Small and mid-sized businesses need to make every email count. Step One, is to “let go of the pretty” to increase the chance that the emails you send will land in the inboxes and that they will actually be read. Before you read further, make sure you understand email presentation vs performance fundamentals.
It’s time to move on to Step Two.
Chase the click, not the open.
I bet that you, like me, get a lot of emails that are all about the sender and whatever they’re trying to sell us today. Right? Those are what I call “presentation” emails, as I mentioned in my last post. They’re all about “here’s my offer,” and, if I’m not interested in that offer today, I don’t care about that email. Do you?
What About the 90% Who Aren’t Ready to Buy?
So, when I talk about “performing emails,” I’m talking about emails that get clicks. I barely even look at open rates any more – I want the click. I want to know that the person who opened that email thought that whatever piece of content I’ve offered is valuable enough to them to click through to read it. That’s what I want.
If the email is a presentation of whatever is being sold with a link to buy it now, sure, that’s a valuable click to get. But… what about all the people who aren’t ready to buy now? The people who don’t understand what your product or service can do for them? The people who can’t imagine what their lives would be like if they became your customer? What about THOSE people?
Those people make up a significant portion of your list, I’m betting. Statistically, those people account for over 90% of your list. That’s huge.
So you can keep sending “presentation emails” to your entire list, and know that in doing so, you can turn off a huge percentage of the people who could become your customer. Many businesses fall into these engagement personalization pitfalls without realizing the damage they’re causing to their potential relationships.
Or you can start sending emails that will perform for you.
Step Two: Stop Presenting and Start Building Relationships
Three Truths About How People Buy
To do that, let’s fall back to three basic truths.
- People buy from people they know, like (or at least don’t dislike!), and trust.
- The way to become that person is to build a relationship with those who could be your customer.
- The way to build a relationship is to listen, respond, and provide value.
Use Clicks to Learn What Your Leads Care About
Through email marketing, our way to sales is through relationship building, and we do that by leveraging the tools at our disposal – looking at what links they click, what content they read, what downloads they take, what events they attend, and what pages they visit on our websites. We take all of that information and craft content that will deepen their relationship with us. This strategic approach requires a carefully thought-out plan and engage methodology that nurtures prospects over time rather than pushing for immediate sales.
Broaden Your Goals Beyond “Buy Now” Clicks
If someone clicks through on a “buy now” link it means TWO things. One – it means that they might buy. Two – it means that they are likely interested in that product, even if they don’t buy. (But the fact is that “buy now” links usually only get clicks from people who are likely to buy.)
What if you had MORE than a “buy now” link?
Example: How a Cheese Company Could Provide Value
Let’s say you are selling cheese. You could do like that one commercial suggests, and send out an email that a particular cheese is on sale today. What will you get? Right – people who want to buy that particular cheese. What if the email also included a link to “10 Great Recipes for This Cheese”? What are you doing then? This approach exemplifies the value-to-pitch email formula in action.
You’re providing value. Educating the people on your list on how they can use the cheese that happens to also be on sale is a great way to provide value and start building relationships. You can track the people who click through on the recipes link and follow-up with them with more recipes, or another cheese offer.
It’s listening to your leads and responding to the needs and interests that they express. That’s where it all starts.
And don’t miss that this approach requires understanding that effective email marketing isn’t about broadcasting to everyone – it’s about behavioral targeting for value delivery that resonates with each individual’s specific interests and needs.
You Don’t Have to Create All the Content – But You Should
This doesn’t mean you have to develop all the content in the world. Truthfully, it doesn’t even mean you need to have your very own blog (although we HIGHLY recommend it). To be quite candid, you could curate your ten favorite cheese recipes from around the web and create an online list using a listicle publishing service, or put your recipe choices into a Facebook post, or even includes links to whatever sites the recipes are on.
But let’s be real – if you don’t have your OWN blog, you can’t track where people go AFTER they click the link in your email. While you CAN track that they clicked that link – and that’s got value – that’s only part of the story. You can deepen your understanding of the people who are in your email list but you won’t know as much as if you send them to your own content.
And, being candid with you, if you’re trying to build trust, the way to do that is with content – and your blog is your best option for being original, creating something that lasts, and establishing something that makes you find-able when your ideal customers are looking for a solution to the problem you solve.
In other words, you’ll get more out of your emails if you link to a relevant blog post, preferably on your own blog, as we get into in Be an Email Ninja by Leveraging Your Blog.
Relationships Start With Understanding—Not Sales Pitches
And sales start with relationships.
Creating beautiful emails that don’t provide value, sending well laid-out emails that come across as sales pitches, presenting “all about you” rather than focusing on your audience – those are relationship killers. No other way to say it. Your readership will drop into the dustbin over time – and, unless you’re watching carefully, you might not even realize it until it’s too late to bounce back. This is why protecting your lead engagement should be a top priority in your email strategy.
Why Clicks Are the Metric That Matters
Your goal for your email marketing is sales, yes. The number one thing to track and measure (and celebrate) is clickthrough rate, because clicks are engagement, engagement = relationship building, and relationships lead to familiarity, likeability, and trust. That’s an email strategy that performs.
People buy from people they know, like, and trust.
Step Three is in the next post. Until then…
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I focus on clicks instead of email open rates?
I barely even look at open rates any more - I want the click. I want to know that the person who opened that email thought that whatever piece of content I've offered is valuable enough to them to click through to read it.
What percentage of my email list isn't ready to buy right now?
Statistically, those people account for over 90% of your list. That's huge.
How do people make buying decisions?
People buy from people they know, like (or at least don't dislike!), and trust. The way to become that person is to build a relationship with those who could be your customer. The way to build a relationship is to listen, respond, and provide value.
How can I provide value in my emails beyond just sales pitches?
What if the email also included a link to '10 Great Recipes for This Cheese'? You're providing value. Educating the people on your list on how they can use the cheese that happens to also be on sale is a great way to provide value and start building relationships.
Why are clicks the most important email metric to track?
The number one thing to track and measure (and celebrate) is clickthrough rate, because clicks are engagement, engagement = relationship building, and relationships lead to familiarity, likeability, and trust.