How to Increase Traffic to Your Blog (or Video or Podcast), Part 3

7 Secrets for Emails that Convert to Clicks: Simple, Proven Tips for Getting More Traffic to Your Primary Content

In two previous posts, I shared ways to increase traffic to your blog – or any ‘primary content’, whether blog, video or podcast – by making some simple improvements to your Copywriting (e.g., better headlines, titles) and by increasing your email Open Rates and social media post engagement. 

But even if you were to double your email open rates, you’re still NOT DONE optimizing. Because once you’ve gotten your subscriber to open the email or read the social media post promoting your primary content, there’s still the job of getting them to read through it so they make their way to the link to that blog/podcast/video – and then the job of getting them to click on that link! 

Increase Traffic to Your Blog by Upping Your CTR

In other words, we gotta up our click-through rate (CTR). And that’s typically done by doing one or more of the following:

A. Designing emails (and social media posts) that hold reader interest so they read all the way through and are otherwise more likely to click on the call-to-action (CTA) link that brings them to the primary content on your site or other content platform. 

B. Crafting titles for our primary content (blogs/podcasts/videos) that maximize interest, so that when the reader sees that title, they think, “I can’t NOT click to read/hear/watch that!” 

C. Creating enticing copy, properly placed in the text of the email, to further “seal the deal” on the decision to click. 

You’ll note the emphasis on interest. Which may sound obvious, but with an industry average CTR of just 3%, most emails ain’t cuttin’ it in the interest department for 97% of our audiences! That’s 97% of your email recipients who WON’T SEE the blog, podcast or video you busted your butt on! 

So how do we beat these lousy odds? In this post I’ll focus on A., above, with 7 Secrets for Emails that Convert to Clicks. 

Increase Traffic to Your Blog by Designing Better Emails

ONE: Once we score an email open with a great subject line, we need to draw those eyes down through the email and make that click happen. So the first thing our audience should see is that the email is SHORT!

Yes, some emails can be long, story-driven affairs. But most emails trying to get a click to your primary content should signal immediately to the reader that, “This is an easy, quick read.”

When we see a looooong email we think, “Ruh-roh – I don’t have time for this now. I’ll read it later…” – and later never comes.

So try to keep it to no more than four paragraphs.

TWO: Next, they need to see a headline that delivers interest by reminding them why they opened the email and why they should keep reading.

Ideally, it flows from the subject line, and is a pain or gain point for which the blog/podcast/video is the SOLUTION.

For example, the email that may have brought you to this blog had the subject line, “Frustrated with Too Few Clicks in Your Emails?” – and then once opened, delivered the headline, “Learn 7 Secrets for Emails that Convert to Clicks”.

That headline sits either above or just below the…

THREE: Greeting that is personalized, e.g, “Hi [FIRSTNAME]” as the greeting. We might also personalize another part of the email text closer to the CTA, and even the subject line on occasion.

According to an Experian study, personalized emails deliver six times higher transaction rates.

FOUR: And present bulleted value-bombs that the content will deliver, e.g., “In this blog/video/podcast I share…

1. The 3 non-negotiables for TBD;
2. A key insight into why we TBD; and...
3. One quick-win solution for TBD.”

FIVE: If possible, add a bonus! E.g., “Plus, learn how to get my free TBD!” (value-bomb checklist, ebook, video, etc.)

SIX: One CTA! This one’s critical. Yes, you can and should have multiple links to your latest piece of primary content. But not multiple links to multiple different things – which just reduces the number of clicks to that key content!

For any given email – or social media post, for that matter – we must ask ourselves, “What one thing do I want them to do as a result of opening and reading this email/post?” THAT is your One CTA. (Note: Though it's OK to have social media links in your signature.) 

SEVEN: "The Power of the P.S. Strategy" -- which I put in quotes as a tip-of-the-hat to Amy Porterfield, who mastered this. You should always have a P.S. of some kind that shares the link to the content again. But include in that P.S. another quick reason-to-click – whether a reiteration of the pain point your content resolves, a tease of the promised solution, or a reminder of the bonus on offer.

I’m rooting for you to boost the visibility of your great content by upping your click-through rates!

What are your thoughts on this topic? I'd love to know. Shoot me an email at [email protected] or DM me on Instagram @alanpbrown.

And remember: Whatever's in your way is yours to CRUSH!

Bless,

APB