Don’t Send Another Email Until You’ve Read These 10 Tricks

How to boost your email marketing campaigns and get more conversions 

For a professional service like accounting, email marketing continues to influence clients. But how can you make sure your emails grab attention and cut through inbox clutter? Once you have sorted creative and informative content, use these ten email marketing tips to boost open rates and ROI. 

1. Build your own contact list 

Buying a mailing list is tempting, but it’s ineffective. You’re gambling on people showing interest in your business once they read your emails, and it hardly ever works. More importantly, in most first-world countries, it’s illegal to reach out to recipients without their consent. 

Building your own email list may take a bit more time, but it’s worth it. When readers opt-in to your expertise and updates, not only will they appreciate it, but you’ll build a more honest, long-term relationship. Email marketing tools like BOMA allow you to develop and manage your contacts within their app. 

2. Check and clean your list regularly

Once you build up a decent email list, it’s important to clean it regularly. Every three to six months, check how many subscribers have engaged with your emails. If there are people who haven’t read any, you’re likely in their junk mail. It’s best to remove them quickly, so they don’t ruin your open rates. 

You should also avoid bombarding your readers with emails that don’t interest them. For example, if you send out a daily newsletter, check and remove any subscribers who rarely open. Move those people to a weekly or fortnightly email instead. 

3. Avoid saying ‘no-reply’ 

Having ‘no-reply’ in your email sender name is a big red flag for your readers. When your email looks computer generated and they can’t interact, it can quickly become an unwanted ad. It may even trigger them to opt-out. The best thing to do is to use your name in the email address. For example, if your name is Peter, your readers will be more inclined to read what you have to say if it’s from peter@greatmarketingemails.com.

4. Make sure it looks tidy

When your email is well-designed, it’s more likely to make an impact and lead to higher conversions. The simplest way to do this is to avoid clutter. Here’s a quick checklist:

• Choose one or two fonts. Any more styles will make it too distracting for the reader.  
• Font size around 10-12 points. The perfect size to ensure copy is legible on any device. 
• Template between 500-600 pixels. Any larger and your readers will have to scroll horizontally to see the whole email. 
• Optimise calls to action. If you want your emails to lead to conversions, make sure your actionable buttons are easy to find. 

4. Include an email signature and logo

Email signatures and logos are a must if you want better brand recognition. A study by Red Sift found that brand recall increased by 18% when readers saw a logo in an email. What’s more, conversion likelihood went up by 34%. With outcomes like that, ask all your employees to add your logo to their email signatures and improve your visibility even further. 

5. Put the main message front and centre

There’s a short paragraph the reader can see before they scroll down – make it count. Neilsen Norman Group ran an eye-tracking study that showed 57% of viewing time is done in the top section of the email. The second part only gets 17% and then gradually decreases as they keep scrolling. It also helps to include captivating headlines throughout the copy. This allows the readers to skim the article to quickly see if it benefits them.  

6. Use the customer’s name 

It’s great to personalise the greeting. When you use the reader’s first name, ‘Hi Mary!’, you’ll grab their attention. Don’t worry – this doesn’t mean you must write each email manually. BOMA uses your contact list to give everyone a personalised version of the same message. 

7. Test and modify subject lines

Email providers tend to cut off subject lines beyond 30 to 50 characters, so get to the point quickly. The wording needs to be strong enough to create a sense of urgency and clear enough so readers understand why they should open the email. 

A/B testing is a great strategy to see what subject lines work best for your clients. All you need to do is split recipients into two groups: send Group A your regular email, and Group B the email with a variation. For example, one subject line could be ‘Before you file your taxes – read this’, and the other could be, ‘10 tax tips you need to know’. Watch and see which version gets the most action.

8. Add a subscription button

Great content is shareable content. So even though most of your readers will already be on your mailing list, make sure to have a subscribe button in each email. That means when your email gets forwarded to friends, family and colleagues, they can easily become part of your mailing list.  

9. Do a trial run

Nothing turns a reader off like a typo. Before you send out your final email, make sure it’s perfect. Send a copy to close friends or employees so they can give you some feedback. Ask them these questions:

• Can they identify your call to action in under five seconds?
• Is the email laid out in an easy-to-read format?
• Does the subject line grab their attention?
• Can they find the subscription button easily?
• Are there any spelling mistakes?

10. Send an opt-in email to new subscribers

Life gets busy, and people often need reminding that they opted in to your emails. Send an auto-response to anyone who opts in, so recipients are more likely to remember who you are and open your next newsletter. The auto-response should be sent as soon as possible, no later than ten days after the person opts in. BOMA allows you to send opt-in emails automatically, so you don’t need to think about it. 

Make the most of every email

Your audience is on their email daily, and you want to send them something they look forward to reading. Start by cleaning up your mailing list, re-writing your subject lines to make them pop, testing a few options and double-checking everything. All it takes is a few simple adjustments, and you’ll see a significant improvement in your open rates. To access great email marketing content your clients can’t refuse, sign up to BOMA today for a 14-day free trial.