by Jimmy Marks
Welcome to the spoooooooky world of email marketing!
Well, no, it’s not THAT spooky. But there are plenty of scary things that you may encounter on any given campaign. Step through the doorway into our
HOUSE OF EMAIL MARKETING HORRORS!
To your left, you’ll see a freshly upturned plot of dirt. Is it a zombie? No! It’s…
LIVING-DEAD EMAIL ADDRESSES!
These are recipients that never open any of your campaigns. Maybe they didn’t double opt-in or maybe they signed up and then forgot about it. In either case, contact those individuals at the addresses in question after a few months of no opens and see if they’re still interested in receiving emails from you. If you still get no response, mark the address as “unconfirmed” and spare yourself another tally in your “unopened” column in your campaign reporting.
Now, head toward the laboratory. Egads! A giant, hulking mass comprised of the parts of others. Is it Frankenstein’s monster? No, it’s…
MONSTER-LISTS!
As you conduct more and more email marketing, you’ll find that you have multiple lists and, often, duplicate addresses. It is possible, even with the best list-management software. Police your lists every three months or so and make sure you’re not double-contacting anyone. Consolidate one email address with all the contact information and sign that address up for as many campaigns as they’ve requested. If you’re concerned about someone unsubscribing from all emails at once, consider offering a “manage subscription” form before the hard unsubscribe link. That way, the user has the option to manage their emails and choose which ones they want.
Now, down the stairs. In the corner is a large casket. Is it a vampire, here to suck your blood? NO! It’s…
HIGH SPAM SCORES!
And they’re here to drain your deliverability rate. Spam filters are getting smarter all the time and no matter what you go through to train your recipients to accept emails from you, you still have to worry about the language in your email hanging everything up in the inbox. Pay attention to your spam-score and work around any language that might be troublesome.
We make our way through the dungeon and out to the backyard where our devilish werewolf Fido has dug up an old, golden sarcophagus. Out walks a monster that’s all wrapped up. It’s not a mummy, it’s…
TRANSACTIONAL EMAILS!
And they’re not wrapped up in linen or gauze, they’re wrapped up in red tape. See, many people worry they’re spamming their recipients when they send transactional emails (i.e., low-balance notices, missed payment reminders, past-due notices). These emails are transactional messages, not marketing messages. You don’t face as many restrictions when it comes to transactional messages because they’re meant to help your recipient and you keep things on the rails. They can still look nice, and even point that recipient to useful products you offer to help avoid further issues. One good example: sending a user a delinquent payment notice can also include a message about online bill-pay or EFT programs.
And now, we reach the end of our tour here in the graveyard. We hope you enjoyed this look at the horrors of email marketing. And on the way out, watch out for…
THE BONES OF THE STARVED EMAIL LIST!
Adding new recipients to your most-used email campaign list is a must. It keeps the list alive and healthy, not withered and boney like the skeleton here. Put some meat on those bones with a subscription form that snaps right into your website.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL, FROM EVERYONE AT DIGITALMAILER!
