Direct Email Marketing: how to connect with your audience (for real)

You hear about social media, viral campaigns and influencers everywhere, but don't forget: the real power of connection lies in the email. Yes, that's right e-mail, which remains one of the most effective tools for direct marketing in fact a GetResponse reports a opening rate of 44.38%, in Italy, this average is in line with the best global email marketing benchmarks. Here we will explain why and, most importantly, how to use Direct Email Marketing (DEM) without boring the recipient to death.

Why is Direct Email Marketing a Bomb?

You think the email is just one notification among a thousand others? Wrong! If used well, it can get noticed by your target audience. Its characteristics are that:

• is personal; the email is intimate, arriving directly in your audience's inbox, without interruption.
• is measurable; do you want to know who opened? Who clicked? With email it is easy to monitor every action you can use DEM management software to analyse KPIs.
• is effective; Compared to social media, email has a crazy conversion rate. If done right, of course.

The pillars of direct email marketing

Let's not make it difficult: for an email marketing strategy that works, there are a few key elements, but they are essential. Here are the pillars you cannot ignore.

1. Object of Impact

The subject matter is everything. It must be short, intriguing, and (above all) you must avoid banal phrases such as “unmissable offer”. Use of Hook Phrases to attract attention, here are a few examples:

• "Your new success strategy is here!"
• "Do you have five minutes to make the leap?"

2. Sliding Content

Get straight to the point, no frills. Your readers want to know:

• What is the problem you are solving?
• How can you improve their life (or at least their day)?
• What action should they take after reading.

Put the benefits at the centre, not the features. The secret is to make them think “man, this really suits me!”.

3. A Shameless Call to Action

Don't be shy, ask without mincing words. Let it be a “Find out more”, “Buy now” o “Join our community”, make it visible, clear and irresistible. Your Call to Action that must be why they opened the email.

4. Customisation

Talk to your audience as if you were talking to a friend. Add their name, make references to their industry, in short... customise every detail. There is nothing worse than a generic email.

Mistakes to avoid (Absolutely!)

Do you want your email to go straight into oblivion? No? Then just avoid these textbook mistakes:

• Being too formal: you don't have to look like a corporate robot. The reader is a real person, and wants to feel connected.
• Sending too many e-mails: Stressing the customer is counterproductive. Focus on quality, not quantity.
• Ignore the furniture: make sure that your email is also perfect on your mobile phone. Everyone reads from there nowadays, so avoid heavy graphics or strange formatting.

Direct Email Marketing may seem a weapon of the past, but it is still one of the most powerful. You don't need to be intrusive or send a barrage of emails: all you need is a subject line that hits home, clear content and a Call to Action that leaves no stone unturned. If you can be direct and put personality into it, email becomes a tool that not only works, but helps you build real relationships with your audience.