Author: Jon Olson

Email Marketing 101: Use Lots Of Space

Jon Olson 2 Comments

Email marketing is not an exact science.

Sure there are plenty of stats and analytics that get thrown at you from every angle on what works and what doesn’t. So you have to always remind yourself this…Everything you learn and read about, take it as an example of something that MIGHT work for you.

The beauty of email marketing is that you can literally test things on the go and if something doesn’t work right away you can change it and see if it improves your results.

Writing emails isn’t an exact science either. A huge chunk of effective email marketing is yes, writing better emails for your readers so in this short blog post, we hope to give you some tips that has helped us over the years but should never be taken as gospel.

This works for us, and the only way you will find out if it works for you is to roll up your sleeves and press ‘Broadcast!’

When you are writing an email to your list, use lots of space!

And what we mean by that is….

“Don’t just write a huge block of text like I’m about to do here. Sure it might be proper formatting and proper english or whatever. But effective email copy breaks things up into easy to digest sentences and paragraphs. We are not trying to bore our readers and make them stop reading what we send. And unfortunately when we just use run on sentences and massive paragraphs, again like this example, you will bore your readers and it will not grab their attention at all. Are you getting tired of reading this paragraph yet? I know I would be if it was in an email. So please, don’t write to your lists using huge massive paragraphs like this. It’s the quickest way to get your email deleted….”

Phewwwwww….I’m glad that is over!

Do you see how that could just bore your readers to death? But how about using lots of space and breaking up your email into simple sentences and paragraphs like this!

– Use bullet points as well!

  1. Or maybe use numbered lists like this.
  2. This is very effective at grabbing attention in the body of your email.

Those examples above really help and the most important thing to remember is that…

People will scan emails, they won’t spend 15 minutes reading them.

So make your most important facts and messages stick out and easily found. You do this by using lots of space, new sentences, bullet points, numbered lists and simple short paragraphs.

Try this out in your broadcasts and see if it gets better results 🙂

Avoid Corporate Speak To Get Your Emails Read & Acted On

Jon Olson 1 Comment

A golden rule of email marketing is to always ‘write’ your emails in a personal way and avoid as much corporate speak as possible. It’s great advice if you think about the DNA of every single email list you create…It’s made up of real people!

Each with different goals, dreams and businesses. So when you start throwing around big words to make yourself sound important, a lot of that will be viewed as corporate talk and your message will more than likely be ignored.

A huge tip to try in the next email you send is to write them like you are talking to ONE person.

Think of each person you are sending the email to, but write like you are having a one to one conversation with them. This is a huge tip to not only get more people on your list reading your emails, but to also get a lot more action and clicks throughout the message.

And you can understand why on a purely human scale….People do business with those they know, like and trust. So when you are treating your broadcasts as a conversation between two people instead of between 10,000 your message has more emotion. The greater chances you have to get big results when you treat people on your list…Well…Like people 🙂

Seems too simple doesn’t it? Just write like you would if you were talking to your best friend. How would you structure an email to a family member? Would you use corporate language and brag about all your accomplishments? Or would you be treating the relationship you have with that person with respect and adding value to them.

That’s the golden rule of writing awesome emails, you have to write like you are talking to one, even if you are broadcasting to thousands. When you do this, trust is built and more action is taken by your readers.

What Is The Best Time & Day To Send Emails?

Jon Olson 3 Comments

We’re about to open Pandora’s box in this blog post…

Ask any marketer or professional marketing firm and they’ll give you stats and numbers that’ll make your head spin. From the type of customers, to the segmenting of your lists, there is a lot of confusion when you type in Google…

“What is the best time & day to send emails?”

There are so many factors to consider. From what your subscriber lists are used to, to what kind of business you may be in. To weekend vs weekday broadcasts to whether or not you should send all email on Eastern time…

It’s a mess.

I can sit here and tell you that the most opens and action we get when we send broadcats at 8pm on weekdays. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes we send an email on Sundays and get huge open rates.

The biggest advice I could give you without making your head spin is…Track for yourself where you get the best results!

That’s not only a great practice to get into for business but you’ll start discovering what your lists react and act to. That truly is the best advice.

That being said, there are some fantastic resources out there that can help you and guide you in the right direction, take for example Propellor’s 2017 Email Marketing Field Guide and Infographic. This is a great guide to help you get some ideas on when the best days of the week COULD be…Could is the key word here.

Track, and find out for yourself!

Is there a perfect time and day to send?

I don’t think that question will ever get answered because each list is unique. Even the segmented lists without your Rocket Responder account will have different ‘prime times’ to get better action with your broadcasts.

The beauty of building your lists and email marketing is that you get to find out by testing…You wont upset your lists for sending an email at 4 in the morning or 4 in the afternoon, as long as you are building the relationships and proving value…

In every single broadcast!

A Quick Tip That Helps You Get More Action With Every Email Broadcast

Jon Olson 4 Comments

Here’s a simple tip that helped us get higher click through rates and action takers on every broadcast we sent. And while it may seem like a no-brainer for more experienced email marketers it’s a good reminder for everyone to keep things simple and straightforward in your broadcasts.

Part of getting more action takers on every email you send is to keep things formatted for maximum results. You can do this by this simple technique, keeping your links in the email copy at a minimum.

For example, you do not want 10 different links pointing to 10 different websites in your copy.

So keep it simple!

A good rule of thumb is to keep links to a maximum of 3. Now this is NOT gospel and obviously different emails call for different formatting.

However in testing over the past few years and millions upon millions of emails sent, we have found that when you keep the links in your email copy to a maximum of 3, you get more conversions and click throughs.

Note: Now again, different targets and goals for an email campaign will change the amount you set for your business and needs so this is just a suggestion, not a rule.

Another thing to remember about adding 3 links in an email is to not send them to 3 different web sites. Keep things simple and straightforward.

Your copy should flow and naturally lead your readers to the links. And when you send them here, there and everywhere, you just start to confuse your readers.

Remember, the simpler you make your emails, the better.

Want to add graphics?

That’s even better but again the same suggestions apply.

Less is so much more when it comes to this technique.

Try it, test it and see if it improves your conversions and open rates! We’d love to hear about your results, please do share them below 🙂

Email Marketing 101: The Thank You Page

Jon Olson 2 Comments

I thought it would be a good idea to go over some of the basics when setting up your first email list. There is one feature that is rarely used by the masses but savvy marketers have been leveraging it for years now with great results. And that is…The thank you page!

What is the thank you page?

Remember when you first signed up to a new mailing list and filled out your information?

You pressed the subscribe button and got taken to a page that said either thanks for signing up or look for the email in your inbox to confirm the subscription.

That’s a thank page and that’s prime real estate!

Your new subscriber’s attention is at the maximum it will ever be so now is the time to make a lasting impressions. This is where you can show them;

– An offer exclusive to new subscribers
– A video welcoming them to your list
– A downloadable bonus

Use your imagination and you will see, their attention is at the highest it will ever be when you get them to confirm so USE this time to make an impact.

I love using these pages to help indoctrinate and welcome them to my lists.

For example, I could send them to a page where I host a short video clip, letting them know they are valued as a new subscriber and what they can expect in the emails that follow. Remember, list building is all about building long term relationships and things like this help you stick out from the noise.

There is so much you can do and accomplish by using that high valuable real estate in your list building endeavours. Let’s show you how to set up a unique thank you page for your lists;

Step 1 – Simply log into your Rocket Responder account and click on ‘Forms’. You can find it on the left menu bar.

email marketing

Step 2 – Next you want to click on the big green button under all that code that reads ‘Design a new form’

thank you pages

Step 3 – This opens up your customizable form generator. You can play around with the design and entire feel of your subscriber forms here but we’re going to skip this and look at the ‘Options’ menu on the top left and click that.

email marketing thank you pages

Step 4 – Now we have two options. A thank you page box and a confirmed page box. You can use both of these spaces to put your thank you page in. Here’s a strategy I would use…On the first thank you page box, put a page in there with a video of you thanking them for signing up. Indoctrinate them a bit to what they can expect but also let them know to white list your emails, and start the lines of communication. Engage with them! But also, tell them to pay attention for a ‘bonus’ that they will receive once they confirm their email with you….

That then moves you to the ‘confirmed page’ where you can place your bonuses, offers or whatever you wish to give them extra value for signing up to your list.

email marketing

The best part about this is that very few email marketers use this to start the relationship. They are too busy trying to pitch someone the moment they get on their list. Use this time to get them to know the real you and what you are offering and then you will have a customer for life.