How to Make a Boring Topic Sound Exciting in Your Email Marketing
by Alyssa Rice
7 Proven Tactics to Consider For Your Next Marketing Campaign or Promotion
As a content creator, there are lots of topics that need to be written about that can be boring. Odds are, if you find it boring, then the reader will, too. The last thing you want to do is put your reader (and yourself) to sleep.
According to Create & Cultivate, you have 2.7 seconds to grab someone’s attention.
Here are seven tactics and strategies to spice up your next campaign:
1. Take the Topic and Spin It
If you can raise some eyebrows while discussing a boring topic, congratulations. This is a great way to convey your topic in a shocking way. This campaign from Huckberry makes a joke out of the use of Zoom during the pandemic.
They use this unique subject line to make fun of those who do not wear pants on Zoom, while promoting their 365 Shorts.
2. Paint a Picture in People’s Minds
Some of the best writers are able to paint a picture in people’s minds. This will guarantee that you provoke emotion and connect with your readers.
This wikiHow thread gives multiple tips on how to write to paint picture’s in minds.
3. Use Gamification Tactics
If you've never heard of gamification, it is using games, puzzles, or quizzes in digital marketing.
Companies use scratch-offs, mazes, spin-to-win wheels, crossword puzzles, quizzes, and more to spruce up their emails.
Pizza Hut used this slot machine for promotions. Everyone loves free stuff and discounts, so this is a great way to bring boring topics to life.
4. Invite Your Reader to Participate
By making your reader participate, it makes them feel special and creates a connection between them and your brand, thus creating excitement when you email them.
There are tons of ways to create engaging emails.
You can do this by creating compelling call-to-actions, include a dynamic visual or video, add personalization by using their name or any information you have about the reader, asking questions and encouraging replies, and segmenting your email lists.
You can even encourage your readers to forward emails to their friends. To some people, running is fun. To other people, running is boring. In this tweet, Adidas creates excitement and encourages their Twitter followers to “retweet” the tweet to challenge their friends to a run:
Here are 20+ other ways to increase engagement in your email newsletter.
5. Understand What Your Audience Wants to Know
Your reader wants to hear your content because they want value from you. Give them exactly what they want! If you are an advertising agency, give your readers some advertising tips. If you are a clothing brand, give your readers coupons.
You want to marry your voice with your customer’s voice. If you have to discuss that boring topic, give your readers what they would want out of it.
6. Add a Personal Touch
It doesn’t always have to be serious. Include some of your own personality into emails. It becomes more personalized and increases that connection. You can interject facts or your own personal experiences into your email copy.
For example, if you are an insurance company, include some wild facts about insurance. Starbucks actually pays more for their employee’s health insurance than it pays for their coffee beans. That will get your audience’s attention!
7. Include Eye-Catching Visuals and Graphics
Sometimes it is nice to show, rather than tell. Windsor creates this aesthetically pleasing email for the fashionistas out there. They show some trendy outfits while including promotions and using a clean and pretty color palette.
Including graphs like this one about sleeping disorders are fun and way better than normal bar charts or line graphs. Find some online or make some of your own!
Conclusion
In a perfect world, we would all write about what we love. For now, we can’t do that but we have ways to work around it. Add some spice and seasoning to these boring topics and you will capture your reader’s attention for sure.
Resources
26 Real Ways to Increase Engagement in Your Email Newsletter https://www.netatlantic.com/resources/articles/26-real-ways-to-increase-engagement-in-your-email-newsletter
How to Paint Pictures in Someone’s Mind https://www.wikihow.com/Create-Sentences-That-Paint-Pictures-in-People%27s-Minds
You Have 2.7 Seconds to Grab Someone’s Attention, No Pressure https://www.createcultivate.com/blog/2016/2/16/wtf-you-have-27-seconds-to-grab-someones-attention