Contacting the subscribers on your email list is easy. Getting them to pay attention isn’t. When people subscribe to your email list, they share personal information with the expectation of receiving something valuable - if not awe inspiring.
Just in case you’re not endowed with the ability to create award-winning email content repeatedly, this article contains 3 types of email content that are fast, easy to write, and in high demand when you find yourself saying…
- “I don’t know what to write.”
- “I don’t have time to write.”
- “I simply can’t write!”
1) Collectible Content
Hopefully you’re already reading lots of information about your business, industry, and competition in order to stay ahead. Your audience might be interested too, but they don’t have time to read everything and it’s a good idea to point them to information that makes your business look better than your competition. You need permission to copy articles and information that you find online and in other publications, but you can still use the knowledge you gain from the articles you read in your emails when you…
- Summarize articles and other large bodies of information for your readers. For example, a hair stylist who reads lots of fashion magazines could summarize all the fashion advice related to wearing sunglasses so that his audience doesn’t have to read all those fashion magazines.
- Evaluate the information you read by adding your opinion to your summaries. For example, a music store owner who reads lots of articles on guitar construction could share a personal opinion as to why she chooses they types of guitars in her store and why the other types of construction aren’t as good.
- Relate your summaries and evaluations to your products and services. For example, an online retailer who sells office furniture could summarize and evaluate all the articles on trends in employee productivity while listing several types of office equipment that increase output.
2) Reverse Tips and Advice
Creating “tips and advice” articles in your emails is a great idea when using your products or services requires special knowledge because you’re the leading expert on using your products, right? Well, maybe not. Sometimes your customers have a simplified perspective and they often value things about your products and services that you aren’t aware of.
Instead of telling your audience how to use your products, ask a few of your best customers for the tips and advice they would give other customers. (this makes a great survey question, by the way!) Here are some ideas for including customer tips and advice in your e-mails:
- Start a customer tips and advice e-mail newsletter. For example, a gardening center might send an e-mail newsletter with customer tips for creating indoor gardens. The gardening newsletter could include related offers for plants mentioned in the newsletter.
- Dedicate a section of your e-mail newsletter to answering customer questions. For example, a Web site designer could answer a different customer question related to search engine optimization in every e-mail.
- Be an expert interviewer. Instead of asking for content from your customers, interview them about their experience and share it with your audience. Interviews can also be broken up into themes or individual questions and included in a series of e-mails.
3) Testimonial Content
There’s nothing more powerful than a testimonial, and there’s nothing more repelling to prospective customers than testimonials that sound fake or too good to be true. While collecting and sharing quotes from customers who have great experiences with your business are is always a good idea, try including the following types of testimonial content in your emails in addition to more traditional quotations.
- Felt and Feels articles. People like to read stories about people whose liveshave changed because they use your products and services. When writing an article about a customer experience, try using the Felt and Feels approach. For example, an online jewelry retailer could offer a new engagement ring in the context of a story about a customer who Felt nervous about buying a discounted engagement ring online, and now Feels that he made the right decision because of the quality, buying experience, and the positive response from his new fiancé.
- Customer incentive stories. Describing how your customers make use of your discounts and incentives brings additional value to your offers. For example, an offer to purchase a particular motorcycle might include a story that highlights one shopper who chose a low financing rate and was able to purchase additional accessories, and another shopper who chose a membership to an exclusive rider’s club and just finished a cross country ride with a group of members.
- Surveys as content. Surveys can be made into valuable content when offered to your audience in the form of a special privilege. For example, an electronics store could offer access to a limited edition product for all customers who are willing to complete a survey about their experiences with another product.
Remember that creative ideas for content aren’t always easy to come by. When you have a good idea, try spreading the idea out into a theme using several communications. A series of email newsletters with only one article in each is often more desirable to your audience than multiple articles and longer bodies of content anyway.
When in doubt, send your audience a survey and ask them what types of content they find valuable and relevant. You just might find yourself with enough good ideas for a whole series of emails, and enough time to focus on rewarding yourself out of the increased business your valuable content brings you.
John Arnold is the author of Email Marketing for Dummies and Director of Constant Contact’s Local Experts Program.
