The 3 E’s of Mastering Emotions in Email Marketing

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and it seems like the perfect time to talk about an oft-overlooked aspect of email marketing: the importance of emotion.

Marketing professionals frequently discuss the importance of your customer’s feelings towards your brand, but we rarely talk about how email tone can play a crucial role in developing a relationship between your customers and your brand.

This is particularly important for small business and individual personalities. Empathy is a two way street. If you can relate to your customers, they will be able to relate to you too.

Want to make your customers fall in love with not just your product and your company, but you as the email marketer too? Read on for the 3 E’s that will help you master emotions in emails.

Why your email tone matters

Your customers are people. They want to know that your business is run by other people. Your products may or may not be relevant to them, but an authentic connection with another human being? That’s always going to be important.

In fact, that’s exactly why so many people go with smaller, “artisan” companies – because of the human and emotional element.

But emotions aren’t only important for small businesses or individuals. Research published by the Journal of Advertising Research shows that “likability” is the most important factor in an advertisement’s success. And the best way to make your brand likable is by letting your personality and emotions shine through.

Infusing emotion into email marketing

The key here is to add include your personality in your email marketing campaigns while remaining professional. You can do this by selecting personal stories that relate to your customer’s sense of self.

There are three major factors that go into building this relationship, or three E’s: enticement, enablement, and enrichment:

1. Enticement

Enticement appeals to your customer’s senses and especially their aesthetic taste. To connect with your readers on an enticement level, try sharing stories about where you live and work.

Example: Did your business recently celebrate a milestone? Include a short overview and images at the end of your next email blast sharing the fact.

2. Enablement

Enablement is all about functional needs and efficiency. To connect with readers on an enablement level, share how your business or even one of your individual products has improved your life (hint: this doesn’t mean talking about how much money it’s made).

Example: Dogfooding is the a standard practice everywhere. Share how you’ve leverage your product or service for your own success – after all, you’ll be the one who knows best.

Enrichment

Enrichment is about appealing to your customer’s need for self-expression. The story of how you started your business is often the most powerful story for connecting with a customer’s desire for enrichment, but you could take this more literally and talk about how your personal passions influence your business.

Example: Speak to why you’re in your current business. Talk about the problem you’re trying to solve, the challenges you’ve faced, and the distance you’ve come.

Create emails with the right tone for your audience with Maropost for Marketing.

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