Getting more from your Email Marketing – Part 2

In the last newsletter I summarised the trends that were identified falling out from the research and in this newsletter, well hold onto your hats as we are going to be looking at what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to starting an email campaign.

Eyes down, looking in, let’s crack on:

89% of recipients of marketing emails [MKE] make a decision to read or delete based on JUST the “subject” and “from” information. This is before they have even looked at the preview panel.

The following emerged as “Best Practice” for subject titles:

Subjects about competitions, incentives or prizes are a big no no. These are the first to be deleted.

Keep your titles lively, generally dull titles e.g. “teleconference transcripts”, are not going to attract attention.

Cryptic titles are a turn off. Recipients prefer descriptive titles.

EMPHASIS works when used properly and sparingly e.g. “IMPORTANT – New Product Information”.

Lengthy subject titles are not a bad thing if they are used to describe the email properly.

When it comes to attachments, recipients see these as a pain and risky from a storage space point of view and also potential viruses. They would much prefer the documents to be stored on your website and direct web links put in the email so they can find them straight away. They really don’t like duplication of web links and attachments.

Just to reiterate, recipients prefer web links put in emails or signatures to take them directly to the relevant information. They don’t want a general link to your site as then they get frustrated at having to search around.

When it comes to timing, here is the findings for best practice:

You are 3-4 more likely to catch the B2B recipient at their PR dealing with emails first thing in the morning, from 07.45am till 09.30 am. Try to avoid Monday’s though as recipients are still dealing with emails from Friday afternoon/evening.

You stand the same chance from 15.30-16.30pm in the afternoons, apart from on Friday’s.

Tips on ‘bets practice’ for general style and format:

Don’t just sent a “please find attached” blurb and signature along with an attachment. You need a “hook” to get the reader interested.

Try to avoid having one of those legal footers that becomes longer than the message. If you work in a regulated industry, trim it down as much as possible.

As said, try to ditch attachment and instead put a direct weblink to the page on your site.

Although recipients know a signature is digital, they like them, especially if the email is formatted like a letter.

Try adding images to support the email content, maybe a head shot of the sender or a senior person from within the sending company with a quote underneath etc.

If you have recently won awards or have done something to add credibility to your business, put the logo in to drive home your success.

Don’t ask for their contact details in the main body.

Try and incorporate new technology into your MKE such as links to videos or pod-casts on your site.

Use bullet points to make it easier to scan and retain your information.

Try and give your email a web style look and feel and better still, make the web look and feel be like your own site for brand consistency.

So there we have it. I know this newsletter is a lot shorter than the last one but hey, I made you read so much last time. As always we can help with PR and email campaigns, so don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.