Top tips for writing emails that get opened

Top Broker's Nathan Vecchio explains how to write emails that your clients can't ignore

Top tips for writing emails that get opened
Director of Hunter Galloway, Nathan Vecchio, started broking in 2015 and using the techniques from Joshua's Top Broker Handbook, is writing big numbers, leading to Vow Financial naming him Broker Partner of the Year Rising Star in 2016.

How are we in June already? As the weeks go by, I’ve been meaning to touch on email marketing and then Jeff from Melbourne reached out to me about how to boost his email marketing efforts, talk about timing right?

So if you’ve already subscribed to the Top Broker newsletter, you’ll be receiving weekly emails. And if you haven’t, it’s probably time you get on that.

Anyway, as part of my weekly email, I’ve picked up a few tactics along the way that I’ve found have really helped get more from my campaigns – which you can use first hand, in your business.

These are some best practices that will help your emails turn into leads more efficiently, because the risk is, if you get it wrong, you’ll be losing subscribers and wasting your time.

Formatting
Just like your website, the look of your email sets the environment towards what you’re saying. So whether you’re sending a plain text email, or trying to do something creative, make sure you keep your goal in mind.

If you have too many images and icons in your email, this can easily trigger spam filters, so if in doubt, keep it simple.

Use a template
I use MailChimp because it has a professional and clean look about it. It also comes with loads of templates, so instead of trying to build an email template from scratch, use one that’s already done for you.

Use a light background
We’re not used to reading off dark backgrounds, so when creating your email template, make sure you remember this!

Subject line 
I get about 90+ emails a day, and when I do, I look at the subject line, then open about 25 of them and delete the rest. Sound familiar?

Now there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to creating a subject line that works, and Tim Watson has commented before that following the best practices often don’t work.

So instead, I’ve put some practical tips together for you:

Ask questions
Ask your clients direct questions, and don’t generalise. This will help to personalise your email and will even help you when writing it, to tailor the email to the pain points, desires or interests of your clients. If the subject line has a question in it, it helps to create a hook for the reader.

Always use their first name
If you can include your client’s first name in the subject line, this can dramatically improve the open rate.

Provoke emotion
Strong words like love, hate and astonishment really spark attention, so try creating a subject line with this in mind, but don’t be unnecessarily dramatic just for the sake of it.

Sale – away
Stay away from using a hard sell approach in your subject line; it’s not a place for pitching and can significantly impact your open rate. If you are going down this road, use it sparingly and for the right reasons.

Keep it short & consider segmenting your audience
If you have a big enough email database, it’s worth segmenting your audience into smaller groups, so that you can send them information that’s relevant to what they need. Some of the most effective emails I’ve sent have just been simple two-lined emails, with the first line being a question, and second asking for a response.

The open rate was about 60% when I segmented the database and asked a question in the subject line, when usually on average it’s sitting at 40%. And, I got responses straight away because the call to action was clear.

A huge difference!
So if possible, consider segmenting your database and sending short, straightforward emails, which put more focus on the call to action. Here are some other email strategies that work, that’ we’ve spoken about before too.

What’s your call to action?
Give your readers just one point to take away. Giving them too many choices will lead to confusion.

So if you’re sending an email about refinancing, the call to action will be; to arrange a meeting today and get a free review. Don’t confuse your readers by asking them to refinance today, while also asking them to follow you on Instagram and leave a review about you on Facebook.

Monitor it!
There’s no point in sending regular emails out and just hoping for the best. If you’re not monitoring how your emails are performing there’s no way to improve them. Sites like MailChimp track click-through rates for you, along with open rates so that you can keep track of what works and what doesn’t.

As I said, some of the most effective emails I’ve sent have been just a simple question with a few lines. So consider different approaches aside from the usual newsletter or client updates, so that you can increase your overall open and click through rate to get the results that you want.

PS: I’m going to be taking over here at Top Broker for a little bit while Joshua focuses on a few big and exciting projects we are looking forward to bring you in the next few weeks. A quick background, I started broking in 2015 and using the techniques Joshua has given in the Top Broker Handbook I have grown my business in a very short time to writing some big numbers, and was fortunate enough to be awarded Broker Partner of the Year Rising Star in 2016.