Simplicity is Key!

We all know that marketing emails should include a clear call to action, something for the consumer to do in response to the newsletter. But this month we'd like you to think about something so obvious, you may have overlooked it: the value of simplicity.

Take a look at your current email campaign, and at the landing pages on your website to which the campaign directs customers. Is the call to action clear? Is doing what you want them to do the easiest thing for customers to do?

If you want to make somebody buy something in an email marketing campaign, the process must be as easy as possible.

In addition:

• Link directly to the landing page of the product being advertised in the email. Make it easy for consumers to find what you just advertised.

• Make sure the design of the landing page that the email message links to matches the design of the email message itself. People like a sense of continuity, and this reassures them that they have indeed reached the correct page.

• Use information that you have about your customers to make purchasing a clear and easy transaction (prefill forms with names, shipping addresses, and any other information that you already have on hand).

• Remember that shorter subject lines yield greater open and click-through rates, and keep your subject lines short and simple.

• Make sure that your creative doesn't overwhelm your message. Copy and creative should go hand-in-hand. When you want to add something, think it through carefully. Will it clutter the email? Make it more complex and more difficult to read? Consider saving the addition for an email of its own.

Simplicity is key in reaching consumers, especially in times when spending may be down. Keep it simple, and you'll keep it effective!