Madonna and Justin may have four minutes to save the world, but I only have 8 seconds to change your mind.
As coordinator of the Response Bridge marketing team, I craft an email designed to get recipients to a landing page. From there, I have 8 seconds to convert a curious reader to an interested prospect for the client. I also know that "less is more," and that the two most effective ways to capture someone's attention for a whole 8 seconds is to be either funny or cute.
I could highlight some of the hundred or so other factors that lead to conversion, but there's one I find most effective. I also find it to be my most challenging task when coordinating a demand generation campaign: Alignment between the email and the landing page.
Copy and design of the landing page has to reinforce the email without being repetitive. The key to creating a cohesive message is simple (notice I didn't say "easy").
Plan ahead
It's important to plot a marketing campaign, and I like to start at the end and work my way back:
- What's the goal of this campaign? To qualify sales leads, build a prospect list, reinforce branding, or something else?
- Who will receive the email?
- What is the recipient's pain?
The creative components must flow from those answers in order to be effective.