Learn the secret ingredient to converting in your email marketing strategy.

I hope you aren’t hungry because the example we are about to use may make your stomach grumble.

I want you to envision a cinnamon roll.

Not just any cinnamon roll but a warm, golden-brown roll sitting on top of the stove with thick, creamy frosting slowly dripping from the sides just waiting to be devoured.

You grab one, take a bite and then start analyzing… though the entire roll tastes amazing, the center is the best part – filled with the warm cinnamon glaze.

However, you wouldn’t ever have known the center is the best part if you never ate a cinnamon roll… so what does this delicious, mouthwatering description of a cinnamon roll have to do with marketing?

Well, email marketing is a lot like a cinnamon roll – if the outside isn’t enticing enough to eat (or in this case read) then most will never get to experience the center, or where the good stuff is.

Unfortunately, since email marketing hasn’t quite gotten to the point of allowing us to send scents to others’ inboxes, we cannot rely on the alluring smell of freshly baked rolls.

So, we must turn to the next best thing – a subject line.

The subject line is the gateway to attracting attention – just like the pan sitting on the oven at your grandma’s house filled with her famous cinnamon rolls –

You don’t know for sure what is on the inside, but the outside is just compelling enough to proceed.

Attracting attention to your email isn’t easy like a pan of cinnamon rolls sitting on the oven, it is more like a cinnamon roll being chosen in a bakery with hundreds of other delectable pastries.

Because 73% of millennials have shown a preference for business communications to come from email according to this article published by HubSpot, our inboxes are constantly being bombarded with different messages trying to get our attention.

So what makes your email stand out?

Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer, take a step back, and look at it from their perspective. Start by asking yourself:

• Is it short?
• Is it intriguing?
• Is it relevant?

Another way to remember this is SIR – short, intriguing, & relevant.

Keeping your subject line relevant is just as important as keeping it intriguing.

If it is intriguing but not relevant, then you will quickly lose your reader’s trust.

Yes, your open rate for that email may be high but chances are the engagement and future open rates will be low.

Back to the cinnamon roll analogy… imagine grabbing one from the pan, opening your mouth to take a bite (yes, the mouth is salivating at this point), and biting down into a savory roll stuffed with marinara sauce and pepperoni.

Though it may taste okay, it is not what you were expecting. The next time you decide to eat a cinnamon roll, whether you notice it or not, you will probably hesitate.

Why?

Because you trusted that when you made the decision to eat the pastry from the pan that it was going to be the sweet, ooey-gooey, cinnamon roll that you’ve had before.

When it wasn’t, you lost trust.

Our goal with email marketing is to add value to our customers. It is a way to nurture relationships with potential, or current, clients.

If we aren’t able to get their attention to open the email, it just becomes another number in the trash bin.

If we don’t provide relevant and to-the-point information, it just becomes another number in the spam folder.

So remember the cinnamon roll, SIR and you will be one step closer to running a successful email campaign.

Still not sure where to start? Don’t fret. Mudflower has the secret recipe. Reach out to us today to see how we can help you get your email marketing baking!