Few are strangers to the hundreds of “junk” emails coming in daily from stores, websites, spam, etcetera, etcetera. When 95% of online consumers are connected through email, it’s inevitable that you are going to get contacted by the good, the bad, and the just plain strange via email.
However, running email campaigns are quite possibly the easiest, quickest, and cheapest way to reach a mass amount of your target audience. Email campaigns are a great way to send out crucial information, distribute coupons, or create awareness of your latest promotions and sales. So how can you ensure your business emails don’t end up in the trash or even worse, the bottomless pit that is the spam folder? Here are some tips, tricks, and best practices to earn your spot at the top of the read inbox folder.
1.) First and foremost, get permission to send.
If your recipients did not ask to receive your emails nor did they sign up for an email list, that is a one-way ticket to the spam folder. Buying email addresses, harvesting from business cards, and looking online does not count as permission. Also, you are legally required to provide opt-out information in every email you send, with a one-click opt-out option being preferable. If your emails get marked as spam by enough recipients, ALL of your emails may be blocked.
2.) Get them to open it.
Write interesting subject lines to grab the recipient’s attention and make them want to know more. Subject lines should be short, sweet, and to the point with no more than eight words to keep the reader wanting more. Mobile phones can only see about half as many characters as a laptop or desktop screen so make those characters count!
3.) Make it easy to read on the go.
With most everyone owning a smartphone in this day and age, a responsive email will result in more of your recipients actually reading your emails. Make sure your email loads easily on a mobile phone without an overwhelming amount of images. Over half of decision makers read their emails on a mobile device, making this one of the most important things you can do.
4.) Market less.
We can’t repeat it enough! Give your consumers valuable information about what they are actually interested in, not just your latest marketing gimmick. A good way to do this is by segmenting your email lists to send certain information to highly targeted lists to ensure you are sending the most relevant and valuable information to the right people.
5.) Quality over Quantity.
According to Blue Hornet, the top reason people unsubscribe from an email program is due to frequency. I personally know this to be true because it is exactly why I just went through my thirty inbox emails and unsubscribed to every single one of them (which is more time consuming than you would think). Your emails should include special offers, promotions, and unique content. Also, “getting them to open it” will be much harder if your email campaign consists of daily or even hourly emails that are just mediocre.
Following these small steps can make a big impact when trying to reach your audience, whether you are a small business or multi-billion dollar corporation. Email is fast, easy, cheap, and efficient; what more could you ask for from a marketing campaign? Keep up with our blog for more information on hot topics in the online marketing industry.
