They say to never judge a book by its cover, but that is far from accurate when it comes to your emails.
Your emails should represent your company and give you a reputable name in the trading industry. It is your chance to shine and really entice your readers to want to deposit again and again with your brand.
Yes, your content, call-to-actions and subject lines might be extremely interesting to your reader; but if at first glance your email does not look professional, clean and eye-catching you have potentially just lost a new trader.
The look and feel of your emails will impact whether your potential traders have a memorable and successful experience with your brand – so it’s essential that you get it right.
Here are some aspects you need to keep in mind when creating the perfect email to shape your trader relationships.
At First Glance
Let’s start with the initial header image or banner of your email.
This is most probably the first thing your potential traders will notice when opening your emails; so make sure it sets the tone for your message and - more importantly - that it communicates to the reader who you are as a company.
For example, if you were to go to a trader expo to promote and represent your brand, would you go there dressed in slouchy t-shirt and dirty trainers, or in a suit and tie with smartly polished shoes?
I thought so....
Just like your personal appearance has an impact on how you are perceived, the look and care taken over your header image influences how your readers think of your company.
Additionally, with 75% of Gmail users accessing their accounts on mobile devices (according to Google I/O Developers Conference), you need to ensure that your emails render correctly on all devices.
Poor rendering can give the impression that you do not take care of what you send to your potential clients and are more concerned about getting the reader to simply deposit with you as opposed to building a relationship and communicating with your Leads .
A professionally designed header image or banner will make your potential traders see your brand as equally professional; thus they will more easily consider you to be proficient and trustworthy enough to trade with you.
Think about what the purpose of your header image or banner is. Is it to improve your conversions, generate traffic to your site, build on your brand awareness, or all of the above?
Look at your campaign goals and work your banner around that. It has the power to deliver your message, draw your readers in, and support your brand before a single word of your email body has been read.
Good Old Social Media
Believe it or not, many marketers overlook this point.
Social media plays a huge role in the Marketing scene in this day and age, so it is important to include it in your emails.
Having social media sharing buttons in your email will not only increase your brand's legitimacy in the eyes of the reader, but it also leaves room for potential and active traders to be able to build a community around your brand.
For example, they will be able to click on your Facebook icon and go to your page where (hopefully) they can receive more information on your brand, see active trader reviews, photos and updates to really be able to connect with you, your current clients and other leads.
In short, social media is a means of giving your trading brand a level of authority, and social media buttons in your email design can aid to evoke this impression within the lead, whether they click on them or not.
Saying this, emails that include social sharing buttons have a 158% higher click-through rate (according to GetResponse).
I know you...
It is vital that your emails are instantly recognisable that they are coming from YOUR brand even before anything has been read.
Your branding through this powerful means of marketing is imperative so that your business stays at the top of your potential client's mind - always.
For example, if you were to open an email that had the colours red and yellow as its main feature, what brand would you automatically think of?
McDonalds, probably.
And if you were to open an email that had the dominant colours of red with white headings, what brand would you think of?
I hope most of you answered Coca-Cola.
This is how your emails need to trigger thoughts in your prospective traders' mind; as soon as they open your email they know it is from you!
McKinsey & Company found emails to be 40 times more successful at acquiring new clients than both Facebook and Twitter, so your emails NEED to be branded at all times!
Therefore, ensure that your emails reflect the colours and theme of your website and brand as a whole. If your website is black and gold, then your emails need to use black and gold colours.
It is in your power to design your emails according to how you want to be perceived by the trading world.
Do not overlook the design of your emails and place your sole attention on its content.
Whilst, of course the content of your emails will always be a highly important factor, how your email looks also plays a huge role in building a relationship with your leads and encouraging them to trust you, like you and ultimately become loyal traders.
