OK, you have crafted an inspired email that you think will do a great job informing and motivating your audience. But how many people will just hit the delete key without even reading it?

The ultimate goal of your email campaign is for each recipient to open the email, read it and take action (like making an online donation). But there are a series of barriers between you and achieving that goal. Let's look at the challenge through the recipient's eyes...

You are an overloaded person with a flood of unread emails. What do you do?

Step #1: Ask yourself, "Do I know this person?" If not, hit the delete key.
Solution: Make sure the "From" name is recognizable. This is usually your organization's name but you need to do more. Email programs display the "From" name differently - some just display the internet style name. So if your organization's name is "Helping Others," set up a working email mailbox with the address Helping.Others@helpingothers.org. Be sure to check that mailbox regularly as some people may hit the "Reply" button and send a note to that mailbox.

Believe it or not, there is one outcome worse than deletion... being reported as a Spammer. If you communicate too often and too many people with the same Internet Service Provider (ISP) do the same, you might get blacklisted - and none of your emails will get through! So communicate with caution.

 

Step #2: Ask, "Do I have any interest in this?" If not, hit the delete key.
Solution: The Subject line of your email is the single most critical element. If it doesn't grab your audience's attention it will probably get deleted. Rule #1: Keep it brief and start with the most important thought. Some email systems chop off the end of a long subject line, and no one scrolls to read the rest of a subject line. They either open it based on what they see or they delete it.

Rule #2, the subject has to be attention grabbing without being inflammatory. We can't risk our reputations on cheap subject lines like "People will starve if you don't help". A recent major study found that 69% of subscribers base their decision to report your message as spam on the subject line.

But don't flex to the other end of the spectrum and use headlines that are just plain boring like "November Newsletter". Study the headlines in a newspaper for tips on how to take the content of a long complex story and come up with a brief compelling headline.
An easy way to develop your subject-writing skill is to divide your distribution list in two and send the same email with two different subject lines. Check the open rates for the two versions in the metrics tab. After a while you will see what type of subject line works best for your audience.

 

Step #3: Glance at the preview pane and consider, "Do I have any interest in this?" If not, hit the delete key.
Solution: Some people use the preview pane just for this purpose. If their attention is not captured by the little bit of text showing in the preview pane, they delete. But email systems have different size preview panes, so don't assume everyone sees what you do. You might want to test the view in popular online email systems such as "G-mail".

And whatever you do, don't waste this valuable real estate with a large graphic. Keep your banner to a maximum of 150 pixels high. Look at the upper left hand quadrant of your email and evaluate whether it will convey a good reason for opening and reading the entire email.

 

Step #4: Look at the first screen (don't scroll down), and think, "Do I still have an interest in this?" If not, hit the delete key.
Solution: Let's face it. If you made it past all the other hurdles, its best not press your luck at this point. Keep all important elements of your message in the first screen full. Use a two column layout with your story in the left column and the buttons or links in the right column. You definitely don't want them to miss the "Donate Now" button because it was down at the bottom off the screen.

 

There you have it. The four hurdles you have to get over to get your message read. By remaining vigilant and constantly working to improve your open rate, your readers will see your message.

 

Source: This is reprinted with permission from the author and the former company Inform and Motivate, LLC.