As a communicator in the public sector, you need to keep various groups informed. How do you make sure your information actually gets read? Or clicked on? Or forwarded? While time and resources may be tight, here are 5 quick things you can do to make more impact with your emails.
1. Hook Them With a Good Subject Line
Your subject line is the most important part of your message. It’s your introduction, so make a good first impression. If your subject line isn’t compelling enough to get your readers to open, your content (message, images, links) won’t matter. Take the time to think about why someone should open your email. The best subject lines are short (under 50 characters), but descriptive enough about the content so the reader has a clear reason to see what’s inside.
Bonus: You can use GovDelivery’s Bulletin Filter to test out your subject lines on smaller groups before you send a message to your entire subscriber list. Doing an initial test to 2 groups of 10% allows you to see what resonates more with your reader base.
However, never delay a critical message to test the subject line, as timeliness matters more than most other factors.
2. Add a Strong Call-to-Action
Take a moment to think about the purpose of your email. Are you trying to get people to renew a license? Volunteer for a program? Attend an event? You might be tempted to lay out all the details in your message, but you must avoid “content overload”. Keep your paragraphs and information succinct, but provide a link back to your website for more information. This gives your readers the “gist” up front, along with a reason to click. As an added bonus, this will also increase your website traffic.
Don’t forget to think about mobile rendering when designing a call-to-action link or button. The finger is the new cursor on a smart phone or tablet, so make sure your call-to-action is prominent. There should be enough space that it’s easy to touch. In other words, avoid small or crowded text.
3. The Most Important Content Comes First
Always put the most critical information at the top of your message, including your call-to-action. The area of your email “above the fold” (e.g. the content that’s visible without having to scroll) typically gets the most click activity.
By leveraging that real-estate (like the Michigan.gov example seen here), you won’t have to rely on readers scrolling all the way to the bottom of the email to see the most valuable parts.
4. Images Disabled? No Problem!
Not everyone’s email client allows them to view images by default. If your emails contain images, make sure you include a way for your readers to see the content outside of their inbox with a web version. The web version of your email displays your complete message with its images in a reader’s web browser. Not only does this make for a great user experience, but it also increases the accuracy of your open rate.
To add a link to your web version in a bulletin, simply enter [[VIEW_THIS]] at the top of your message, or select “View This” from the Macro drop-down menu. Read more here.
5. Let Your Readers Spread the Word
One of the easiest ways to extend the reach of your email is to add a social media sharing button. Social sharing allows your subscribers to share your email with their own Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. This method can get your message in front of hundreds (or thousands) more people.
To add a social sharing button to your email, enter [[SHARE_THIS]] or select “Share This” from the Macro drop-down menu. This text will insert the sharing bar, allowing subscribers to share your message through a wide variety of social media avenues. Read more here.
6. Bonus Tip: The Proof is in the Data
You can’t keep improving your email communications if you can’t measure the impact of what you’re doing. Your GovDelivery account comes with a suite of reports that gives insight into which subject lines get the most opens, which content gets the most clicks, and how engaged your subscriber base is over time. Make sure to send yourself a copy of the Bulletin Detail Report each time you send a bulletin and check out the Bulletin Analytics Report to see how your messages are performing over time.
For more email tips and tricks, be sure to download our free email best practices guide on GovDelivery.com.