E-mail Marketing Best Practices
In a recent poll, 83.2 percent of marketers selected e-mail marketing as the most important advertising tool they will use in 2007. If you read between the lines, that statistic translates into an influx of e-mail in an already crowded Inbox, at least from a customer’s point of view. With e-mail not only being the preferred method of contact, but also the quickest and easiest way to reach business professionals, marketers today face new challenges to capture attention and deliver ROI.
A 2005 study indicated that end users are willing to have an e-mail relationship with 12 to 16 companies. How do you ensure that your company is one of them?
It all starts with design. If your e-mail is not visually appealing, it’s not likely to be read. A few simple design tips will increase those chances. Marketers, aim for a few well-spaced headlines with short teaser paragraphs on the main page, rather than filling the page with copy. The template should be clean and not overcrowded with graphics. Logos and marketing offers should be included “above the fold” so that recipients can see them in their reading panes without having to scroll. A well laid out main page allows the recipient to take the newsletter in at a glance – and quickly see which pieces of content are of most value.
Visual appeal is not just about using graphics or eye-catching colors – with e-mail, content is king. Content should be compelling and insightful. When creating content keep in mind what is most important to your recipients – and what is the value-add. And, while it is important to reinforce your brand in a newsletter, it should not be an overt sales pitch.
Spam guidelines must also be considered when creating e-mail. Business professionals receive an average of 100 e-mails per day, and companies are continually enhancing their Spam filters to eliminate unsolicited items. The 2004 CAN-SPAM act put into place several general guidelines for marketers to increase the likelihood that their message will be delivered. Each e-mail sent must:
- Contain an accurate domain name and address in the To and From lines;
- Contain a legitimate, valid subject line;
- Include a valid physical address; and
- Be marked as a promotional piece.
In addition to these guidelines, it also is a requirement to include opt in and opt out links for recipients. Excessive punctuation and words such as “free,” “guarantee,” “money back,” etc. will trigger Spam filters and should be avoided.
When it comes to deliverability, there is not a hard and fast rule regarding when to deploy an e-mail. It can vary based on the type of e-mail, the industry, etc. But technology is progressing to help eliminate the tough “send time” decision. Senders can now distribute e-mail to recipients so that it arrives at the same time the recipient opened the last communication.
Open rates and click-through rates vary widely – for example, a newsletter to a group of existing clients who are already familiar with your company will likely have a much higher open rate than a newsletter delivered to a large group of prospective clients who may not have heard about you. General industry averages indicate:
- Deliverability: 88 percent;
- Open rate: 30 percent; and
- Click-through rate: 12 percent
Because each industry is unique, it’s important to develop key performance indicators for yours. Using the reporting features in your e-mail marketing software is the best way to determine what works and what doesn’t – from e-mail creative to deliverability.
E-mail marketing has a three to 10 times higher ROI than any other online or offline marketing tool – making it a critical communication tool for today’s marketers. At communications 21, our proprietary Direct Dialogue e-mail marketing program is an effective tool utilized by nearly 80 percent of our clients. If you would like to learn more about how e-mail marketing can be a part of the success of your organization, please contact Sharon Goldmacher. |
