Hoooooooo boy. It has been a week. It. has. BEEN. A. WEEK.
How are ya doin’ out there? Panicking? Same.
The comforting part is that we’re all in this together. In the US, we’re all facing common challenges; economic uncertainty, health concerns, childcare, food insecurity, working from home, etc.
There’s a lot of stress going around.
I’m getting a lot of folks asking me how to navigate this situation with their email marketing.
Here’s what I recommend:
ABOUT SENDING AN EMAIL SPECIFICALLY ABOUT COVID-19:
Is your inbox flooded with COVID19 emails?
Same.
Yes, it’s super important to keep your customers and stakeholders up-to-date with how this pandemic is impacting how they interact with your brand.
But BE CAREFUL.
I’m hearing folks getting really annoyed with brands they haven’t heard from FOR YEARS who are deciding to start emailing coronavirus updates now.
If you haven’t been actively engaging your audience through email, sending them information now on how they can essentially give you money during this crisis comes off as disingenuous.
It hurts more than it helps your brand.
Instead, consider segmenting your list to people who are active customers or clients and warm or hot prospects.
These are the people who need the information the most as it relates to their current relationship with your brand.
ABOUT WHAT TO PUT IN YOUR EMAILS:
How do you still promote your offerings while people are rapidly changing their lifestyles, behaviors, and purchasing habits?
Here’s the golden nugget to doing just that: acknowledge our new normal.
What can you do to alleviate that stress and call people to action to make their lives better and/or their communities better?
- If you have a service or product that can help lighten people’s moods (that can be delivered with social distancing in mind), then offer it. People need an excuse to smile. Don’t forget to qualify it around our current cultural climate.
- If you rely on foot traffic for your business, consider offering gift cards to people who can use them as soon as the smoke clears.
- If you have free resources that will address any pain points people are currently experiencing, promote them.
- Consider donating a certain percentage of profits to a local nonprofit that is on the front lines serving our most vulnerable at this time.
ONE COPYWRITING TIP FOR ALL OF YOUR EMAILS:
For the love of all that is holy, don’t ignore what’s going on right now.
I’m getting promotional emails that are purely pushing sales and offerings.
It’s tone-deaf.
COVID19 is on everyone’s mind right now.
You don’t have to go overboard with your copy. One sentence can do the trick.
Acknowledge ONE pain point your audience might be experiencing right now, and how you have a SOLUTION to that problem.
? Can you offer solutions around working from home?
? Can you offer solutions around bored kids at home?
? Can you offer anything to add more joy into people’s lives right now?
Come at your copy from the perspective of helping.
Lead with empathy. You’ll always connect and win over customers that way.