Key takeaways
- Use targeted messages. Tailored emails that reflect recipients’ behaviours and attributes are about 90% more viral than untargeted ones.
- Send inherently shareable content. Community events, news stories, in‑store reminders and trade show announcements get forwarded more often.
- Evoke positive emotions. Awe, amusement, laughter and joy increase forwards, pair them with practical, actionable uses (charitable causes, hobbies) to deepen sharing.
- Write a winning subject line. Lead with an interesting stat, a unique promise or emotionally charged language to boost opens and make forwarding more likely.
- Ask for a forward. A direct sign‑off like “Be sure to share this with someone else!” makes emails about 13 times more likely to be forwarded.
Introduction
While there’s no doubt that we live in a digital-first world that often focuses exclusively on online experiences, that doesn’t mean that the most powerful way to grow brand awareness – word of mouth endorsements from friends and family members – is no longer part of the picture. However, how people learn about products and services from one another has changed significantly. To ensure that you’re tapping into this vital piece of the marketing puzzle, let’s cover five simple tips that are sure to cause a forwarding-frenzy within your inbox audience and help spread your latest deals and offers to every corner of the web.
Targeted Messages Go Viral Faster
At the top of the list of ways to generate more forwards for your inbox content, The HubSpot Blog’s Lauren Smith points out that it’s hard to go wrong with a targeted message. These tailor-made selections take into account the behaviors, habits, and attributes of your audience members, thereby creating an offering that jumps off the screen – even in the most cluttered of inboxes.
While personalized and targeted content might seem like it is better suited to the needs of an individual consumer, Smith notes that these offerings usually end up being 90 percent more viral than their untargeted counterparts. The big key here is that friends and family members have many interests and defining qualities in common, so targeted messages actually hone in on these bonds and create plenty of opportunities for forwarding and increased exposure.
Focus on Something That’s Inherently Shareable
Smith also points out that your brand can gain a boost in forwards by keying in on content that’s inherently shareable. Specifically, community events and news stories fit this billing and run rampant through inboxes as contacts seek out discussion and insight from trusted sources.
Whether you’re sending out a friendly reminder about an upcoming in-store event or announcing your participation in a trade show or other similar gathering, keeping a finger on the pulse of these highly shareable happenings is one of the most powerful ways to position your brand at the heart of the inbox conversation.
Play to Positive Emotions
In terms of your actual message content, Marketing Tech Blog’s Douglas Karr explains that playing to positive emotions can help boost the number of forwards and shares generated by your marketed emails. People love to experience awe, amusement, laughter, and joy, so tethering your brand to these emotion gives readers a great reason to engage with others and share these positive feelings.
Going a step further, Karr suggests that if you are able to blend in interesting, practical, or surprising applications for this content, then you’ve really struck email marketing gold. Actionable responses to the good vibes generated by your content – via showcasing a charitable cause, ways to enjoy a new hobby, etc. – takes the sharing process beyond a simple forward and creates a scenario in which your brand not only relates to positive interaction in the inbox, but real-world events and occurrences as well.
Hit on a Winning Subject Line
Of course, it’s near impossible to generate a forward if your readers can’t be bothered to click the “open” button in the first. Unfortunately, too many brands fall prey to this email marketing roadblock – all thanks to lackluster or flat-out boring message subject lines.
Aside from giving your audience a solid reason to open the email, catchy subject lines also serve as the perfect “look at this!” attribute when a viewer is deciding whether or not to forward the message to a friend or family member. Depending on the content of your email, leading off with an interesting stat, a promise of something unique to the reader, or even more emotionally-charged concepts and ideas all help boost open and forward rates.
Ask Your Audience for a Forward
Finally, don’t be afraid to just come out and ask for the reader to forward this message to someone else who might be interested. As mundane as this approach sounds initially, the truth of the matter is that this practice stands as one of the most effective ways to increase the amount of forwards generated by your email marketing content.
In total, emails that sign off with “Be sure to share this with someone else!” or a similar request are 13 times more likely to end up being forwarded to a new inbox. This means that as long as you ask your audience for a little help along the way, and utilize the rest of what you’ve learned here, there’s no reason why your email content can’t go viral via the modern world’s take on word-of-mouth marketing.
FAQ
Targeted, personalized messages are reported to be about 90% more viral than untargeted counterparts because they match recipients’ behaviours, habits and shared interests, increasing the chance recipients will forward them.
Content tied to community events and news stories is inherently shareable. Examples include reminders about upcoming in‑store events and announcements of participation in trade shows or similar gatherings.
Play to positive emotions such as awe, amusement, laughter and joy. Then add interesting, practical or surprising applications, such as showcasing a charitable cause or ways to enjoy a new hobby to turn a simple forward into real‑world engagement.
Give readers a clear reason to open and forward: lead with an interesting statistic, promise something unique to the reader or use emotionally charged language that reads like a “look at this!” prompt.
Yes. Emails that sign off with a direct request such as “Be sure to share this with someone else!” are about 13 times more likely to be forwarded. Include a simple, polite call‑to‑action asking recipients to share with someone who might be interested.
Targeted messages hone in on interests and defining qualities that people within social circles often share, so the content resonates across friends and family and creates more opportunities for forwarding and wider exposure.
Start by combining a targeted message or inherently shareable content with a clear call‑to‑action asking recipients to forward the message. This mix leverages relevance, shareability and a direct request to increase forwards.
