Are your email campaigns repetitive and boring? Here are 10 email topics to add variety and interest to your mailings.
We all know that regular and targeted email campaigns are essential to keeping our businesses and brands top-of-mind for our clients and customers. But sometimes you need to add variety to your campaigns to catch the eye of your subscribers and keep them engaged. By adding variety, you pique your readers’ curiosity and keep them looking forward to your mailings.
If you don’t change up your campaigns occasionally, over time they may begin to fall flat and subscribers will become non-openers – or worse, unsubscribe.
You can avoid that problem by emailing your subscribers various types of content. Following are ten ideas for topics that can be easily adapted to any industry or business to keep your customer interactions fresh and your brand at the forefront of your clientele’s awareness:
1. New product/service announcement
This topic might seem self-explanatory, but not all businesses send emails alerting their email list to new offerings. Some just assume customers will find the new items on their website or in their store. But if they need that item or service and don’t know you’re now selling it, they may buy it from a competitor.
Thus, whenever you have a major new product or service release, send a quick note to your customers to let them know what’s available. These opted-in customers can be your most powerful tool for a fast and successful product launch.
2. Sneak peek
A sneak peek is like a product or service announcement with the added cachet of exclusivity: your mailing list gets to hear about the “good stuff” first! You can use this kind to email to drive preorders or just build anticipation around a new offering launch. Just be sure it really is a sneak peek not available elsewhere (including your website or blog) or your customers may decide there’s no real value in remaining subscribed.
3. Coupons
A” coupon may not sound like a “topic.” But everyone loves a discount, and emails with a subject line that indicates a coupon is enclosed are likely to elicit a higher conversion rate than other kinds of messaging. In fact, the entire email can be just the coupon, making it easy to write.
Whether it’s a one-time, one-item coupon that you send out once a month or a special friends-and-family discount you offer once a year, be sure that your coupon is worth the customer’s while. Companies who send out skimpy discounts regularly may see their open rates decline instead of increase.
4. Behind the scenes
In the age of multi-national corporations, customers love to see that there are real people behind the products and services they use regularly. To vary the email topics you write about, occasionally give your customers a glimpse inside the operation of the company. You might use a video of the customer service/sales floor, or a photo tour of manufacturing and warehousing. Personal connections sell products.
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Related: Can AI create graphic interest for your email campaigns?
5. Employee or supplier spotlight
Just like the behind-the-scenes email, the employee or supplier spotlight ads variety to your emails and gives the customer a personal connection to the company. Interview the CEO about his charitable work or his hobbies outside the company or feature the interesting intern who packs the orders. Or, if you’re a service-based business, create a regular interview series highlighting each of your consultants. Just remember to prioritize personal information to avoid the feature coming off as another sales pitch.
6. Industry Trends (and Hot Takes)
Most business owners and managers are too busy to keep up with all the trends and happenings in a given industry. If you monitor these trends, send out a regular email summarizing changes that may affect your customers. Not only are you providing a helpful service that creates a positive association with your e-mail campaigns, but you’re also establishing yourself as an industry expert and problem solver. Likewise, the “hot take”–a quick, personal commentary–can be a useful way to address a breaking change in your industry, particularly ones that affect you or your customers negatively.
7. Pro tips
Because you are an expert in your field, you’re in a unique position to teach and share your wisdom. The pro-tip email topics can be customized for nearly every business, site, or industry. Bakers can add their hacks for working with a particular tricky ingredient, sales consultants can write about their best cold-call strategies, and fashion retailers can offer styling suggestions for their newest items. The sales messages in these emails should be subtle, but feel free to link back to the products or parts of your website you’ve featured.
8. Case studies
Does your company solve a common problem? Feature a customer or client who has found success using your offerings. This kind of email is a powerful cousin to word-of-mouth recommendation, and spotlighted customers are typically glad to have the additional publicity your email provides. Bonus: add an invitation for other clients to submit their stories for future pieces and you’ve got a ready source of both email fodder and pull quotes for your website. (Just make sure they know that their submission gives you the authority to use their words for publicity purposes!)
9. Personal/virtual appearances
Hosting a webinar? Setting up a booth a local trade show? Send your list a quick message to let them know where you and your employees can be found in the wild; just make sure to segment your list geographically when appropriate so you don’t annoy subscribers with messages that don’t apply to them.
10. Review request
Happy customers are usually glad to provide you with an honest review; they just don’t always think of it on their own. Send an email asking for reviews on your products or services, along with links to your preferred review sites. To comply with FTC regulations, be sure not to promise anything but your undying gratitude. You’d be surprised how many people want to help you out!
Email marketing can be time-consuming and at times frustrating, but with a solid plan and a variety of topics, you can ensure that your messages are regarded as useful and anticipated contacts amid a sea of spam. By making sure that every contact focuses on the customer and their needs and interests, you can stand out from your competitor with every email.
