If you’ve ever taken a British car through France, you’ll probably already be wincing.

In May, my husband and I drove to the South of France. It sounded like a great idea when we planned it. Less so somewhere around our twentieth toll booth between Reims and Dijon.

It was a brilliant trip. The only problem? French toll booths weren’t designed with British cars in mind.

Because the steering wheel was on the opposite side, I somehow became responsible for every ticket, barrier, and card payment for the entire holiday. Every couple of hours, we’d reach another toll booth, and the same routine would begin. I’d lean out of the passenger window trying to reach the machine while my husband edged the car closer to the barrier.

We’d get there in the end, although there were a few moments where one of us was convinced we were about to lose a wing mirror.

Meanwhile, the drivers with toll tags just sailed straight through.

Somewhere on the journey, it got me thinking about email marketing.

Most people will take the easier option if you give them one. That’s true on French motorways, and it’s true when somebody receives one of your newsletters.

Booking a meeting shouldn’t feel like work

I still see plenty of newsletters finishing with something like:

“If you’d like to discuss this further, reply to this email with some dates and times that work for you.”

There’s nothing wrong with asking people to reply. The problem is that replying takes effort.

Suddenly your client has to check their diary, draft an email, and wait for somebody to come back to them. Some will do it. Plenty won’t.

That’s why booking tools such as Calendly work so well. We’ve all been caught in those email exchanges where one person suggests Tuesday, the other can’t do Tuesday, and then Wednesday doesn’t work either.

A booking link avoids all that kerfuffle.

It’s hardly revolutionary, but it removes a bit of friction.

Before any of that matters…

We spend a lot of time talking about content, design, and calls to action.

But none of that helps if the email ends up in the void.

The best-written newsletter in the world is no use if nobody sees it.

That’s where SPF, DKIM, and DMARC come in.

Most clients will never ask about them. In fact, most won’t even know they exist. But they play a big role in helping your emails land where they’re supposed to.

If you’d like to learn more, I’ve previously written about Google’s and Yahoo’s authentication requirements here.

Too much choice can be a problem

Another thing I come across regularly is newsletters trying to do too much at once.

Book a meeting.

Download a guide.

Read a blog.

Watch a video.

Follow us on LinkedIn.

Register for an event.

A newsletter starts out with one objective, then another gets added, then another.

Before long, it’s trying to achieve five different things at once.

If I’m reading an email and I’m not sure what the main takeaway is, chances are other people aren’t either.

That’s why it’s worth deciding on the priority before you start building the email.

Once you’ve got the answer, build the email around it.

One final thought

Looking back, I probably should’ve bought the toll tag.

It would’ve saved a lot of stretching, leaning out of windows, and muttering about French road systems.

If you’d like help making your email marketing easier for clients to engage with, get in touch.

You can email us at hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call us on 0115 8965 300.