This tip can help your emails stay out of the junk folder.
👉 If you want more engagement with your email subscribers, send short, simple surveys every once in a while.
Ask readers to REPLY to you with their answer to one question.
This creates more engagement and helps you get to know what your readers like, want, and feel about what you’re offering. Then you can give them more of what they want!
You may have responded to the occasional one-question surveys I’ve sent out. Recently I sent an email asking if readers used iOS or Android. I discovered my audience is split just about down the middle.
I also discovered most of the people who responded read my emails on their desktop computer vs. mobile. That’s good to know because it helps me know how to best format the content.
Why is reader engagement important?
As you can see from the slide above (from a short presentation I did for clients about email trends), interactivity = engagement. When a reader interacts with your email by replying or clicking a link for a survey, it signals to your email service provider they want to get your messages. That improves your deliverability.
So, what should you ask your readers? If it’s the very first email they’re receiving from you when they subscribe to get a freebie or sign up to get your blog posts or join a webinar, etc., here are some ideas:
Ask them “What is your number 1 problem with regards to [topic]”?
(A) You get them to reply to your email (the main objective)
(B) You get to know your audience better and discover their pain points → use this to create offers that solve these problems
(C) You’re building a relationship by asking them questions → shows you care about them
Or:
If you find the tips in the email useful to help you to [get the desired result] reply back this email by saying:
Give me more!!
And I’ll show you even more cool tips!
Or:
you can simply ask them to reply to your email and let you know if they’re able to access the lead magnet you promised.
Something like:
Can you let me know if the access link is working for you? A simple “got the guide” or “problem accessing” would do. Of course, if there’s any problem, I’ll make sure to fix it for you.
And always keep in mind, when you engage your subscribers by asking for a direct reply, it helps keep your list out of the spam traps. That’s a big deal.
Finally, remember to ask questions that are relevant to your reader AND how you can serve them better. And don’t forget to ask the question to followers in your online communities, too! The more intel you have about your community, the better you can connect with and serve them.
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮?
In the comments below, post the question you’re considering asking your audience. I’m happy to offer feedback if you’d like some. 😎
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You constantly bring your all and I truly appreciate that. Thank you for sharing!
I like the tip of the question asked in the first email. At the moment as it is the end-of-year I am thinking to ask if they want to stay on my list as 25% never opened one of my mails.
Thanks for the share, Denise.
Thanks for stopping by, Luc! That’s a good question to ask. After that, then you can clean your list of inactive subscribers.
Great tip here! And you know, ironically we can raise our own visibility by helping our email subscribers feel more visible to us! I need to do this… going to look into creating a question or poll my village will want to answer.
It’s such a simple way to create a connection. Creating the question is two parts: what do you want to know and what does your audience want? Keep us posted on what you do and how it goes.