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Something I hear from my clients quite frequently is that they aren't sure what to put in their emails and they aren't sure how long they should be.
The answer to these questions is complicated and personal-- ultimately, it depends on your personal preference and your brand!
To help you better understand what types of emails you should be sending we first need to talk about the 3 different types of people in your email lists, and general design practices for email structure.
The Types of People in your Email Audience:
When you are writing your emails and repurposing content for your emails, you have to keep in mind that there are going to be a few different types of readers in your list.
The first is going to be the person who is interested in everything you have to say! If you had a blog they would likely read your blog post to the very end-- these people will be the same with your emails. (I would not recommend including a full blog post in your email, but if you are sharing lots of information, check out the Zig-Zag layout under design details).
The next are going to be the people who will read a decent amount in your emails, but they are really looking for the main points! They don't mind sifting through some information, but they are not interested in reading a blog post or reading anything more than they have to.
The last are going to be the people who are just looking for the bullet points, the synopsis, the short version of what you have to say! These are the people who are going to open based on the subject line and who are looking for what they signed up for.
Not every email that you write is going to appeal to everyone in your audience. This is okay! Ideally you'll be sending out different types of emails throughout the month and you will be able to appeal to all of the people in your community.
When you utilize these different email lengths/structures this allows you to repurpose your content. Maybe one month you send a long email about your main service, the next month you send a medium length email about your main service, and the next you send the bullet point version about your main service. You can use that first email and base the rest of the emails off of the copy!
Repurposing is truly your best friend when it comes to your email list. The people who read your emails are generally not the same people who see your social media posts which allows you to reuse social media copy for your emails!
Structuring your Emails and Email Design:
Once you have established the different types of emails you will be sending (I refer to them as short, medium, and long) you need to understand how to format the emails to make them reader friendly!
Below are some general design practices for emails and email campaigns:
-While not traditional design elements, the subject line and the pre-header text are incredibly important for email conversions. Longer isn't always better and adding emojis to the subject line can be a huge help! Personalization is also a huge help in subject lines-- this would be adding your recipients first name to the subject line, directly speaking to them.
-Anytime you can add details of personalization or humanization to your email marketing you absolutely should! This could be sending out emails with personalized subject lines, or sending out emails that are specific for each customer-- these emails could be a birthday email, if you offer a quiz it could be an email for their specific type or answer set, it could be emails asking old customers to return by offering them a discount, etc. The personalization and humanization in emails can be one of the most persuasive factors when utilizing email marketing.
-There are a few different layouts you can use for structuring your emails:
Inverted Pyramid- an upside down pyramid draws the attention of your readers down, leading them to your main offer or call to action.
One Column- an easy one column email is great for both desktop and mobile users and it is easy on the eyes for all readers! Nothing really stands out in a one column email but it is easy to read. When utilizing one column emails it is best to keep the information short and sweet!
Zig-Zag- this is a great way to organize a lot of information by breaking up the layout and helping the reader move through the information in an easy, digestible way. This is more complex design wise, but it is useful for sharing more information without overwhelming your readers. I highly recommend doing this for longer form emails to help break up your information and help your readers move through it.
-Adding white space to your emails around your Call to actions, buttons, images, or text can also help break up the email and can draw attention to the main offer you are conveying through your emails.
-Be sure to include links for people to head back to your social platforms and be sure to also include an unsubscribe button in your footer. (Most email services do this for you automatically, but some require you to add it in manually).
Now that you understand the types of readers in your audience, and some general principles of email design, you are ready to send some emails!
I recommend sending anywhere from 1-3 emails weekly! What the emails are about will vary depending on if you offer products or services in your business. Services require more educational content, while products can utilize special offers, discounts, new products, etc.
If you are interested in receiving some ideas for subject lines and a couple email templates, be sure to sign up for my best list of email subject lines to receive some content inspiration!