How to Incorporate Conversational Marketing Into Your Email Marketing Strategy

You need subscribers like your garden plants that use water and sunshine to thrive. Email marketing is the lifeblood of your business, and less monthly lead flow means less and less revenue. 

At the same time, if you can't get the leads you have to convert to paying customers, your business will struggle to make it.

That's why you must learn how to use conversational marketing to connect with customers and keep them updated on your business. 

Read on to learn tips for using conversational email marketing to create connections with your customers and boost your conversion rates.

What Is Conversational Email?

Conversational email is a type of email marketing that uses natural language to create a more personal connection with subscribers.

Rather than using formal, business-like language, conversational email focuses on using informal, everyday phrases and questions to start a conversation with readers. 

Why Use Conversational Email? 

There are several reasons why you might want to use conversational email in your marketing campaigns:

1. It helps you connect with readers on a personal level, creating a more intimate relationship.

2. It makes it easier for readers to understand what you’re saying. Informal language is more approachable and less intimidating than formal language.

3. It encourages subscribers to take action since a conversational tone is more engaging than a formal tone.

image credit: centurymedia360.com

How to Use Conversational Email 

It's difficult to stay conversational and fun with your email subscribers if you don't intimately understand their pain points, needs, and desires. 

Create a Persona for Your Ideal Customer

Start by creating a persona for your ideal customer. It's a fictional character that represents your target audience. You can use demographic information to help you create this person, but it's important to go beyond basic facts.

Think about what this person wants and needs most. Try to imagine yourself in their shoes. Try to think of their everyday life and internet browsing habits.

For example, did you know that an average internet user sees up to 6,000 ads per day? Think about how you can stand out from the noise. 

What kind of language would you use to connect with them? What are the types of things you would talk about? 

Pay Attention to Social Media and Blog Comments

A great way to get a sense of your subscribers' personalities is to pay attention to social media and blog comments. When people leave comments on your website or social media posts, they're often expressing needs and problems. 

Take advantage of this opportunity by reading through the comments and looking for common themes. 

1. What are people asking? 
2. What are they curious about? 
3. What solutions are they looking for? 

Ask Your Sales Team What Customers Say

Your sales team is another great resource for understanding your customers' personalities. Ask your sales team to share some of the most interesting things customers say during sales calls. 

What are the pain points they're trying to solve? What are their goals? 

Use that information to help you attract more authentic subscribers to your list.

Use Surveys

Get a sense of your subscribers' personalities by using surveys. It's an effective way to gather feedback and learn more about what your readers want and need. 

You can ask a variety of questions in your surveys, but be sure to focus on conversational topics. For example, you could ask respondents to share the funniest thing their child has said, or what they were most proud of this year. 

Use Conversational Marketing Inside Each Email

Alright! You know your customer persona. You understand everything your customers want and desire the most. It's now time to craft emails using conversational marketing. Open up your email client and use the following tips.

Start with a Strong Subject Line

When you're writing your subject line, think about what will get people to open the email. You want to tease them with a little bit of information, but don't give away too much. Try to keep it short and sweet. No one wants to read a long subject line. 

Write in a Friendly, Conversational Tone

Once people open your email, you want them to feel like they're having a conversation with you. Write in a friendly, conversational tone and use short, easy-to-read paragraphs. 

Use contractions. Don't say, "Here is what I think you'll love this week."

Try this instead, "Hey there! Here's what I think you'll love this week." 

image credit: impactplus.com

Use Images and Videos to Break Up the Text

Images and videos are a great way to break up the text and add visual interest. They can also help you communicate your message more effectively. 

Keep the Email Short and to the Point

People are busy and don't have time to read long emails. So, keep your email short and to the point. 

Take this advice with a grain of salt. Some emails need to go longer. In these cases, break up the longer text with the images or videos mentioned above. 

As your subscribers scan the email content, it will help them to stay interested and keep reading when they don't see a lengthy wall of text. 

Test Different Subject Lines, Tones, and CTAs 

It's one thing to start using a more conversational tone with your email subscribers. It's another thing entirely to attack the project with a spirit of experimentation.

Test different subject lines, tones, and CTAs so you understand what works best for your audience. Try out a few different combinations and see which ones get the best response.

Include a Call to Action

Take the conversational tone to the next level by providing a call to action (CTA) at the end of each email. 

1. Ask yourself these important questions before writing each email.
2. What's the point of the email? 
3. What do you want readers to do next? 

Do you want them to click on a blog post, sales page, video, or webinar landing page?

Make sure your CTA buttons are easy to see. You want subscribers to take the action you're asking them to take. Make it as easy as possible for them. 

Continue the conversational tone consistent throughout the process. For example, are you one of the 85% of marketers using webinars to convert more sales? 

If so, select one of the best webinar platforms and then match the tone of your email and its call to action to the webinar landing page. Make sure the webinar page’s copy remains conversational. Doing so will improve attendance on your presentation.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is that conversational email marketing can help you connect with your customers on a deeper level. It will increase engagement and conversions. 

It’s a lot more fun than writing stuffy emails. So, go ahead and give it a try!