The following is a guest submission from Nick at Newoldstamp
We can write great blog posts, but we need to do so much to get the amount of attention they deserve. There are many tools we can use to promote content, and email is only one of many. But when used wisely, it can be super effective.
So, if your content isn’t performing as expected, you should first pay attention to your subject lines, calls to action, and an optimized email signature. But that’s not all.
In this article, you will find a list of specific dos and don’ts for content promotion via email that applies to all business types.
Let’s get started.
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DO make the subject line reflect email content
That may sound obvious, but many people fail to write a catchy subject line that helps understand what the email is all about.
Yes, content is the king, but with email marketing, our goal is to achieve high open rates and, ideally, high click rates. Although content is always the essential element to focus on, the first thing that will draw the attention of your audience is the subject line.
Don’t waste time coming up with something too creative. A good subject line is more descriptive than flowery. Instead, make sure recipients don’t need to guess what’s inside.
DON’T use spam words in a subject
Spam email detection filters are intended to block junk emails that arrive in people’s inboxes.
However, sometimes they work so well that they may remove your valuable emails, too.
So, be careful with the words you’re using in your subject line and email body.
The most common spam trigger words are “buy,” “discount,” “call,” “click,” “limited,” “expire,” “promotion,” “urgent,” “bargain,” “free,” “guarantee,” “extra,” and many more. Lastly, to ensure your emails avoid spam filters, consider using an SPF record checker to verify your email sender authentication.
DO include a piece of content in the email
For each piece of content that you want to promote, write a short synopsis that will interest your audience.
Include it in the email and get readers to click on and read the entire article.
DON’T make the email body worthless
Every time you send an email with the aim of promoting your content, remember that you need to show recipients that you’re delivering something of real value. Otherwise, people won’t read it.
Don’t write something like, “Want to eat healthier? Read this article.” That doesn’t evoke interest.
Instead, try something more catchy “Learn about the scientific link between healthy eating and productivity,” or “ Read how healthy eating affects your finances.”
Also, be sure not to write a super-long novel. Keep everything short and relevant.
DO support text content with visuals
When it comes to email content best practices, images deserve to be mentioned. When used wisely, they have proven to be one of the most persuasive tools available to marketers these days. With the help of visuals in emails, it’s easier to draw attention, communicate emotions, educate, and get the reader’s engagement.
However, be sure not to send emails with images only. Your email may go to spam or will load very slowly if the recipient has a bad Internet connection.
DON’T use unnecessary images
Don’t overload your email with unnecessary visuals. Ideally, a visual element should add to the email and messaging — not be the messaging itself.
Keep in mind that if you place a piece of important information on top of your image, a recipient can simply miss your message. Sometimes images don’t load/are disabled by default or break somewhere along the sending process.
DO use an email signature to promote blog posts
You might not pay much attention to the email signature, but lots of people definitely do. Including a professional, well-designed signature in your emails adds up to your email content marketing effort and demonstrates readers that your emails are written by a real person.
To get the most out of your signature, include a link/links to your most recent or popular blog posts/video/other pieces of content that you want to promote. Here is what a good email signature that helps to promote content looks like.
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DON’T use ambiguous CTAs
There shouldn’t be any ambiguity when it comes to the content being promoted and the call to action (CTA) that leads to that content. If you want your recipient to go to your blog, say that. If you would like them to share a story/article with friends via social media, say that.
When choosing this CTA, keep in mind that it should correlate to your subject line and the body of your email. You don’t want to confuse your recipients by providing conflicting calls to action or by including too many of them.
DO promote content in newsletters
Regular email newsletters can increase revenue, improve brand awareness, and drive traffic to your site. They keep subscribers engaged and encourage them to read and share your content.
Include links to the most recent articles on your blog, as well as older but still relevant content in every newsletter. For each piece of content that you’re going to promote, write a short synopsis that might interest recipients and get them to click on and read the entire blog post.
DON’T clutter transactional emails with educational content
Transactional emails are used to confirm important interactions with your purchasers (order confirmation, shipping info, etc.) Since these emails tend to have higher open rates than regular marketing emails, many marketers consider them as the perfect place to provide customers with useful educational content. Sometimes, it’s just too much for recipients. With the email signatures we mentioned above, you can still be supportive without adding to the recipient’s mailbox clutter.
Conclusion
How to promote content? It’s a good question many businesses or bloggers struggle with.
Joseph Jaffe, a successful entrepreneur and brilliant author, recommends that we spend 54 minutes promoting our content for every hour we spend writing it. If we don’t promote our content enough, we can’t get the most out of the work we put into it.
Sure, it takes time and effort, but only this way, you can get the results you’re looking for.
Once again, if you want to promote your content properly, keep in mind the following things:
| DOS | DONT’S |
| ✔ Make the subject line reflect email content; ✔ include a piece of content that you promote in the email body; ✔ support text content with visuals; ✔ promote content in newsletters; ✔ use an email signature to promote blog posts. | DON’T use spam words in a subject line; DON’T make the email body worthless; DON’T use unnecessary images; DON’T use ambiguous CTAs; DON’T clutter transactional emails with educational content. To share this type of content, you can use your email signature. |
Nick, Content Marketer at Newoldstamp
Nick is a passionate content marketing manager at Newoldstamp. He has been working in digital marketing for more than 5 years creating top-notch digital content and promoting it with social networks, SEO techniques, and pure creativity.
