Effective Email Marketing – How to Get More Clicks & Stay Out of the Trash

Attorneys love email marketing because it’s quick, cheap, and has the ability to reach multiple recipients all in one press of the “send” button. That explains why your inbox can get bogged down so easily, as there are many marketers out there trying to get your attention.

So if you are among those “marketers” for your own law firm, how do you get the recipient to actually open and click your email?

If you think about it, you never really know how these recipients are viewing your email. Is it from their work desktop or at home? Is it on their phone or other mobile device? Just as you prioritize which emails you are going to open/keep/delete, your recipients are doing the same as it relates to your email message.

Here are a few suggestions on how to create effective email messages:

1. Personalize the “From” section:  People are more apt to open an email from a person or law firm that they know, as opposed to an unrecognizable address. Using your personal firm email address or main firm email address establishes their trust.
2. Grab their attention with the Subject Line:  Let the reader know what you have in store for them.  If you leave them guessing about what’s inside, they may decide the email is not important enough for their consideration. Think of the Subject Line as a headline for your firm’s news – “ABC Firm Hires New Attorney” or “ABC Firm’s Latest eNews for March 2013.”
3. Get to the point …Now:  If have something important to announce, a service to offer, or an event coming up, let the reader know about it right away.  The message does not have to be extensive; short and sweet goes over very well in our busy society.
4. Watch your words:  You don’t want to be flagged as a spammer, so keep it professional and informative.  Too many ALL CAPS WORDS are spam triggers, as well as words like “FREE” or “CLICK HERE.”
5. Link back to your website or blog:  Once you get a recipient to convert into a reader, don’t stop there! Give the reader a place to go for more information. Make sure all of your messages point the reader back to you and your firm so they know how to get in touch with you.

What you have to remember about email marketing is that, although we live in an online world, people tend to get impatient with email.  They get lots and lots of messages on a daily basis, so keep your message from being sent to the Trash by using the tips above!