Rule #1
Work only with a list of opted-in recipients |
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This could be your own database
of customers and prospects, an associate company's list, or one of the very few
high-quality, permission-based email lists available to rent.
Ignoring this advice could result in a huge number of bounce-backs for
the email server to manage (and your budget to fund), or worse, a damaged
reputation and mail-bomb or flame campaigns from the more vindictive recipients.
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Rule #2
Start collecting now!
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There is no easy way to collect
email addresses and build a permission-based list. This is why the rentable
lists are so expensive. So start now. Ask all visitors to your website if they
would like to register. Ask direct mail recipients and attendees at events to
provide their email address and permission to mail. Ask your existing contacts.
They may have already supplied an email address but do you have permission to
hold this information in a regular mailing file?
The more information
you can gather about your contacts the better you'll be at profiling your list
and targeting your communication. As a minimum you will need:
- Name (so you can personalise your communication)
- Email address
- Permission to mail
In time this effort will pay off and the list will be an incredibly
profitable asset.
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| eshots deliver |
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Email, used appropriately,
delivers tremendous results. At HN Marketing we have used email to increase
campaign response rates by a factor of 10 and more.
Just like direct mail, email is highly measurable. Unlike direct mail,
the speed at which you can judge which format is working best is measured in
days, not weeks. You can count and report the number of clicks in real time.
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Rule #3
Make it easy to unsubscribe
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To keep the list current, all
communication should provide an opportunity to 'unsubscribe'. If you can use
server-side scripts (such as PERL, ASP. PHP) in association with the database to
automate this process, it will save you a lot of legwork.
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Rule #4
Keep it relevant
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Of course this idea applies to
all communication, but relevance is worth a mention in the context of
email. Make sure your e-shot is delivering important and timely information-not
junk. Typical applications include:
- Reminders-about closing dates or attendance at an event
- Special offers and promotions
- Product launches
- Company news
- Industry news
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Rule #5
Test and measure |
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Because email is relatively
inexpensive to develop, you can generate more than one style or format-even
variations on the proposition or offer. Within days of dispatching the mail to a
test batch of addresses, you will clearly identify the winning formula and can
use that version for the mail campaign. And you can get all this reassurance
without jeopardising this quarter's lead target.
Remember to test just one element at a time to be confident which
change has improved your response.
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Rule #6
Integrate for maximum response
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When used alongside
conventional direct mail and printed collateral, email will gear up your
response rates. Even in these days of html and graphical emails, the printed
page still has more impact and comprehension rates are higher. Email, on the
other hand, makes it so easy to respond. And that's how your integrated campaign
delivers a double whammy. |
| Choose your format with care |
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Whether you choose to use html or a text-only
format will largely depend upon the technology used by your target audience.
Unless you design for the lowest common denominator, eg modem connections and no
html, some of your intended recipients will not see your beautifully crafted
e-shot. Plain text mail is smaller, quicker and cheaper to send.
Of course, html usage is more and more common, and the impact of a
graphical email can improve your response. You can enrich your message with
sound and animation as well as colour and more vibrant layouts-all of which can
work favourably on your response rate.
At the end of the day, it's a question of balance. Which format will
give you the highest response? More pessimistically, will the improved impact of
the graphical email out weigh the fact that fewer people will get the message?
In a business-to-business sell, the html vs. text consideration is
less of an issue than security. Corporations will tend to have high-speed,
'always on' connections to the Internet and will almost always have up-to-date
html-enabled browser technology.
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Rule #7
All browsers are not the same |
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At the time of writing,
Microsoft outlook is the leading browser, used by 95% of web surfers
(Amsterdam-based OneStat, June 2002). However Netscape, Opera and others are
popular and still command significant market share. It is vital that
you test your proposed email with all the browsers you'd expect it to encounter.
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Rule #8
No big or .exe files
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Attachments (including embedded
graphics for viewing off-line) can be a sticking point, and executable files are
a definite no-no! For security, company firewalls are often set to block the
passage of large and executable files and so your intended recipient will just
not get the email.
Company thresholds for this type of transmission
vary, so you'd be wise to check first, or avoid attachments altogether. Often
small file sizes of just a few kilobytes will get through.
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Rule
#9
The subject: is your headline |
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As with all effective copy, the
headline requires the most considered attention. It is the element that is seen
first and it must capture the attention of the recipient. With email, the
subject line is your heading. Give it the attention it deserves.
Remember too to avoid triggering anti-spam filtering technology and
choose your words carefully.
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Rule
#10
Design for the preview box |
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A high percentage of
recipients view their email in the preview pane and only open it if it grabs
their attention. This means that only the top 25 or 30 percent of your message
can be seen at first. Whether you are using text-only or a graphical format,
make sure you optimise the use of this space.
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Rule #12
Shorter is better
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Unlike other forms of sales
writing where long copy has been shown to outsell short, this is not true of
email. Onscreen reading is harder on the eye than reading the printed word and
so attention spans are shorter. If you think about how you manage your own email
backlog, you'll appreciate the sense in this approach. Emails are skimmed and
junked with amazing speed, so it is vital that you put your most important
information first and ensure that the proposition is concise.
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Rule #13
Wear a belt with your braces |
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If you do choose the graphical
format there are some things you can do to improve the look of your mail for
non-html users or for those without web to the desk.
- Many merge applications will allow you to generate a text-only default
version of the mail. It's not as pretty as the html version but it is legible.
- If you think you can keep the file size small enough to pass through any
firewalls, you can embed any graphics into the email.
- If you are wary of the embedded-graphic approach, then use html rather than
graphics to present your text. Always make sure that key information such as
your company name and phone number are in text, not in graphics. Position
graphics carefully so if they don't appear, the blank boxes don't cause too much
disruption to the flow of information.
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| At
HN Marketing we have spent a long
time perfecting our craft and we hope that you can benefit from our experience.
If you'd like to know more about email marketing or any other area of our IT
marketing and copywriting expertise, then please visit our website or call us on
+44 (0) 1628 622 187. | |
