Email marketing, huh? Imagine you are throwing a party and want to make sure everyone has a great time (engage with the content). Here’s the problem – not all people like the same content (music), so if you only play heavy metal you may see some people sneaking out of the back door. What do you do then? Mix it up. You can mix it up. Email marketing is knowing your audience so well that you can play the music they love.

Let’s now talk about the subject lines of your party invites. Your invitation will likely be lost amongst the weekend plans if it says “Party At My Place”. If it says “Epic bash featuring a surprise celebrity DJ!” then everyone is intrigued. suddenly, everyone’s intrigued. You need to make your subject line zingy! You want to make people curious enough that they click on the link instead of just scrolling by.

How do you keep people entertained once they are “at your party”, aka, reading your emails? Nobody likes to be cornered all night by someone who is only talking about themselves. Your emails should not be all about you; instead, they should provide your guests with something entertaining or valuable. Share some tips, anecdotes, or insights that will make them happy they didn’t leave.

Don’t just blabber on and disappear into the darkness. You can use data such as RSVPs, drink preferences and click-through rates (engagement metrics) to plan a better party next time. You may have noticed more people dancing when you played 80s music. That’s gold! If certain emails are getting more clicks or opens, your audience will love to hear about it.

Don’t forget those friends that RSVP, but then ghost (stop engaging) you. They may be busy, or they might not like what you have been playing. You can bring them back by gently niggling and saying, “Hey! We miss you at our party” without feeling pushy.

This is where it gets really cool and sci-fi: automation allows you to be the host who has the most guests without having to work yourself to the bone. Someone has signed up for your email newsletter. Bam! Bam!

Email marketing is essentially like being a friend. Showing up with something fun or worthwhile to say, not only when you’re looking for something from someone is important.

As we wrap up our discussion (because there were no fluffy conclusions), it’s important to note that mastering email marketing does not require you to be a wizard or sell your soul in exchange for engagement statistics. Talking to your friends like people, knowing what music makes their day go round and being prepared to change the playlist according to who is dancing or not, are all important aspects of keeping things real. Keep it real, keep it fun, and keep your party invitations interesting.