The 10 Commandments of
E-Mail Marketing
I don’t know about you, but I get lots of spam. It’s true that I’ve opted in for some of it. And I opt-out when I see that the info I’ve asked for is sent much more often than I’m interested in receiving it. But on the other side of the coin, as an email marketer, there are things we can do to improve our open, response and delivery rates.
The 10 Commandments
1. Get permission
Sometimes, this seems like a painfully slow way to build a list. But starting your relationship off on the right foot will do wonders for your reputation and insures that your list is targeted.
2. Identify Yourself.*
Use the FROM line to give accurate information about you or your company. I have learned to automatically delete any message when I don’t recognize the sender’s name and the subject line doesn’t make sense. How many times can you be asked if you want to buy a fake Rolex without losing your mind?
3. Make Opt-Out a Breeze*
In every email, give the recipient an easy way to opt-out. Then remove their name quickly (if it’s not done automatically) from your list when they do so.
4. Write a Relevant SUBJECT Line*
The subject line can be intriguing, clever or a “teaser” but make sure it accurately represents the topic of your email content. Recipients will unsubscribe if they think their time is being wasted or that they’re being tricked.
5. Provide a snail mail address.*
We know from direct marketing that the more ways you give people to contact you, the better your rate of response. The same applies here so provide an email, snail mail address and phone number in every electronic message.
6. Create a 2-way communication
Ask for feed back from your customers and recipients. Ask for ideas. Build the relationship over time by staying in touch on a regular basis.
7. Get listed in their address book
This helps get your email directly to the to the recipients’ inbox and allows your images to be displayed correctly.
8. Use Text AND Images
If your recipient has chosen to receive their email in text only, your content will still get through. If you can’t avoid having some of the text within an image, insert a link to a text version.
9. Use the Spam filter
Test your email with a spam-filter. Consider changing the mailing until the filter score is low enough. This increases the likelihood that your email will get through. You can either send a sample email to yourself (if you have a robust spam-filter installed on your computer or server), or use an online service such as EmailReach.com, which tests your email through all the current spam filters.
10. Avoid excess punctuation, extraneous characters and capitalization
ISPs and spam filters are now wise to the use of FR3E, FR_E!!!, and numerous other variations. By now they are, at best, gimmicky cliches. AND IT NEVER HURTS TO HAMMER HOME THE POINT THAT USING ALL CAPITALS SLOWS READABILITY.
These are ten really simple, common sense rules, not issued by a higher authority. Use this list consistently and watch your delivery, open and response rates climb.
*CAN-SPAM act of 2003 has made “commandments” into law. Read more details about the CAN-SPAM act.
Enrico Design can help you get your message to your target audience with impact and memorability in print and on the web. Whatever your organizational goals, we keep you top-of-mind with your customers and prospects. Visit www.enricodesign.com, call 781-631-2520 or contact us by e-mail.
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