The typical individual has an attention span of eight seconds. That’s correct, individuals nowadays lose focus within eight seconds. According to Microsoft study, a goldfish has a higher attention span than humans, with a remarkable nine-second attention span.

So, what does this short attention span imply for marketers using email to attract subscribers and convert customers? Today, we’ll show you how to write effective emails in the era of the eight-second attention span.

Remember that email isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution

Because your audience is inundated with marketing communications from several firms, your email must stand out. That implies batch-and-blast emails, which are irrelevant to individual subscribers, will no longer suffice.

You must make good use of your eight seconds. By segmenting your list, you may reach out to consumers with relevant content. What precisely is segmentation? Segmentation is the process of categorizing your email contacts based on comparable characteristics. You may divide your list by gender, purchasing frequency, or geography. You may send personalized emails to each group by segmenting your list.

To boost relevance, begin sending emails to segregated groups. This increases your chances of reaching your target audience in those crucial 8 seconds.

Personalization must be easily identifiable

Personalization begins with segmenting your contact list, but it does not end there. You need your subscribers to realize that you took the effort to design emails that are relevant to them. You must supply recognized customizations to do this.

To put it another way, you must tailor an email such that a subscriber can view it in eight seconds. Here’s how to send a customized email to the eighth reader:

Add the initial name of a subscriber to the subject line

Adding a subscriber’s name to the subject line is one of the most noticeable methods to alert them that they are reading a customized email. Consider the following topic lines. Each includes the subscriber’s first name, Lisa. The subscriber can see right once that this isn’t simply another email; it’s a customized message.

To customize email content, use dynamic content

Dynamic content allows you to modify a portion of your email depending on who gets it. For example, if you want to advertise a new clothing line and exhibit men’s and women’s styles, you may utilize dynamic content.

Using dynamic content, the product photographs presented inside the email will alter dependent on the gender of the subscriber. A user reads the email in seconds and sees a full line of garments that they might wear.

Subscribers should be recommended items

Consider sending emails based on a subscriber’s previous purchases or browsing behavior for a more sophisticated personalisation strategy. Use this data to create appropriate product recommendations to subscribers.

In the subject line, tease the product ideas so that recipients know the email includes things of interest. Show product photographs as well so that subscribers may rapidly scan images. Flight Centre, for example, sent this email to a member after noting she was looking for tickets to Vegas.

For scanability, use headings and large print

Subscribers will not read everything you write. They will instead scan them. Set material separate using headings or subheadings to make it easier for recipients to read your email. Subscribers will most likely read the headline before skimming the remainder of the article. You may also use a boldface font to direct the reader’s attention to an essential area of the email.

Consider the email below from Campaign Monitor customer Jaybird. Take note of the email’s header and the bold words in the body.

Include a catchy CTA button

Because CTAs are often put at the bottom of emails, they are one of the final things a subscriber will scan. Make a CTA button instead of a hyperlink to make it stand out.

Furthermore, use a bold color that is used sparingly throughout the email and make it large enough for an index finger or a thumb to touch effortlessly. According to MIT study, you should strive for a CTA that is roughly 20mm broad, or about 57 pixels. (MIT really conducted research on the typical finger size and the needed CTA size for optimal clicking.)

Conclusion

Creating a message that stands out has long been a goal for marketers. With diminishing attention spans, it’s much more difficult. If you only have eight seconds of a subscriber’s attention, you must make the most of each second. Using the advice provided above, you can improve your delivery, design, and text to ensure that subscribers surpass their eight-second restriction.