What to send your email list (when you have no idea where to start)
You've got a list. You know you should be sending something. But what? Here's a practical guide to what goes into a marketing email that people actually want to read.
This is where a lot of businesses get stuck. You open a blank email, the cursor blinks at you and suddenly you've convinced yourself you've got nothing worth saying. Sound familiar?
Here's the thing... you've got more to say than you think. You just need a bit of structure to help you find it.
Start with your reader, not yourself
Before you think about what you want to say, think about what your reader actually wants to hear. What are they dealing with right now? What would make their day a bit easier, more interesting or more useful?
The emails that get opened, read and clicked are the ones that feel like they were written for the reader and not at them. Keep that in mind before you write a single word.
What you can put in a marketing email
There's no single right answer here, the best content depends on your business, your audience and what feels natural for you. But here are some tried and tested options to draw from.
A useful tip or piece of advice: Share something genuinely helpful that's relevant to your audience. It doesn't have to be groundbreaking, a simple, practical tip that saves someone time or makes something easier is always well received. This is also one of the best ways to build credibility over time.
A behind the scenes update: People buy from people. Sharing a bit of what's going on behind the scenes, a new service you're working on, something you've learned recently, a challenge you've overcome, makes your emails feel human and keeps your audience connected to you as a business.
A case study or client win: If a client has had a great result recently (and they're happy for you to share it), this is brilliant content for an email. It's social proof without the hard sell, you're just sharing a story and the results speak for themselves.
A helpful resource: Found a useful tool, read a great article or come across something your audience would find interesting? Share it. Being the person who points your audience towards useful things builds trust quickly.
An offer or promotion: There's nothing wrong with including an offer in your emails, just don't make every email a sales pitch. A good rule of thumb is to make sure most of your emails give something before you ask for something.
A question or conversation starter: Sometimes the best email is a short one that simply asks your audience something, what they're finding difficult at the moment, what they'd like to hear more about or what's changed in their world recently. Replies are gold dust. They tell you exactly what your audience needs and give you content ideas for future emails.
How long should it be?
Shorter than you think. Most people are reading emails on their phone, in between other things. You don't need to write an essay, a few short paragraphs that are easy to scan and get to the point quickly will always perform better than a wall of text.
If you've got a lot to say, consider breaking it into a series rather than cramming it all into one email.
One email, one email list
One of the most common mistakes is trying to cover too much in a single email. Pick one main topic or action per email and stick to it. If you want people to click a link, make that the one thing you're asking them to do. Multiple calls to action compete with each other and end up diluting everything.
A simple structure that works
If you're not sure where to start, this basic format works well for most marketing emails:
Opening line: something that pulls the reader in straight away, relevant to what you're about to say
The main content: your tip, update, story or offer, kept concise and easy to read
One call to action: what do you want them to do next? Read more, get in touch, book a call, reply to this email
A sign off that sounds like you: not "kind regards", something warm and human that fits your brand
Don't overthink it
The best marketing email you can send is the one you actually send. It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be long. It just has to be genuine and useful to the person reading it.
Start simple, see what your audience responds to and build from there. In future posts we'll be going deeper on subject lines, list segmentation and how to measure whether your emails are actually working.
Need a hand working out what to say or just want someone to take it off your plate entirely? Get in touch - email marketing is one of our favourite things to work on.
