eMarket2 Blogs

Hello again. In my last blog post I spoke about the disturbing 0.5% action rate of the typical email broadcast.  Today I want to share some thoughts on what you can do about it.

Dodging the bouncers

You’ll know that a bouncer is a person employed to eject troublemakers and to prevent unwanted people from entering an establishment. Back in my more reckless youth, I discovered that the most reliable way of getting past any bouncer was to conform to the dress code and refrain from disorderly behaviour. The same philosophy applies to emails.  Metaphorically speaking, I’ve been dodging bouncers ever since, in my quest to find a way through the many road blocks, dead ends and diversions that can potentially sabotage an email broadcast.

Data quality

Your first step is to check the quality of your data. Even with the best lists, a number of bounce-backs are inevitable, due to temporary server failure, very recent ‘goneaways’, job changes, etc.  But by using a professionally cleaned and updated list, sourced from a reputable supplier, you’ll greatly reduce the incidence of bounce-backs.

Email content and design

Review your email content and design. Does your content contain ‘banned’ words or phrases that are destined to be picked up by SPAM filters?  Such words include: Free! 50% off! Click Here! Etc.  And these are just the obvious ones – there are hundreds more, my personal favourite being the delightfully ironic ‘This isn’t spam’

Speaking of irony, are your certain that YOUR sender’s address isn’t considered as SPAM? Because unless the ISPs recognise your address as a legitimate e-marketing source, you’re likely to get yourself ‘slapped’ as SPAM!

‘From’ line & subject line

 

Does your ‘from’ line clearly identify the sender? And if so, does it inspire confidence? Does your subject line entice? Or is it bland, vague or uninspiring? Like a good headline, an effective subject line should achieve one or all of the following: 1/ Appeal to self-interest: ‘Earn £10,000 a month as an XYZ reseller’; 2/ curiosity: ‘What Katie Price and Barak Obama know about selling’; 3/ news: ‘SALE: 70% off Mp3 players for one day!’ You get the idea…

When do you use each type of headline? If you’ve got an irresistible offer, say so loud and clear in your subject line – i.e. go for a news / self-interest angle. But if your subject is likely to have limited face-value appeal, give little away in the subject line. Instead, appeal to your readers’ innate curiosity via an indirect headline.

Your copy

Is your email copy well-written and to the point. Does it present an irresistible case for your product? Is it copy-light, or does it ramble? Does it conclude with a strong call to action?  Relying on weak or amateurish copy can seriously compromise a campaign.

Your template

Poorly designed templates account for a high proportion of all failed emails. Surveys show that 45% of all images are blocked by ISPs and email clients. This can be caused by poor HTML coding, incorrect formatting, including too many images, or too much use of one colour.

That’s all for the moment – but I’m far from finished on this subject. In part 3 of this blog entry I’ll be sharing some advanced techniques to guarantee reliable email deliver.  Until then, thanks for reading.

And always to a higher response!

Norman

Drop us an email now to see how quickly we can generate sales leads for your business