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The Art of Email…
By Matt Richardson | March 22, 2008
I have been doing mail outs for some of my clients for about a year now, with some very good results. Given the right circumstances mail-outs are great for announcing new products, new features, or in most of the cases that I have dealt with showing the current weeks special.
On that note, I personally feel that mass email is a tool that is rarely used to its full potential. Emails are cheap, and I do mean cheap, usually ranging from a few cents each depending on the volume while other email systems will allow you to send all the emails you would like for one low price. Other than being cheap, if used properly, email “blasts” can be really effective… key part “if used properly”. With that being said here are some of my tips that I think of before starting an email campaign
Know your audience, know your message…
The first thing that I think of when I start a campaign are usually: what am I emailing about, and who am I emailing. The quickest way to lose a customer’s attention is to send out an email about something completely unrelated to their needs. Typically how I start is I look up what is being emailed, then I look up the target demographics, then start mapping out everything I know I need to put in the email and lastly I start to write the email.
Title and Opening…
If you are going to invest all the time and money in making a good email campaign then you will want as many people to open and read your emails as possible. In this regard the title and opening is a great help. The title you use can be the equivalent of link bait for most people. The title should be short, but should bring your audience in. All good titles are nothing without a good opening to follow up, which also should be short, precise and attractive. Try to use word combinations that will help draw people in, if you are in a price driven industry lead off with your best deal for example. Above all find what works best for you.
Consistency is Key…
When people look at your email they want to know who sent it to them with-in the first few seconds of opening. Find a “theme” that follows your company’s ideals. Work out the color scheme, the standard font, the timing, find everything and plan it out first. What a lot of people will do (myself included) is start by create a “Style Guide” something to serve as a guide line for how things should appear. I include the timing intervals for typical emails. For me I usually try to limit it to no more than 3 times a week, unless the need becomes apparent.
K.I.S.S…
Most everyone knows what this means. This one goes along with “knowing your audience” when you look at an email… any email for that matter, you need to keep in consideration of the white space, the negative space and the overall look. The main point is to keep it simple, accessible and above all be careful to avoid clutter.
Don’t be annoying…
The main idea around this is the fear of SPAM. SPAM is bad for 2 basic reasons, One SPAM can be illegal and let’s face it SPAM is annoying. Honestly the easiest way for me to explain this is that it took you a longtime to get the contacts you have, why would you want to throw them away by simply annoying them? One of the best ways to combat being “annoying” is to offer an Opt-Out. An Opt-Out typically is a phrase on the bottom of your email that offers a way to be removed from the mailing list. Don’t think of having to remove some one from your mailing list as being a bad thing, think of it as more of a way to help guide you to your target audience.
Over all I typically use a combination of this list of tips, but I find that every client, and every recipient is different. Keep in mind with every one being different, everyone will have different needs. Over all do what works best for you! So what is stopping you from sending out email mailers?
Topics: Corperate Identity, Help and advice |
