Why aren't your customers or prospects reading your emails?
There could be a lot of reasons your marketing emails aren't getting read by your prospects or customers. Assuming they're getting delivered and not getting caught in SPAM filters, here are a few that are pretty common:
- The preview isn't showing them anything of interest
- It's getting deleted en masse without even a glance
- They aren't opening it long enough to register as "read"
- What you're offering doesn't interest them.
All of these are valid reasons for marketing email that gets delivered to not be read by your audience. But how do you counter them and get more opens—and eventually more clicks?
Have you given them a reason to care?
Your marketing emails have to communicate just 3 things to everyone you send them to. If they're not answering these three questions, you're making it harder on the reader than it needs to be. And when it comes to marketing, if it's hard for the prospect, they're likely going to just ignore or walk away. So what are these 3 things?
- What are you offering me?
- Why should I care right now?
- What do you want me to do next?
Those 3 questions are the difference between an email that gets open and read, and potentially clicked, and one that ends up in the trash bin. The first question, "What are you offering me?" should be answered in your subject line. At a glance, I should know what to expect when I open this email. The second question "Why should I care right now?" is the main text of your email. In 5-6 sentences (seriously, keep it short!), I should know why I should act on this email right now. The last question seems like the most obvious. "What do you want me to do next?" That's just a call to action (CTA), right? Yes, but be specific. So many emails are generic in their CTA. "Learn More" just doesn't cut it anymore. Same with "Shop Now" or "Read More." They're too general. We recommend a one or two sentence summary (with some clickable text) ahead of any clickable button. That helps the reader really understand what do to next, and what to expect if they click.
Set yourself up for success
Email can be a really powerful tool for your business. It's great for communicating with existing customers and finding new ones! As you draft your marketing emails, ask yourself the three questions noted above. If you can clearly answer all of them with just a glance, you've got a better shot at your email being opened, read, and ideally clicked! Want an independent look at your email marketing campaigns? Click the button below to request a free Lead Generation audit from our team! No obligation, just an indpendent look at what you're doing right and what you can be doing better.