

How do you think your clients respond when they see your name in their inbox? Ideally, they will recognize it and be immediately curious about what information you might be contacting them with. The last thing you want is the eye-roll-and-delete, but that can become the standard response if you ignore some best practices for email marketing.

First off, let's be clear that email should have a prominent place in your marketing strategy. It may be the stodgier cousin of Twitter, but email is a powerful tool. A survey found that 98% of top-producing agents say that email is the best lead conversion tool available.

So using email for marketing is a must, but watch for signs that you're becoming an annoyance. Hubspot recommends that we be especially wary of the "unsubscribe."

"However, an unsubscribe isn't the end of the world. In fact, it can actually serve as a helpful signal. For example, if you notice that your unsubscribe rate is starting to climb, it might mean that you're overloading your audience or failing to target them with sufficiently relevant content."

Two things to avoid here: overloading the audience and failing to send relevant content. That's what not to do, so how about some positive steps you can take?

#1: Be Mindful of Your Timing

91% of consumers check their email daily, but it's also true that some days and times are better than others for making contact.

Many sources report that Tuesday is the best day of the week (closely followed by Monday and Wednesday) to send an email, meaning, that's the day it will most likely be opened promptly. This makes a real difference. When was the last time you got a reply on a Friday afternoon?

As far as time of day, 11 a.m. is generally found to be the sending time most likely to result in an open message.

#2: Don't Overlook the Subject Line

This is key to getting the email opened and your message across. To make your subject line more effective:

• Identify yourself
• Be specific
• Use "News" or "bulletin"
• Create urgency
• Include timely topics
• Don't use repetitive subject lines

#3: Make It Easily Digestible

Don't expect your customers to read a message that's very text heavy. As much as possible, use bullet points and short paragraphs. Include graphics and images to make the message more engaging.

#4: Include a Strong Call to Action

Focus on one action you'd like the customer to take. Make it easy to respond by providing a button or link – in fact, include several links sprinkled throughout the message.

#5: Be Mobile-Friendly

Currently, 48% of emails are opened on a mobile device, so to ensure that yours get read, you have to optimize them for mobile. Keep links spaced so that it's easy to click on the desired link and not the one next to it. Cut loading times by reducing the size of image files. Hubspot reports that on average, every one-second delay in loading time results in a 7% drop in conversion rates.

To view the original article, visit the Wise Agent blog.