5 Ways MSPs Can Write Better Marketing Emails

by Dan Tomaszewski on December 9, 2021

Email marketing is an effective method for spreading the word about your managed services provider (MSP). However, it must be done strategically — not as an afterthought or as something that your prospects and customers may misinterpret as spam.

Marketing via email is not only cost-effective but also allows you to educate your clients and prospects about the benefits of managed services and other thought leadership matters. This helps keep your offerings relevant, which could result in valuable business down the road.

While some believe that the rise of social media has rendered email marketing obsolete, this is not the case. You have more competition and need to take extra steps to stand out.

Email allows you to communicate directly with your target audience in their inbox, and when combined with the correct messaging, email can become one of your most effective marketing tools.

Follow these five email-writing best practices to improve your opens, click-throughs and responses:

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1. Make the subject line actionable

While you want your emails to be personalized and friendly, using “hello” or “introduction” in the subject line is unlikely to get you anywhere. People are interested in how reading a communication will help them. So, think about how the reader will benefit from reading the email while developing your subject line, and then construct your message.

You can use tools like this to evaluate the efficiency of your subject line before sending an email. To entice the recipient, always put the value upfront. For example, “[eBook] 6 Factors to Consider When Refreshing Your Technology Infrastructure” may be enough to pique the interest of someone looking to refresh their IT infrastructure.

Don’t mislead your recipients with an appealing subject line, only to underdeliver on the actual offer. Although using a “clickbait” subject line may increase open rates, your target audience will not trust you the next time you send email communication.

2. Make the introductory greeting personal

Consider the following scenarios: You receive emails from two different services that claim to solve a specific problem of yours, but one of them addresses you by name and the other does not. Which one will come to mind when you are looking for a solution to your problem? Probably the one that addressed you by name.

Making the introductory greeting personal helps create a special affinity in the minds of your target audience.

Begin by saying “Hi [First Name],” then aim to personalize the introductory sentence based on what you know about that contact, such as their role, place of work or a conference you both recently attended.

3. Craft your message to be scannable

When writing a marketing email, avoid overburdening the reader with long paragraphs and a lot of copy in the email’s body. Keep the following points in mind when designing your email so that your target audience can quickly read and understand the main message:

Place a strong value statement at the top
Make important phrases and statistics stand out by highlighting them
Use bullet points or numbered lists

Scannable email messages are especially crucial for prospects and customers who open and read their emails on smaller devices like mobile phones.

4. Give something of value

Giving something of value to your target audience is an excellent way to improve engagement with them. It could be:

A tip or piece of advice
An anecdote or brief testimonial
A piece of content (such as an eBook or link to a blog post on your site where they can learn more about a relevant topic)

5. Include a clear call to action (CTA)

Because an email should continue the interaction between a brand and its target audience, these simple prompts toward the end distinguish good emails from great ones. Effective call-to-actions (CTAs) are a must-have in the toolkit of any email marketer.

To assuage fears and boost conversion rates, remember to make your emails clear, helpful (for them, not you), less “salesy” and more focused on the pain points.

Are you already a member of Powered Services Pro? Log in to your account to gain access to email templates for promoting your services. Don’t have a Powered Services Pro account? Contact your Account Manager or NCA Rep to learn more.