Email marketing is an effective strategy for adding value.

You can send a solo email. Or you can schedule a whole email marketing campaign.

Email campaigns allow you to systematically build trust and rapport and share details of an offer or opportunity over time.

Here are 5 strategies to create effective campaign emails:

1. Create an interesting subject line

All of your hard work will be wasted if people do not open your email message.

There are many ways to influence someone to open your email and one of the best ways is to simply write a great subject line.

It may take you awhile to develop the skill set for writing subject lines.

How good are you at writing interesting subject lines?

2. Ask a question at the beginning of the email

You have to grab the attention of your audience at the beginning of your email if you expect them to read through to the end.

A great way to do this is by asking a question.

Your question should get them thinking.

One approach is to ask a question to which the answer, “yes.” For example, “Would you like to be more healthy?”

This will help to identify a pain point or an opportunity. It plants the seed to get them thinking about how they would like to change.

For example, “Would you like to make more money?”

Your audience will think to themselves, “Yes, I want more money. I wonder how I can do that.”

This is a subtle form of influence and it is one of the factors for persuasive marketing.

3. Tell a story in the message

Stories have a powerful effect on people.

I can remember when I first started my business back in 2003. I realized how powerful email marketing was. I also realized it might take me years until the strategy paid off. But I knew once it did pay off, it would have a lasting and sustainable impact.

See what I did there? I told a story to illustrate a point.

You need to use stories in your email marketing.

4. Create curiosity to lead toward your call to action

There is no guarantee people will read your whole email. So, you need to stack the odds in your favor. You can do that by creating curiosity.

Curiosity is a powerful force. It causes people to stop in their tracks and try to solve the puzzle you have presented.

I heard a TED Talk one time from JJ Abrams, producer of the TV Series LOST, and many great films. He utilizes mystery in his shows as a way to draw people into the plot. He creates curiosity.

JJ talked about a product he bought as a child called the Magic Mystery Box. What’s interesting is that he never opened the box. He said it represented possibility and infinite potential.

And he used it as a metaphor for the approach he takes on shows like LOST. And what the audience often learns is that when you finally do open the Mystery Box, another mystery is revealed. It’s an incredible method for keeping an audience entertained and engaged.

LOST built a huge cult audience devoting time and energy at unraveling the mysteries contained in the show.

So, how can you apply the concept to your emails? Simple. Include a little bit of mystery.

You don’t have to lay out all of the details for people. You can reveal information over time. Create curiosity. Keep people coming back.

Rely on digital assets like blog posts and videos to reveal information about what you are sharing.

5. Add a PS to share additional details

The final step in creating a great marketing email is to add a PS blurb.

Do you have to add a PS to every email? No.

Pick and choose which emails to enhance with a PS. It can be a good tool to use in recapping an offer and sharing a final call to action.

Your PS statement can also share an alternate offer or a By the Way message.

Experiment with the PS.

What you need to know is people often skim through an email and then read the PS. So, keep that in mind.

In the end, email marketing is a process of building relationships through adding value, building trust and rapport and leading people to a next step in working with you.

What’s next for you? How do you plan to use email marketing over the next 90 days. Please comment below.

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing and Social Media Trainer