Competing and Winning in the Inbox
Jill Kurtz, Owner, Kurtz Digital Strategy
Structure Your Message Well
Paying attention to the details will help your messages win attention. It is fine to use a tool like MailChimp or Constant Contact to manage your list and send your messages. You need to go beyond the defaults to be effective.
- Sender: Set up your sender field to be something your recipients will recognize. Use your name if that’s what they know best. Use the business name if that’s what they connect to.
- Subject line: Speak to a need or interest of the reader. Make them want to open the message. Be specific and compelling!
- Summary text to start: Have text right up top that lets the recipient know what your message is all about.
- Preview text: Write preview text that identifies the value of your message for the recipient. Don’t repeat the content of the subject or summary text.
Offer Content that Matters
Getting the details right will set you up to be read. Now your content has to deliver!Make sure your message is relevant to the recipient. Don’t send the message if it isn’t. You may need to segment your email list to make sure you send only to those people who will find it highly relevant. Sending to fewer people who care is much better than a blast to all.Tell a story in your message. Stories capture interest and are easy to read. Make sure your story is easy to read online with short paragraphs, short sentences, and simple sentence structures. People who scan rather than read every word should get the gist.Experts recommend that you focus each message on a single topic. People who open a message will give you 1-2 minutes, so keep it short!
