Escaping the Content Rut...and the Spam Folder!
What do you do when you're feeling uninspired by your email campaigns? As Ace Ventura suggests, “just wait longer!”
…Just kidding. There’s a bit more to it than that.
Finding the right ways to connect with your readers can be challenging.
Here’s how I work through my own bouts of blank-page syndrome.
1️⃣ Give yourself a break (literally and figuratively).
I am TERRIBLE at this. Ask anyone. But we all go through periods where we're less inspired or productive. This guilt’s gotta go. It’s not helpful.
So, here's a reminder for BOTH of us that it’s ok to have a bad day, feel a little lost in the middle of a big idea, or simply take a break when we’re hitting a wall. It’s a scientific fact that breaks are good for mental health and productivity, so like, yeah…let’s do that.
2️⃣ Look around.
Inspiration can come from anywhere! And I do mean anywhere.
💌 Your email stats (duh).
These show you what’s been working with your audience so far so you can create more like it. Mainly, we’re talkin’ about engagement rates here: which emails inspired the most opens, clicks, and conversions while triggering the lowest levels of unsubscribes and spam complaints.
I’ve talked about this plenty in past lessons, so let’s not recreate the wheel:
The most common email performance red flags: how to catch (and lower!) ‘em.
Sender reputation and the very large part recipient engagement plays in building and maintaining yours.
Why emails don’t reach the inbox (hint: it’s got a lot to do with how recipients react to what you send).
💌 Industry blogs, surveys, and data-driven reports.
These can highlight what's on other people's minds. What do you have to say on that topic?
My most recent favorite comes from Omnisend, who sifted through 23,646,644,659 emails (NBD) to tell us if people talk about dogs or cats more, among other interesting trends.
If you’re too busy to search for their “Year in Email Review 2024” or like, click this link, then I’ll go ahead and tell you (SPOILER ALERT!): it’s the cats. It's always the cats.
💌In the news and on social media.
Trends within the email industry and conversations between experts often leave me wondering what’s coming next. Sometimes those thoughts turn into conspiracy theories. Sometimes they become something useful. ¯\_(ツ)_/
Here’s a list of experts I trust and learn from regularly on a variety of channels: https://send-it-right.com/experts-to-learn-from
In addition, here’s a list of places where you can connect with other email nerds online or in person to continue growing your network of trusted experts (and friends): https://send-it-right.com/connect-with-email-nerds
💌Other content mediums.
Even a good podcast (fiction or non-fiction!) can plant a seed of an idea your readers might love since they lean into storytelling, word play, and/or data-driven facts that stick with you long after the dishes you were doing while listening are done.
3️⃣ Complain to friends — or your therapist!
Only don’t just complain. Studies say that’s actually not helpful to making you feel better. In fact, it typically just makes you feel worse. But giving those thoughts a reality check makes it more likely you’ll snap out of it and shift your thinking to creative ways you can beat the dust outta your rug.
Which brings me to the most important step…
4️⃣ Start moving.
Lucille Ball once said, “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.” Perhaps that’s because busy people are usually good at gettin’ things done. Props to them. But perhaps it’s also because a person already in motion (being busy) is more likely to keep moving and take on additional tasks vs someone at rest.
So, do something…*anything* that'll help you get your oars back in the proverbial water. You’ll pick up momentum soon enough, and once you’re movin’, it’ll be a lot easier to reach that oh-so-distant island lagoon you know is out there — somewhere — just over the horizon.
A few ideas for how to get the (Lucille) ball rolling:
💌 Reassess your email goals.
I know, I know. We’re in the second half of January now. You’ve likely already finished setting your goals. But are you pointed in the right direction? Let’s do a quick gut-check…
Do your email goals align with your company's overall business objectives? Consider if the actions you’re asking readers to take align with what amounts to email and business success. For example, don’t go chasin’ high open rates if your company is hoping to drive conversions.
Have you set them high enough for your company to reach their targets, while still keeping them realistically achievable?
Is your process properly set up to measure and achieve your goals? How will you know if (and when) you’ve achieved success?
Is your entire team (and company) on the same page about what your goals are, and why?
Once you’ve had a good think on it, figure out what’s worth improving first.
💌 Start with what’s broken and what’s within your control.
Content tweaks, typo fixes, broken links. These are the easiest wins. How to find ‘em…
Take a closer look at your email configuration.
Are your emails properly authenticated? Are you sending from the correct IPs with the right sending domain? Do your automation workflows function correctly and align with your business goals?
Test your subscription process and the stuff that comes after.
Does it work as intended? …Does it work at all? Do your workflows align with your email marketing goals? What improvements can you make to enhance the user experience or increase your signup and engagement rates?
💌 Make changes incrementally.
Beyond once-and-done improvements, consider areas of ongoing testing and small adjustments you can make to inch your way closer to inbox success. We’re not talking about sweeping changes here. Pick the thing you think will have the most meaningful impact on your business.
Go beyond your email goals. Think about the goals behind the goals. What is your company actually trying to achieve and how does the email you’re sending help with that?
Focus on improvements that’ll help your team reach your own goals, and by association, allow your company to reach theirs.
Your signup process — and by association, your data quality and sender reputation
Your subject lines, offers, or segmentation — and by association, your engagement rates
Your email click-through or conversion rates — and by association, your email ROI
The choice is yours, and the possibilities are limitless — it’s one of the great things about email.
So, brainstorm some ideas…maybe even ask ChatGPT (after you’ve done the majority of your thinking). Pick your KPIs (key performance indicators). Then test, test, test.
One small adjustment can have an outsized effect on our email performance.
💌 Plan for the unexpected.
The past few years have demonstrated the importance of planning for both low and high tides. Apple MPP, new sender requirements from Yahoo and Google, more tabs (thanks again, Apple!) and AI. What’s next?
Not to mention, good ol’ spam filters, which have been known to trip up legitimate senders from time to time…particularly if those senders have a couple of less-than-savory sending practices.
Stay ready for those shifting sands by thinking about your most important email marketing goals.
How are you achieving those today, and what could go wrong? For example, your marketing emails start going to spam, leading to a drop in website visits and sales.
What’s your contingency plan? For example, how would you deliver transactional emails (such as password resets) to your customers if your email service provider had an outage? Perhaps it’s time to consider a redundancy email provider or alternative methods for account recovery.
How impactful would it be if those systems failed? For example, what if those transactional emails were movie tickets and customers started complaining about it on social media, affecting future sales? If email is important to your brand, using your data to communicate the potential impact on revenue can help you (and the rest of your organization) prioritize ways to mitigate the risks.
Involve all your relevant stakeholders in the conversation to ensure your contingency planning covers all your bases — and is also based in reality. Nothin’ worse than weaving a safety net for your email strategy, only to have you fall right through the middle when it matters most because other teams weren’t prepared to support your needs.
Ultimately, sometimes the content ideas are gonna flow like a sweet summer child down a slip'n'slide. Other times, it takes more work to reach the inboxes — and hearts — of your email subscribers.
When in doubt, look about! There's content inspiration literally everywhere.
That’s it. That’s the big speech to start us off in 2025.
Now go on, git! You’ve got more important things to do. Plus, the next lesson will be here before you know it (…or shortly after that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).
Until next time, happy sending!
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