We’ve all received an email before that we immediately ignored, marked as spam or deleted entirely. If you’re a business owner, professional or marketer, you might be worried that this exact situation is happening to your emails. If that’s the case, then that probably means your emails aren’t getting the job done. Something has to change. 

Fortunately, there are a plethora of ways to boost the success of your email marketing campaigns. Identify areas where emails fall short, then correct them. To get you started, we put together a few of our top pointers for effective email marketing. Let’s dive in.

1. Know your audience. 

The first step toward advantageous email copy is knowing who you’re writing to. What’s your target audience look like? Knowing your audience helps you write better email marketing copy which meets their specific needs and, of course, boosts your conversions. Use your analytics and customer interactions to build a buyer persona for the brand. Who is your ideal customer? Keep them in mind as you draft your email marketing copy.

2. Focus on the subject.

The subject line can make or break the entire email. It can mean the difference between recipients opening the email, deleting it or worse, reporting it as spam. As you draft the email’s subject line, be sure to use compelling language that encourages people to open. Offer something of benefit, build a fear of missing out or present compelling evidence about why they should open. The better the subject line, the more likely your emails will succeed.

3. Nail the preview text.

However, the subject line itself isn’t enough. There’s also the preview text to consider. This is the small section of text that appears in users’ inboxes and tells them more of the content of the email. Often, it includes part of the first line of the email. This means your first few words of email copy should be incredibly intentional and compelling. The average preview text ranges from about 35 to 140 characters, so pay special attention to those first few words of copy.

4. Avoid shouting.

Nobody likes being yelled at, particularly over email. This appears spammy, and can send you on a one-way trip to the trash can. Avoid all caps and multiple exclamation points in both the subject line and the body of the email. Keep in mind that if enough users report you as spam, it can severely hurt your email deliverability. Instead, simply share genuine content with users that encourages them to open and read the email, without yelling at them. 

5. Keep it simple.

Writing email copy is similar to writing general online copy. In other words: keep it simple. Follow a logical structure throughout the email, keep paragraphs short and include one main idea per paragraph. Use bullets and subheadings to break up blocks of text and make the emails scannable. When appropriate, feel free to include a picture or video. Most importantly, choose your words wisely with simple, powerful, emotional copy.

6. Sign with a name.

Personalization is key to a strong email marketing strategy. However, there’s more to personalization than just using the recipient’s name in the subject line. You want to help subscribers get to know who you are. Focus on sounding like a real person in the email. Avoid marketing speak and use a conversational tone, like you’re talking to a good friend. At the end of the email, sign with a name, so the recipient feels a personal connection.

When done correctly, email marketing plays a significant role in a company’s bottom line. If you fear your emails are consistently sent to the trash folder, then reevaluate their effectiveness. Keep these pointers in mind as you build a successful email marketing campaign and grow your business.