Emails your subscribers will actually click on – and read

  

 The “less is more” rule applies to many elements of online marketing, including email marketing.

Did you know that the average office worker receives 121 emails per day? When you send out a newsletter or a special offer you are competing for your reader’s attention, which now sits at an average of about eight seconds.

While there is no magic formula for how long your email subject line and body should be, there are some simple things you can do to increase your email’s readability.

Here are some tips:

·      Keep it simple. Don’t use complex words where simple ones will do. For example, instead of “utilize” try “use.”

·      Don’t use too many filler words. You’re not writing a novel, no need to get too descriptive and flowery.

·      Break up blocks of text into sections.

·      Organize information into bulleted lists.

·      Keep the subject line to six or seven words – anything longer won’t display on mobile.

·      Don’t use images that will interrupt the flow of the text.

Of course the design of the email makes a difference too. If you can, send a test of the email to yourself and check it on your mobile device. How does it look?  

Want to test your message before you send it? Try this FreeReadability Test Tool. You can simply copy and paste your text, then it will give you a readability score and tell you what that score means. For example, this message scores at an 8^th grade reading level.

If you want to get really technical the tool will also give you statistics such as how many complex words and average number of syllables are in your text.

So how readable is your content?

Free lunch every month at our Lunch n' Learns

Hello and good afternoon fellow marketers!

There is such a thing as a FREE LUNCH! Read on . . .

Here at ISJ Media we spend a lot of time doing a lot of research on the latest and greatest digital marketing tools and trends. It's what WE do.

"But how does that affect me and my business?" Glad you asked.

We do the research so you don't have to. But how do we pass that valuable information on to you, the business owner? With our free monthly Lunch and Learns! Did I mention it was free? Oh, and we've got your lunch covered too.

The next Lunch and Learn will be held on Tuesday, March 14. We offer a session at 7:45 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. to accommodate different schedules.

Previous topics have included:

• Getting your page to rank higher on Google search results
• The importance of having a responsive website
• Why Facebook is NOT the same as having a website
• Advertising on Facebook: Is it effective and tips for getting the most bang for your buck
• How to capitalize on "micro moments," those spur of the moment things that cue an online search for a product or service. 

This is NOT a sales pitch. Really. No-one will pressure you to buy anything. We want you, the local business owner, to succeed. Interested? Want more information? Contact Jenny Hopkins at jhopkins@journalnet.com or 208-239-3532. RSVP by March 9. 

See you there! 

Check out these FREE digital marketing tools

Hi there fellow marketers, and greetings from ISJ Media!

This industry is changing and evolving every day, so much so that it is difficult for even the most advance digital marketers to stay on top of the game. There are countless online courses and digital marketing companies that offer advice, resources and management — for a price. But if you're a small business owner your budget is tight. Like, submarine tight.

Luckily for us there are TONS of free digital marketing resources out there, as well as TONS of free downloads to help us get educated and organized.

Here are just a few:

• Social media templates from Hootsuite. Hootsuite allows you to manage several social media accounts in one place. You can create and schedule posts, as well as view your social media feeds. You can have a certain number of streams for free, I believe the limit is 3 (I use it for Twitter and Facebook), and you can add more if you opt for a paid membership.