Home Knowledge Base Content Marketing Scientifically proven email techniques to make you look more professional




Contributed piece by Kayla Matthews, business solutions blogger and our newest Technorati writer.

Email marketing skills


The art of email marketing is becoming more challenging as email campaigns become more common and competition for space in consumers’ inboxes stiffens. Catchy subject lines and special offers are no longer enough as the science of email marketing continues to advance. Below is a list of seven research-based tips for making your emails look more professional and improving results.



1. Avoid Personalization


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One common mistake marketers make is personalizing emails with the recipient’s name. While many people believe this tactic helps to build trust, research suggests the opposite. This type of fake familiarity has actually proven to be a deterrent to relationship building rather than a catalyst.




2. Keep Subject Lines Short


Shorter subject lines are another factor that influences the success of email marketing campaigns. Subject lines that are too long tend to look overbearing and can deter readers, while short subject lines provide too little information and seem rushed.



For instance, if you were sending an email blast promoting wedding venues, the subject line “Check out these luxurious wedding venues in Harrisburg” would be too wordy. In comparison, the subject line “Harrisburg wedding receptions” would let readers know the purpose of the email without loading their inbox with a lengthy subject line.


3. Make Emails Mobile-Friendly


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With so many individuals using mobile devices to manage their email accounts it is important to ensure your emails are compatible on different devices. An email that looks great and reads well on a computer loses its value if it becomes skewed and difficult to read on a tablet or smartphone. Increasing your font size, converting your email to a singular column template and making your call to action easily accessible can improve mobile compatibility.


4. Use a Personal Email Address


People are far more likely to open an email from a real address than they are to open one send directly from a corporate address. A study comparing emails from individual addresses and corporate addresses revealed that using a real person’s email address can boost open rates by 3 percent. Rather than having your marketing team send emails from a company address, have one of them utilize their own email address to take advantage of this increase. For example, an email from “john@companyname.com” will keep things professional while adding a personal touch.




5. Take Advantage of Preview Text


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When you send an email the subject line is accompanied with an excerpt from the body of the email. Rather than letting your email program choose a random line, presetting your preview text is advantageous. This will look much more professional than a sentence that cuts off at the end or an irrelevant quote.


6. Image Linking


One of the primary goals of an email marketing campaign is driving traffic back to your company website. The problem is, loading an email with links makes the copy boring and your emails look too much like spam. A way around this is to include images that link back to your site in your emails. These images will improve the appearance and quality of your emails while simultaneously generating site traffic




7. Edit the Plain-Text Version


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Brilliantly designed HTML-rich emails are great when recipients can see them, but what happens when they can’t? Most of the time these emails appear as a bunch of gibberish and blank boxes when the email format is not supported on the device you’re using. In order to avoid this pitfall, be sure to edit the plain-text versions of your emails as well.


Email marketing continues to be an effective medium for reaching audiences. In order to keep your email campaigns looking professional, consider the aforementioned tips and strategies.



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Kayla Matthews is a business solutions blogger with a passion for social media and app development. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter, or connect with her on ProductivityTheory.com!

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Kayla Matthews is a Technorati contributor with a passion for business solutions and workplace productivity. To learn more about her, follow her on your social sites and check out her productivity blog at ProductivityTheory.com.