7 insanely powerful ways to RE-ENGAGE your email list in 2022 [Insider Secrets]

Uh-oh.

Your open rates are falling faster than a skydiver without a parachute.

And engagement is about as strong as my 96-year-old grandma.

(Hi, granny!)

So what should you do?

Scream? Panic? Cry?

Yes.

Then read this super SIMPLE guide with 7 unique tips to dominate email marketing in 2022.

1. Juice up your subject lines (by being highly specific)

You could have the best email content in the WORLD.

But guess what?

If your subject line sucks, nobody’s gonna see it.

Your subject line should be absurdly specific.

You should tell people exactly what they’ll be getting by opening your email RIGHT NOW.

I got this email a few days ago.

Notice how direct it is?

It’s basically shouting, “Hey, moron! If you’re gonna go to this bar crawl, you better get your ticket RIGHT NOW or you’ll have to pay more.”

Your subject lines should convey the same feeling.

P.S. Bonus points for creating a subject line with an insatiable sense of urgency that causes people to open your email IMMEDIATELY.

2. Embrace the two S’s of brilliant email marketing: Simplicity & Spacing

What’s easier to read?

This:

Or this:

The first one, right?

Sure there’s less info there.

But if you try to jam an entire encyclopedia into every email, you’re gonna overwhelm people.

I hate to break it to you, but people are lazy.

So the less words they have to read, the better.

Also…

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF WHITE SPACE.

In school, we were taught the importance of structuring full-bodied paragraphs…

That was great for Mrs. Johnson’s 9th grade English class, but it’s an absolutely terrible way to get people to read your content.

To summarize:

Long blocks of text = BAD

Short, spaced out sentences = GOOD

3. Cut the formal crap (it died in 1993)

Yet again, Mrs. Johnson screwed you over here.

Stop talking like you’re some fancy pants butler serving the royal family.

Your email copy needs to be ENGAGING to drive sales and re-energize your list.

Nobody cares if you use the Oxford comma or not.

What they care about is being entertained AND informed.

The best brands can do both in the same email.

In the example below, Chubbies could’ve gotten away with saying, “Hey, check out our extended spring sale.”

Instead they unleashed their creative beast and came up with some kicka** copy to announce that their spring sale would keep on rollin’.

P.S. Chubbies’ newsletter is actually hilarious and will give you tons of great ideas. You can sign up here.

4. Refusing to A/B test is like using a flip phone in 2022, you’re severely limiting yourself

If you have a premium Mailchimp account, you can test up to eight different subject lines PER SEND.

You can also try four subject lines with two different versions of email copy.

Or four versions of email copy with 2 different subject lines.

OR…

Ok, you get the idea.

You have a lot of flexibility when it comes to A/B testing.

SO USE IT!

Their software will automatically pick the winner after a set amount of time.

Then BOOM, over 50% of your list just got your BEST subject line.

The key to mastering email marketing in 2022 is trial and error.

Test crazy stuff with your subject lines, see what happens.

If people don’t respond well, the software will pick a different subject line to send to the rest of your list.

It’s a risk-free NO-BRAINER.

So don’t be afraid to try stuff, people!

5. Make your call to action button the approximate size of France

Two years ago, I flew across the country to attend a $1,700 marketing conference.

I went to dozens of sessions and took page after page of notes.

And after all that, the ONLY lasting takeaway was this:

Make your call to action buttons absolutely MASSIVE.

HUGE!

They should be the one thing that stands out above everything else in your email

Because at the end of the day…

They’re really the only thing that matters.

You’re gonna get more clicks with this:

Than this:

I promise.

6. If a picture says 1,000 words, a GIF says about a million

Only 3% of companies use GIFs in their emails.

(Ok, I just completely made that up.)

I have no idea what the exact percentage is, but rest assured, it’s LOW.

Nobody does it.

Why?

Because most companies don’t know that you can.

If you’re showing off a product, use a short GIF instead of a picture.

Your engagement will SKYROCKET.

And your email will stand out above the sea of mediocrity in your customer’s inboxes.

7. After they open your email, make it painfully obvious what you want your customers to DO

My alma mater sends me emails all the time asking for donations.

And I always tell them the same thing:

“I donated more than enough when you guys gave me that B.S. parking ticket junior year.”

But let’s pretend for a second that I wasn’t a horrible cheapskate and WOULD consider making a donation.

Let’s take a look at one of their emails:

Let me guess… you just skimmed that didn’t you?

People don’t read, they SKIM.

So all of that detailed info is great, but most people won’t read it.

Your subscribers are trying to decipher what your email wants them to DO as quickly as possible so they can get on with their lives.

Instead of making your subscribers hunt for your call to action, SHOUT IT AT THEM.

This email’s goal was to get me to donate in one of two ways.

Via Venmo

Online

The “make your gift online” hyperlink isn’t terrible, but the Venmo instructions are downright horrendous.

They get totally lost in the meat of the text.

Remember, PEOPLE ARE LAZY.

Make it easy on ‘em.

Adding these two buttons to the bottom would solve everything:

They know immediately:

Hey, they want me to donate.

I just have to click one of these buttons to do it.

Quick Summary:

Email marketing is HARD.

So don’t get discouraged if you struggle at first.

You’ll be SHOCKED at how quickly you become an expert.

And know this…

Email is the most powerful, most direct way to communicate with your customers.

Fact. Period. End of story.

Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube…

They can all CRIPPLE your reach with one algorithm change.

(They’ve done it before and will do it again.)

But an email address is yours to keep.

Presumably forever.

In case you skimmed this whole thing, (shame on you!) here’s a quick rundown of those seven tips:

1. Your subject lines should be over-the-top specific.
2. Long, condensed text is a sure fire way to make sure nobody reads ANY of your email.
3. Your email copy should sound like you’re talking to a friend (not your grandma).
4. A/B testing is a super easy way to maximize engagement.
5. Your call to action button should be ENORMOUS.
6. Start using GIFs instead of images (they’re more fun anyway).
7. Make it EASY for people to find out what you want them to DO.

Have other email marketing questions? We’d love to help.

This post was written by Grant Stimmel, editor of ProductHype. ProductHype is the #1 crowdfunding newsletter. It reaches hundreds of thousands in the crowdfunding community that’s generated millions of dollars in tracked sales for top-tier projects since 2017.