Let's Get Personal
I know the idea of marketing to a large group—let alone the world—can be pretty intimidating. We panic and try to address everyone at once like they're all sitting in some massive auditorium waiting with baited breath to read our email or tweet or whatever. We write articles that might as well be subtitled “An Open Letter to the Internet.” It's great if you've found your brand's voice, but what good will that do if your customers feel like just another number in your following?
When it comes to social media (and yes, I'm guilty of this one too), a lot of us write like we're addressing the whole entire Internet when we're really not. You're not addressing the world. The population of earth did not call a meeting to collectively scroll through your feed. These are people—individuals. And we should be speaking to them that way.
Special, Tailored, Personal.
Whether your email subscriber list is 10 people or 10,000, it doesn't matter when it comes to crafting those messages. You're not writing an email to your whole list. You're sending an email to one person—just one.
So why not write your content that way? Drop the “Hey All” and keep it personal. Add things like merge tags to insert your subscriber's first name. This may seem like a small thing to you, but these little details will set you apart and make your subscriber feel special.
Speak to your loyal followers as the wonderful individuals they are.
It's easy to get fixated on the numbers of our followings, but here's the reminder you may or may not need. Your followers are people—shiny, unique, beautiful individuals with their own stories and challenges and victories. They follow you because they recognize some special spark in you and they want to support you. Speak to your loyal followers as the wonderful individuals they are.
So how will you speak to your supportive subscriber? Your amazingly engaged follower? Your loyal customer? Write your content in a way that makes her feel more like a friend than just another name in your list of names.
