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#ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Create Customer-Centric Email Content with Kristen Dunleavy

by | Mar 31, 2017 | ContentWritingChat

#ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Create Customer-Centric Email Content with Kristen Dunleavy

Could your email marketing use a major boost? If so, you’re in luck! This week’s #ContentWritingChat was all about how to create customer-centric email content. Keep reading for the recap and be sure to apply these tips to your next email newsletter!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Create Customer-Centric Email Content with Kristen Dunleavy

Our guest host this week was Kristen Dunleavy. Kristen frequently joins #ContentWritingChat as a participant, so we were excited to have her step in and guest host. As the Content Marketing Manager for Movable Ink, she had tons of great tips to share on email content.

Q1: How do you define customer-centric email content?

So, what exactly does customer-centric email content mean? To kick off this week’s chat, we asked our participants to share their definitions of it. Here’s what they had to say:

Kristen said that customer-centric email content spotlights your customer and their interactions with your brand. While this may seem simple, it’s a great way to show your customers that you appreciate them. They’ll love it!

To do this, focus on your customers by using testimonials, personalized content, and addressing their needs.

Julia’s advice is to make your email content all about your customers. Don’t try to sell to them until you’ve built a relationship with them. After all, you need to build a level of trust first before they ever take that next step.

Maureen said this kind of email content provides value and speaks in a tone that your customers understands. This is key to remember not just for creating email content, but also blog posts, social media posts, and much more.

As Elizabeth said, it’s important to create email content that’s useful for your customers, but it should also help you reach your end goals. Know what you hope to achieve with each email you send and create the content that will help you get there.

Give, give, give! One thing to remember when creating email content is that you should give to your audience more than you ask of them. As Bill said, you can do this by addressing the key pain points your audience is facing.

Q2: What are the benefits of creating customer-centric email content?

Now that you know what customer-centric email content it is, you need to know the benefits it can provide to you. Here’s what some of the chat participants had to say:

Kristen knows that spotlighting your customers is a great way to build trust with your audience. Having a certain level of trust is key if you ever want to convert those subscribers into customers and this is a great way to go about it.

Bill agrees that it’s a great way to build trust with your audience. By adding value and having an audience that trusts you, you’ll see higher open rates and click-through rates.

Maureen said its benefits include: trust, self-selection, tribe integration, and the satisfaction of a job well done.

Cheval said it’s a great way to create a community around your business. It’s also essential to help you build a relationship with your subscribers.

Customer-centric email content is one way to make your audience feel special. When they feel special, they’ll appreciate your brand even more.

Email is such a personal form of communication, so use that to your advantage. It’s an amazing way to connect with your audience.

Q3: How is featuring your customers in your emails different from other mediums?

Emails are just one place you can feature your customers. You can also do so on social media and your blog. But how is it different when it’s done through email? Check out these answers from the chat:

As Kristen said, email is very personal so you should make your content feel that way as well. If people chose to let you into their inbox, you need to deliver content that speaks to them.

Sarah said email feels more like a one-on-one interaction. lt’s much more personal than social media or advertisements.

JMatt agrees that email feels more personal than other platforms. Plus, he likes that they’re no character limit to restrict you when you’re sending to someone’s inbox.

Elizabeth said it can make people feel as though they’re part of a group. Because we all love to be included, it’s a great way to establish a sense of community.

Jason suggests adding user-generated content (UGC) into your emails to show that you care about what your customers say. It also lets them know that you’re paying attention and listening to them.

Q4: What are some ideas for spotlighting your customers in your emails?

Now that you know the benefits customer-centric email content can provide your brand, it’s time to come up with some ideas for your next email. Here are a few ways you can spotlight your customers in your newsletters:

Kristen recommends sharing testimonials from happy customers as well as user-generated content. It’s a great way to tell your story through the eyes of your customers.

Jenn said to share some success stories in your emails. She suggests sharing what your customers are doing and how you empowered them to make it happen. Other people will see the value you provide to your customers and they’ll want to know more.

This is a great response from Bill. He said to avoid focusing on what your business has done for a customer. Instead, focus on what your work has allowed that customer to do. That will speak to the rest of your audience and won’t come off as overly salesy.

Jacob’s advice is to use customer-centric email content to tell the story of your customers. Share how they succeeded with the solution you provide and offer tips on how others can replicate this.

Try sharing customer accomplishments, testimonials, and other customer stories that are helpful to the rest of your audience.

Jeremy knows that transformation stories are pretty powerful. He suggests telling an inspiring story about how someone overcame adversity.

Jason’s advice is to ask questions in order to get feedback from your audience. You can then share the results with the rest of your audience. As he said, people love to share their opinion and it helps them feel valued.

Q5: What are the biggest challenges when it comes to featuring your customers?

Creating customer-centric email content isn’t without its challenges. Here’s where you could hit road blocks so you know what to avoid:

As Kristen said, getting permission to share testimonials and stories from your audience can be tricky. Not everyone is willing to contribute or give permission for public sharing. Always ask your audience first and let them know the value it would provide to others by sharing their story with them.

She also suggests setting a goal first. Know what you want to convey to the rest of your audience by showcasing a particular customer.

Important questions to ask: Can you mention this customer? Are there restrictions? Is there any sensitive information? Does the customer want to be featured?

Julia knows getting data can definitely be a challenge. She suggests offering free content or coupons as an incentive to get people to contribute.

As Jeremy said, many people struggle with fear or shyness when it comes to sharing their story. This can hold customers back from being open with you.

Q6: What are some best practices for featuring your customers in emails?

To make sure you’e featuring your customers and doing it in the best way possible, keep this advice in mind:

Kristen reminded us that we need to receive permission from customers before sharing their stories. It’s also important to make sure you don’t release any sensitive information when sharing.

She also suggests letting customers know where testimonials and user-generated content will be used so they know in advance.

Always ask first! Don’t assume your customer wants to be featured.

Choose your email content wisely. Patrice said the content you include needs to appeal to your audience and be relevant.

Sarah also agrees that it needs to be relevant to everyone on your email list.

This one should be obvious, but unfortunately it’s something that people are guilty of doing. Don’t make up customer reviews or testimonials. It’s misleading to your audience. So, if you don’t have any reviews to share, ask previous customers for them.

Q7: What are some tips for getting to know your audience better?

In order to create customer-centric email content that resonates with your audience, you need to get to know them and understand them. Here’s how you can do that to create your best content possible:

The best way to get to know your audience is to just ask! Kristen recommends creating a survey and sending it to your email list. Ask key questions to understand who your audience is and what they need from you.

Make sure you take the time to actually talk to your audience and listen to what they have to say. It shows that you care and gets you all the information you need to know about them.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions to get the conversation going. Sarah suggests finding out where your audience hangs out online and being present there.

Once you find your audience online, make sure you’er also listening to what they have to say and reading the content they share. It’s a great way to get insight into their needs.

Communication is key! Talk to your audience and focus on building a relationship with them if you want to get to know them better.

Zala is absolutely right about that! Getting to know your audience is a never-ending task and there’s always something new to learn. This is why you need to be proactive about it.

Julia suggests creating a customer persona so you know exactly who you’re trying to reach with your content. From there, spend time getting to know them in a non-stalkerish kind of way.

Q8: What are some great examples of customer-centric email content?

To learn more about creating customer-centric email content, we asked our chat participants to share some great examples with us. Check out these suggestions:

Kristen loves Spotify’s Tracked campaign. She said it’s a great use of data to tell a personalized story.

Another example Kristen is a fan of is Glossier. Showcasing people using their products is a great way to spark interest and encourage purchases.

For Julia, she’s a big fan of Panera’s emails. They’re relevant to the purchases she makes and to her unique preferences.

Curated said Time Out London does a great job at tailoring their email content for customers.

Emily suggests sharing birthday promotions, individualized product recommendations based on previous orders, and customizing your marketing to the customer.

We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM Central Time for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!

Tags: email | email marketing | email writing | emails tips