Email marketing not only allows you to connect directly with your audience, but you can save your team a ton of time and not sacrifice personalization. The key to great email marketing is to stand out in the already overflowing inboxes of your audience. 

To help you stand out, we’ve outlined 10 steps to create emails that resonate with potential residents and their families. 

Subject Line Creativity

The subject line determines whether your email is opened or ignored. About 47% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone. Use action words, questions, or intriguing teasers that promise value. Personalizing the subject line with the recipient’s name or relevant details can increase open rates by up to 22%.

Personalization

Going beyond the first name, segment your email list based on user behavior and interests to tailor your message. This level of personalization makes the recipient feel valued and increases engagement.

Certain platforms will help you segment your list, but a good place to start is by sending different emails to potential residents than to adult-child influencers. Your language should vary between these groups as their motivations and needs of you are slightly different.

Visually Appealing Layouts

Emails with a balanced mix of text and visuals are more engaging to the user. Use responsive design to ensure your emails look great on all devices, given that 81% of people use their smartphones to check their email. A clean, attractive design keeps the reader’s attention and helps your message stand out.

Remember: you don’t want to overload your email with visuals as it could get sent to spam folders. Be intentional with the visuals you choose.

Engaging & Concise Content

The average human attention span has dropped to 8 seconds, so your email content needs to be engaging and to the point. Use headlines, bullet points, and bold fonts to highlight key information. Direct and concise emails are appreciated and more likely to be read in full.

Use of Storytelling

Stories can increase email engagement rates as they help to create an emotional connection. A well-crafted story can transport readers, making your message memorable. Moreover, narratives are known to increase the perceived value of a product or service, potentially boosting conversion rates.

Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

Emails with a single CTA can increase clicks by 371% and sales by 1617%. Make your CTA buttons large and colorful, and place them strategically within your email. Ensure the action you want the reader to take is clear and compelling.

Incorporate Multimedia

Including videos in emails can increase click rates by up to 300%. Even just using the word “video” in your subject line can boost open rates. GIFs and interactive elements like polls or surveys can also increase engagement by making your emails more dynamic and entertaining. But be cautious with GIFs especially as it can trigger your email to go to spam folders. 

Timing is Key

The best time to send emails varies, but data shows Tuesdays and Thursdays are generally the best days, with ideal times being between 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST, and then 12:01 PM – 3:00 PM EST. The worst is 1 AM – 3 AM EST. However, this can vary widely among different industries and audiences, so testing and analyzing your email performance is crucial.

Preview Text Optimization

The preview text provides a sneak peek into your email content and works with your subject line to convince recipients to open the email. With 50 characters on average, this space should be used to complement the subject line with additional persuasive or intriguing information.

Follow-Up Strategy

Sending a series of emails can lead to 3x the responses compared to a single email. A well-planned follow-up sequence can gently nudge recipients who didn’t engage the first time, providing additional value or addressing potential objections they might have.

Moving Foward

Use analytics to track open rates, click-through rates, and conversions on an ongoing basis to understand what works and what doesn’t. This data is invaluable in refining your approach and enhancing the effectiveness of your email campaigns.

Implementing these steps can transform your email marketing efforts, making them more impactful and relevant to your senior living community audience. Remember, effective email marketing is about building and nurturing relationships, providing value, and engaging your audience with content that matters to them.

For support with your email marketing, contact our experts at CITIZEN.