‘Sending Email’ Articles

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” This phrase has been used for years to highlight the value of a good visual image. A phrase that has led many marketers to believe more pictures = better content.

One of the most difficult ideas for new email marketers to understand is that email doesn’t function like traditional medias. There are a number of unique rules and standards that only apply in email marketing. If you decide to step into the realm of email marketing, be prepared to throw some of your old rules out the window and to adopt some strange new ones.

In a series of posts, I am going to address several of the rules and issues that arise in email marketing, especially the ones that throw inexperienced email marketers for a loop.

Today, I want to focus on the misuse of pictures in email marketing. Many new marketers want to fill their emails with many large, impressive images. In the worst case some email marketers make their entire email one large image. The reason people fall victim to this taboo is because they are tempted by the possibility of making a beautiful and technical layouts with photoshop or illustrator. The major downside to doing this is, most of your recipients won’t even see the image. Almost all modern email programs  have a default setting to block images. It’s true, users can choose to allow images after opening the email, but at first glance, if your message is one large picture, your customer will see nothing but a blank page and a “pictures have been blocked” message. This will not make a good impression and will most likely wound your email campaign, possibly fatally.

Another common misstep is loading an email up with images that have massive files sizes. Not only can this put a strain on your email system, but it can also trigger your recipient’s spam filters. Of course you want your clients to see the best quality image you can provide and you may want to show off a beautiful product, but I highly suggest providing a properly re-sized thumbnail that links off to the larger image file hosted elsewhere. This keeps your email file size low and allows you to create concise and attractive layouts. Believe me, this will save you a lot of hassle and will make your emails much more manageable and effective.

As I continue with this series of posts I will discuss a variety of topics directed toward new email marketers, including posts like: Simple HTML Code Every Email Marketer Should Know, Understanding Open Rates, and Long Live The King: A Focus On Content.

Picture this: You spend hours laboriously crafting the perfect email, one that you know your clients will love. You send it out, excitement engulfing you as you imagine how great the response will be. But as the results trickle in, they aren’t quite what you were expecting.

Could it be that your customer never received your email at all, or that it merely went overlooked? Below I’ve outlined two simple but powerful rules to ensure that your hard work isn’t wasted and to increase your email readership.

Get on their list. Ask your customers to put you on their contact list or in their address book.

You want to make sure your emails stay out of the spam folder. The increasingly variable nature of spam filters, and the fact that they are often user defined, makes this a particularly challenging task. There is really only one strategy that ensures that everyone who wants your emails always gets them, and that is to always send your email from the same email address and to ask your recipients to add your sending address to their contact list or address books. Mail sent from a known contacts is always put into the inbox. We suggest you use a simple text email to send new users this request along with an option to opt-out if they are no longer interested.

Use branding in your emails, and that doesn’t stop at including your logo.

Become an expert on your company’s brand and then make sure it is clearly displayed in all the emails you send. By consistently using the same address (as suggested above) your recipients will recognize your message, but if they are quickly scrolling through their inbox, branding can ensure your email is a familiar and trusted sight. While the content of your email, such as pictures and copy, is important, the subject line is the most crucial. It will be the first thing your readers see, and possibly the only thing unless you make a good impression in the subject line. Your opt in customers trusted you and found value in your product, so they will be more apt to open an email if they know it’s from you. This will separate your message from spam and other generic communication.

There are many rules that can be applied to sending marketing emails, but as always the most important is to provide your customer with true value. If the content of your email doesn’t give your customer something they want, the above strategies won’t be able to save you! These strategies simply give your message a chance to be read, its up to you to give your readers something worth paying attention to and acting on.

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FACT:
In five seconds or less, your company’s email subject and content will determine whether a customer decides to keep your newsletter or update;  Or flag-it as SPAM.

Try to be deceptive or coy and all of your future email will be trashed. Customers want the facts and it is your responsibility to give it to them. Make the Open-or-Delete decision easy. A well thought out email strategy is a vital part of any traffic-driving effort, and we see a close connection between email frequency and the use of multiple email marketing channels and traffic.  But I am getting ahead of myself; The topic of this post, 5 Seconds You Can’t Afford To Waste!

Can your email answer these questions in two seconds or less?

Who is the e-mail from?

• Keep it familiar.

What’s in it for me?

• Keep your Subject focused.

What do you want me to do?

• A clear course of action.

ACTIONS:
Write clear, not cutesy, subject lines. State the value proposition there, and build on it in the snippet/pre-header text (the first line of text in your message).

State the Details with a clear course action in your email:
Moms (and other shoppers) want to know prices and final costs up front, both the discount and the amount of money saved, not just the percentage off. Some said they were frustrated to find out how expensive shipping was after clicking on the offer and going all the way through the checkout process. That builds distrust in your future messages.

Keep your subject focused, we all know that one of the most important parts of an email campaign is the subject line and everyone is trying to come up with the perfect one.

Here are four subject lines that you should never use in your campaigns or transactional emails. Not only do they violate best practices, but in some cases they break the law. The CAN SPAM ruling states that for any commercial email, you must have your subject line relate to the content of the email.

Subject Line #1 – Hi, My name is Paul
Subject Line #2 – I need your help, please?
Subject Line #3 – Bob, I haven’t received your shipping address yet.
Subject Line #4 – Bob, Please accept my sincerest apology.

These gimmicks to trick the recipient into opening an email are a bad idea. It may raise curiosity, however, when the recipient opens the email they’re going to feel tricked and unsubscribe or worse report your email as SPAM, because these subject lines most likely will not relate at all to the  body copy. You may trigger complaints and attract  the FTC attention for violating CAN SPAM rulings. Subject line #3 is particularly onerous; it seems like the sender is trying to get more information from the recipient. Because it’s personalized, the recipient may actually give it!

CONCLUSION:
Be clear and concise make sure your subject leads the reader to the body of your email. Keep the first portion of the email’s body easily identifiable with your company identity, brand and purpose. It is critical to provide a link to your website in the first paragraph–this lends credibility to your offer and ease of use for your customer. Remember, consumers and business professionals today are bombarded with useless misinformation. They will appreciate (and become more loyal) if you’re accurate and to the point, even if they aren’t placing an order today.

When using your Admail Email Builder Templates with Images – IE 8’s default security setting will ask you “Do you want to view only the webpage content that was delivered securely” and the answer is “No”. If you say yes the unsecured Images in your Template  (photos, logos, etc) will not load and you will find yourself stuck!  See sample screen shot below.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 just say No to security warning!

1. Does my subject line entice readers to open?
   They are the most important 8-10 words in your campaign. Make sure yours is a clear, concise introduction that entices your readers to take a look inside.
2. Am I making the most of the preview pane?
   At first glance, many of your recipients will just see the first few inches of your campaign, so make your point and your brand standout, also assume they may not see your graphics USE TEXT!
3. Is my email easy on the eyes?
   With simple, intentional font and style choices, you’ll help grab and keep your readers’ attention.
4. Does the message come through, even if the images don’t?
   Since many email clients don’t automatically display images, balancing yours with text will help you make your point in any display possibility.
5. Does this email have a personal touch?
   Whether it’s with a personalized greeting, warm tone, or specialized content, make sure your email feels like a conversation with people who know you, not a blinding “blast”.
6. Does my email need to be gender specific?
   Fact: Women read, men scan bullets & images – the List Builder “Signup Form” lets you ask and Email Builder “Target Filters” help you target your audience – it only takes a few seconds to ask. For help contact Customer Service.