3 Simple “what not to do”‘s for Email Marketing
Like my favorite show, “What Not To Wear,” here is a quick list of some things you really don’t want to do:
- Buy lists
- Use the word “blast”
- Think it’s OK to forego the test “this time”
1) Why Not to Buy Lists
This has been around in marketing for years. Telemarketing folks bought lists, and really buying an email list is no different. The customers have no connection with you. There’s no context, no entree, no reason and no relationship. Consider how they elected to get their email picked up, too. They’re not savvy online consumers. If their email was sold to you, it was sold to many people. Your email will be one in a million in their inbox. And, the relationship started from nothing. It’s a crap shoot.
2) Why Not To Use the Word Blast
A very nice gentleman, from a very good company, wrote me referring to his email campaign as “blast”. “My ESP calls it campaigns, but I like ‘blast.’” Well, the moment you use the negative, spammy words, you not only flag your project as ill-conceived, but I question your intentions, as well. So use courteous, nice, and polite terms for dealing with your customers. Especially in this Web2.0 world where everything is indexed!
3) Foregoing tests: not a good idea
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been included in a preview feed, found something, flagged it for the managers, and then heard later that “nobody caught this.” Not tooting my own horn- I’m just saying that lots of things need second pairs of eyes, especially those little electronic missives. And, it really helps to setup a webmail account with nobody in your address book so you can see your email from a prospect’s viewpoint.
Good luck & happy emailing!
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I also despise the term E-zine.
Never use donotreply@ or webmaster@ from addresses.
Don’t make someone create a user/pass to get your newsletter
Comment: Alex Williams – 10. November 2008 @ 8:23 pm
Hi Anna
It’s been a couple of months and it’s great to see you are still blogging about email marketing.
I am a great fan of email marketing. I have written a free book called, “7 Killer Tips To Get Your Emails Read” Your readers and yoursejf can pick it up at my website, http://www.kurtjohansen.com. There are no strings attached and I am not trying to sell anything – I am just a fan and have many clients who use this effective means of communicating with clients.
It will help your readers.
Cheers
Kurt
Comment: Kurt – 11. November 2008 @ 2:47 am
Another “what not to do” is:
Take Your Sender Reputation for Granted.
Whether it’s assuming that your email is being delivered to the inbox, or that all subscribers find your generic content relevant. Knowing what your reputation really is – and proactively working to influence it positively – is one thing any email marketer can add to the “must do” list.
Comment: Bonnie Malone – 11. November 2008 @ 9:26 am
Hey Anna, I think you summarized “why not to buy lists” very well. I like the way you say things very direct way, not trying to soften your message.
Comment: Jouni / Rocket Results – 11. November 2008 @ 11:10 am
@Alex- Thanks, and very true, e-zine has seen brighter days!
@Bonnie – very true, sender reputation is huge.
@jouni- Thanks, this is actually the toned down version, ha!
Comment: banane – 11. November 2008 @ 11:31 am
This is a nice post about book Gift cards and its a very needed information.
Thanks for such an important post.
Thanks
Comment: Kettie – 17. November 2008 @ 11:02 pm