When someone first opens your email, you have on average about 20 seconds to drive a decision from them. So how do you shorten the decision cycle that usually takes you a few weeks to sell someone on a concept or product into a measley 20 seconds in an email? You must shorten the decision cycle in order to drive sales and donations thru email marketing campaigns.
Anyone who has children knows that you do not open their closet up before school, stand there and with a wide open, no time limit kind of question say “What do you want to wear today?” Those of you without children don’t know that this is funny. People with children know that you don’t do this. You’ll be standing there all day and surely late for school. In my house, I reach into the closet and pull out a couple of options – maybe a red shirt and a blue shirt.. and hold them up to the child and let them pick – you know, the whole empowerent thing and making choices idea…
My husband reaches in, pulls something out, closes the closet door and says “Here’s what you’re wearing today.” You should be more like my husband than me when you are deciding what to put in your emails.
Think about it this way – your emails are not for telling people everything that you do. That’s what your website is for. Your emails are little test marketing campaigns that go out, focus on one item or concept, and from there you can sort out who was interested and who wasn’t using the tracking that shows who opened, who clicked, who forwarded, etc…
Reduce the number of choices and you will reduce the back and forth, wishy-washy window shopping that ends in no decision or purchase. One choice will outsell multiple choices across the board. Think about it like shopping with a man at the mall – you get in, find what you want/need and get out. That’s how your emails will work best as a sales tool.
Too many choices in your email will usually result in fewer decisions.
Shorten the decision cycle by offering fewer choices and focusing on one aspect of your business
and you will see an increase in the decisions made to forward, click, read, buy, share, donate or show up.
Julie Niehoff 