Constant Tips: Get inspired with some tips for writing email content for your automation campaigns!

[Chris-S]

Every Tuesday we'll share tips, tricks, and insights on using Constant Contact and online marketing

Whether you’re running a small business or a nonprofit, time is always at a premium. Even if you love the marketing side of your (I assume) very long to-do list, you can’t spend all day, every day on it.

Constant Contact provides a variety of automation tools for our customers so they can set up their marketing campaigns once and let them work for them in the background.

Of course, there’s so many possible ways to leverage automation, we won’t be able to cover them all in one post. This time around, I wanted to focus on tips for writing and breaking out email content you use in your automation campaigns, borrowed from our handy Knowledge Base article:

Be mindful of date-sensitive content - The date when contacts receive the emails in your Automation Path will vary, so you want to be mindful of any date-sensitive content you plan to include. This is especially true for an automation path triggered to send when contacts join a list. Since these tend to run for longer — or indefinitely — keep references to specific dates, holidays, seasons, or events vague in your text and images.

Provide answers to frequently asked questions - Since new contacts are often the ones who will receive automated emails, keep their interests and questions in mind when planning and creating them. Tell them more about who you are, what they can expect from you, and what resources are available on your website.

Share relevant information - If contacts are engaging with an email about a specific topic, the related emails in your automation path shouldn't be about something completely different. Similarly, if contacts are signing up to a specific list, make sure the content you include in your emails is relevant to that list. Consistently receiving irrelevant emails could result in your contacts unsubscribing.

Share something of value - Use your automation path emails as an opportunity to share proven information. Giving tips and how-to's over time is an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise, build new contacts' trust, and keep their interest.

Give contacts a reason to engage - Include links to your website, videos, or provide a special coupon or promotional code. Just make sure not to include an expiration date since you don't know when your contact will receive it.

Collect information from your contacts - Collecting personal details about your contacts allows you to segment your lists and send more targeted emails. However, if you ask contacts to provide too much personal information on your sign-up form, they may be hesitant to give it to you because you haven't earned their trust yet. It's a good idea to request this type of information after they've received a few of your standard emails— dedicate one of the later emails in your automation path to request they update their profile.

Nurture your leads - Your contacts need to be nurtured before being asked to purchase or do something for you, like volunteer or make a donation. Spread your content out across a few weeks and share more supporting information before asking your contacts to take action.

Request feedback from newcomers - Gather feedback from contacts by including a poll or a link to a survey in an email in your automation path. You may want to ask where they first heard about your organization, why they're interested in you, and whether they have participated in, or used, similar organizations and services before. You'll not only learn more about them and what they like, but asking for your contacts' opinions and feedback makes them feel valued!

The fun doesn’t stop there, make sure to check out the full article to see examples of what your automated emails could look like whether you’re welcoming new customers, following up with customers on your eCommerce platform, or a custom path all your own!