How to Optimize Your Email Template

We all have the same experience: you check your inbox and see what looks like an insurmountable number of messages continuing to rise. Once you start going through them though, many are newsletters or spam from various companies you follow.

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Since email is the main form of communication in business, unsolicited spam and marketing emails fill most of our inboxes. If your email looks like all the rest that come through, chances are it will end up in a spam folder or trashed along with the rest.

Check out these tips to help ensure your emails are actually opened… and read. What an idea!

1. Take real-time feedback – Seems simple enough right? Well, most people forget to ask for feedback on their emails. Show your draft email to friends and colleagues and ask them whether they think the content makes sense and whether they would reply to it. This helps you gain perspective on what the reaction to your email will be when it reaches a lead. Note down all the feedback you get and adjust your copy accordingly.

2. Try different subject lines – Because the subject line is your gate-keeper, 50% of the work you put into cold emails should just be crafting and testing different versions for the best response rate.

3. Stagger your emails – Having a plan for your email campaign is as important as the content itself. Create a strategy around when to send emails. Instead of sending email in bulk, send them in groups of 20–25 per day to better track open and response rates. This tactic gives you insight into which template works best.

4. Track the performance and follow up – If you’re not tracking your email performance, they’re probably not as impactful as they could be. Email marketing apps provide stats about open and response rates as well as which subject lines worked best to help you pinpoint where you can improve and further optimize.

5. Differentiate your product/service – There’s a TON of marketing jargon out there. Differentiate yourself by speaking to how your product or service is unique (remember that you’re speaking to real humans). Once you nail your niche, create content that speaks to that specific market segment.

6. Add value – There’s a fine balance between adding as much value as you can, but without overwhelming readers with too much info. Be clear about the value you’re offering in your email headline. Are you sending links to valuable resources or free tutorials? Set expectations and provide as much value as possible before asking for the sale. This helps build relationships with prospects based on trust. If you provide enough of the right value, when prospects are ready to buy, you’ll already have their ear.

Even with so many ways to improve email templates, none are guaranteed to work. Because every client is different, test and track results on a regular basis and adjust on the fly. These best practices should help you gain a greater understanding of what works for your company… and just as importantly, what doesn’t. Plus, it kinda makes crafting emails a little less dull. It’s easy to make it a game when you’re trying to beat your best open rates month over month.