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 E-Mail Marketing: Good Short-Term Tactics and Killer Long-Term StrategiesBY REGINA BRADY March 2001 Volume 1, Issue 1 Email has emerged as the most powerful application on the Internet. Here are some quick tips that can be useful for any company involved in email marketing. Subject lines Make sure your subject line is KILLER. An email is useless if it is deleted, and it’s often the subject line that compels the recipient to open the email. Make sure to include value for the reader. Keep your subject line short – ideally to 35 characters – because some mail programs will only display that amount. And, be careful of the use of the word FREE – some companies use that as a spam filter and if FREE is in the header, it will not get delivered. Your first line is extremely important Many people have their email set up so that the first line or two of a message is displayed while the mail is in the in box. Furthermore, studies have shown that 50 percent of readers look at the first two lines and decide whether to keep reading. Personalized email is guaranteed to outpull People are more likely to continue reading if the salutation (or sometimes even the subject line) speaks directly to the individual instead of “Dear Reader.” And personalization doesn’t have to just stop at the salutation. It is very easy to use additional data elements to personalize an email message. For example, a publisher might thank the subscriber for being a customer for three years. Include an opt out in every mailing Email marketing is permission marketing and it’s mandatory that each and every message provide the recipient with the opportunity to elect to not receive subsequent communications. This does NOT apply to customer service emails. Once you’ve established a regular communication pattern with your customers, your opt-out rate should be under half of one percent. The best time and day to mail if you’re a B2B marketer This tip came from Cahners and is based on some extensive testing. In the “old” days, conventional wisdom was that you wanted to mail either late Sunday night or very early Monday morning to make sure the message was one of the first things the recipient saw when they logged into their email. Times have changed! Now, it’s Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday at 10:00 am. Of course, if everyone moves to this schedule it will change again! AOL names should be treated separately You need to code your links differently for AOL to make sure they are “clickable.” It’s an easy thing to do, but if you don’t, your response will be negatively impacted. Newer versions of AOL don’t require this, but there is no easy way to determine what version of AOL a person might use. HTML generates 3 times the response of text emails A picture is worth a thousand words and HTML allows you to present your offers and content in a much more compelling fashion. So, if possible, send HTML email. There are ways to detect whether or not an individual can receive HTML called “auto-sensing” or “sniffer” technology. Keep it short! Recipients need to scroll down to read a full email message so make sure all your important information and primary links are “above the fold.” Acquisition emails should be no more than three or four paragraphs. Retention emails can be longer, but ideally no more than one and a half screens. How often can you email? There is no easy answer, but you can use your opt-out rates as a barometer. If you see your opt-out rate climbing, you know that either the content you are sending or the frequency of your emails need to be addressed. Most marketers are mailing no more than once a week. Have the message signed by a person and consider including your 800 phone number This gives a much more personal flavor to the email and to your company. Offline contact information should increase your order rates and customer satisfaction. Regina Brady is currently a consultant on interactive and direct marketing. She formerly held executive roles at FloNetwork, Acxiom and CompuServe. A respected industry leader, Brady is active on several industry boards and advisory committees and is a frequent speaker at trade conferences. She can be reached at 203-838-8138 or reginabrady@att.net. Return to Articles | ||||||||||||
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