Help! No One Is Engaging With My Emails!

So maybe you love writing email . . .

...and maybe you don't. Either way, it takes a lot of time to consistently show up in your audience's inbox. If that time isn't paying off in increased sales, Houston we have a problem! Engagement is key! If your emails aren't engaging people to take the next step in your sales funnel, you can't make sales. No engagement = no $$$ cha-ching.

This is why the 7 email engagement tips below, will make your time investment worthwhile.

In Episode 94 I cover the 7 email engagement tips that I use with my clients to achieve success in increasing email engagement. You can listen to the entire episode here.  Even implementing some of these tips will increase engagement, implement them all and your emails will be ON fire. 🔥 🔥 🔥

1. Grab and keep the reader's attention. 

Congratulations! You got them to open your email. That's step one. And it's definitely something worth celebrating. Because as I mention in the episode, average open rates are around 20%. So, getting that baby opened is a victory. But, now we need them to keep reading. One of the ways to do so is through the power of story. I give lots of examples on how to do this in this week's episode, so check it out. The other key strategy is to solve their biggest problem and start creating a relationship with them. Story also helps with that piece.

2. Use one Call To Action (not 5, 10, or more).

I know you're excited about your goods, but a confused mind DOES NOT buy. Nor does it take action. At all. It will be paralyzed by choice and then choose to just move on down the road.  You DON'T want that. This is why it's critical to give your audience one choice. Whatever it may be to propel them forward to doing business with you.  You've got to figure out the funnel first, then lead them through it with breadcrumbs. Give them a solution to the problem you talk about above and then make it SUPER easy for them to make that decision.  Episode 94 gives you the details.

3. Email length is negotiable and needs to be tested.

Nearly everyone I've ever worked with on marketing wants to know "how long should my emails be". The answer is, it depends. Email length really does relate to the objective of the email. If you don't know why you are sending the email, start there. Just as with any marketing activity, the strategy proceeds the action, otherwise you are wasting your time. There is no magic email length recipe. You simply have to understand why you are sending the email, what will engage your audience and test the crapola out of it. Because every email and every audience is different. What works sometimes, won't work other. Testing and retesting is really the best medicine for success.

4. Use those headings (because you've got skimmers)

"More Than 347 Billion Emails Will Be Sent and Received By 2022" according to Statista.  Nobody has time to read every email that comes into their inbox. This means they are ignoring the ones that are irrelevant or don't keep their attention (see #1 on this list). This is where the power of using a header (more training on what that looks like coming on Facebook) in your copy, comes in. When you place strategic headers in your copy you own the ability to draw them in again and grab their focus on what you want them to do. Those headings stop skimmers in their tracks. They are worth GOLD. 🥇 🥇 🥇

5. Create traction with your images.

Adding images is a great way to grab attention. Utilizing those images to get your audience to the next step is even better. First, ensure that your image is relevant to your content, otherwise, it will just come across as slimy and untrustworthy. In marketing, they call it bait and switch. I've succumbed to it in the past, and I'm guessing you have to. It feels gross and it won't win you any awards. Instead, use the image to add depth to your story and if possible, a call to action that takes them to the next step. Images are so impactful, that if done right, they will make or break the chain of continuing to read the email. More details on this in this week's episode.

6. Covertkit Ninja Tip --> Resend to unopened emails.

This little trick you can actually start using today.  If you go into your analytics you will see an option (a great Convertkit function and some other email service providers) called "resend to unopened". This enables you to pull up a list of people who didn't open that email broadcast and change the subject line so that you can try to get it in front of them.  Should you do this every time? Probably not. But if you've got something that's hopping, it doesn't hurt to test it and see how many more people open it up and take action. Give it a try.

7. Use link triggers to segment your audience.

As I was trying to talk you through this component, I thought it would be MUCH easier to just show you. So look for a YouTube training in the coming weeks on how to do this. The quick answer is you can set up a link in your email that will tag someone when they click on it. With that tag, you can indicate their area of interest.  I give really simple examples in the episode to explain what this looks like. The reason this increases engagement so well is it enables you to deliver customized content to those subscribers based on the links they have identified as interest areas. For example, if you had tags set up for strawberry, vanilla or chocolate ice cream and Sally your user clicked on strawberry, it's a pretty good indicator she likes strawberry. So you could then cater your content to send her all things strawberry. Strawberry shortcake, strawberry rhubarb sauce, strawberry pie, you get the idea. Instead of all things chocolate, because she didn't choose chocolate.

That's a wrap for this week.  I would love to hear which of these you try and what your success looks like.  Head on over to the Facebook group and let me know.

What did you learn from this episode? 

Come and tell me in the Facebook Group. Not in the group yet? Consider this your official invitation to join the Small Business Builders Community in the Facebook Group. Small Business owners unite to feed each other with inspiration, information, experiences, and knowledge.