From: http://www.bizjournals.com/

You’ve proven yourself to be a good email marketer for your small business. You have a healthy list of subscribers. You even know to use an email service provider instead of your Gmail, Outlook or Comcast account to prevent your messages from getting stuck in a spam filter. But your customers just aren’t reading your emails.

When you look through your email reports, you can see they’re opening your messages, but they aren’t consistently clicking on the content or taking you up on your offers. If it feels like your email marketing efforts are stuck in an echo chamber, here’s how to inspire your customers to actually read your content and take action.

While we can all agree that it’s the content that counts, let’s just admit that looks play a big part in initially drawing in your audience. Given this, let’s talk about your design and layout. Here are four recommendations to help boost a reader’s interest in consuming your content.

Use a mobile-friendly template. Whether you’re sending out a newsletter, an announcement about a new product or service, or a save-the- date, take advantage of email templates. They let you easily insert content and images, apply your own brand colors, fonts, and logo, and give your messages a polished look. Not to mention they’re a huge time saver. Just be sure that you’re using a template that’s also mobile responsive, especially since 60 percent of email is opened on mobile devices. A mobile responsive template displays your images and text in a way that they’ll be most easily read and digested by your customers, regardless of where they’re reading it. Also, before you launch that campaign, send yourself a test message to make sure it looks good on both your desktop and mobile phone.

Present a streamlined layout. Even when you use a template, your content can still get glossed over. This usually happens when you have too much content, or too many or too few images. Since you want your messages to be a breeze for customers to read, avoid dense blocks of text by breaking up the paragraphs and inserting images or videos. Generally speaking, a recent study of more than two million emails found that messages with three or fewer images and approximately 20 lines of text result in the highest click-through rates from email subscribers.

Choose colors and fonts wisely. Of course you want your messages to stand out in your customers’ inboxes – but in a good way. This is where colors and fonts come into play. For colors, stick with two to three that match your logo and website. If you’re unsure about which color combinations go best together, you can use an application like Color Schemer. Also, to make sure you’re matching your newsletter with your brand colors, you can use tools like Color Cop for PCs, or Digital Color Meter for Macs. When it comes to choosing fonts, apply only one or two, use bold and italics sparingly, and assume that ALL CAPS is simply not an option. The most effective fonts for ease of reading are Arial, Verdana, and Helvetica. For size, go with 22-24pt for header text and 14-16pt for the body copy.

Insert captivating images and videos. Just because studies show that inserting images and videos boost readership and click-through rates, it doesn’t mean just any image will do the trick. Use compelling images and videos that convey the gist of your messages. For example, feature your customers or show a 30-second clip that teaches your audience a new skill. Essentially, avoid using clip art or stock photography that looks cheesy or too staged.

Looks attract, but content keeps them coming back

After you’ve successfully attracted your readers with a dazzling design and layout, you need to sustain their interest with valuable content that informs and engages, but never overtly sells. Even if you already know that customers crave original content – and you’re delivering on that – here are six actions you can take to ensure readers stick with you all the way to the end of your message.

Say hello. When you start your message with a warm greeting, it breaks the ice and adds that much needed personal touch.

Highlight the content at the top that the majority of your contacts will find most valuable and include a strong call to action. Remember to write for your audience, not yourself. You do this by addressing their pain points, proactively answering questions and providing helpful tips and hints.

Be brief. Use punchy, active words and quickly make your point.

Personalize whenever possible. Segmenting your list by various categories such as purchases, interests, or locations and presenting tailored content and offers goes a long way in keeping readers engaged.

Always think like the reader/customer, not the marketer/small business owner.

To consistently create engaging content, consider this simple five-step formula:

• Subject Line: Grab the reader’s attention in 30-55 characters.
• Start with the last question you got from a customer.
• Insert a picture or video.
• Answer the question with a teaser of 2-3 sentences or 5-6 lines of text.
• Insert a call to action, preferably a link to your website. It can be an offer, insight on how the reader can put the information to use, or it can be a simple message such as, “like us on Facebook” or “tell us what you want to read about,” with a link to your email.

Score before you send. There are a variety of tools you can use to score your email for readability, decrease the likelihood of getting caught in a spam filter, and search engine optimization. These include Litmus, Constant Contact,Readability-Score and SEO Site Checkup.

Even the best marketers sometimes struggle with getting customers to consume their content. Oftentimes, it’s because you’re competing with an overflowing inbox. Apply the tips listed above and customers will not only look forward to getting your email, they’ll also be inspired to take action.