Best Practices, Blog, Email Marketing

Email Marketing – Forget the Excuses

Many pundits have incorrectly dismissed email marketing.  They’ve pronounce it DEAD.  I’m baffled by this!  What’s next, people won’t use credit cards?  People won’t watch television?

Many “marketing experts” are spewing email goobly-gook.  Be careful if you listen to this nonsense.  Please don’t fall for the lame excuses…email deliverability is not what it once was or nobody is reading emails anymore because there is too much email clutter.

These are just excuses and should not be used in YOUR thinking. 

However, they are indeed facts…yes, it’s true.  But these are facts that SHOULD BE WELCOMED.  Welcomed because they may be the excuse some of your competitors use to not build a strong email program. People are looking for any excuse to remove a line item on their to-do list.

Yes, email deliverability does vary and can affect your customers getting your emails.  And yes, people are receiving too much email - there is email clutter indeed.  So what? 

Do you think all direct mail gets delivered?  There are plenty of documented cases of “lost” mail.  It doesn’t stop companies from using direct mail.

Let’s look at these excuses!

Email deliverability will vary for each email campaign you send.  It’s mainly out of your control.  There are certain techniques you can do to improve your deliverability:

• Avoid “stop” words (think Viagra, FREE, SEX, etc.)
• Implement a clear unsubscribe link in emails
• Provide value in each email campaign
• List hygiene (ensuring you have a clean list of active email addresses)

There are MANY more best practices that have been developed over the year. Just note…even if you don’t do any of these, a very high percentage (in the 90’s) of your email will be delivered just fine.

By the way, that’s what ESPs (Email Service Providers) are for….companies like Gravity Mail, Vertical Response, iContact, aWeber, Blue Hornet …the list is long of good email providers. 

These companies work hard to ensure your emails are getting delivered.  And when there is a problem, they work with the ISPs (Internet Service Providers) like Comcast, Roadrunner, AOL, etc. to fix it if they can.

These ISPs are fickle creatures. They can be moodier than most Hollywood actors.  Luckily, many ESPs have dedicated resources (perhaps even a team) that focus 100% of their time on email deliverability issues. 
(Frankly, I’m glad somebody else is doing this…besides me.)

Regarding email clutter, everyone probably gets too much email in their inbox.  But, it’s important to remember that many email messages are longed-for, welcomed and anxiously awaited.  Examples from retailers include one day sales, highly targeted emails, deal of the day, this season’s new arrivals and more.  Many people like receiving emails from companies they have a relationship with.

Big Idea of the Day:

Imagine there are two different types of email from retailers….an “A” email and a “B” email.  An “A” email consists of valued correspondence from companies that speak to them or want to be associated with.  These are welcomed. 

The “B” emails are from all other retail companies that they ordered with previously.  Maybe for a gift for somebody else.  Maybe once based on a one-time need.  Or maybe their spouse signed up for their emails.

QUESTION FOR YOU:

What would you change in your email messages to ensure you make your customer’s “A” list every time?

Let’s wrap it up!

Say it with me - EMAIL IS A WONDERFUL MARKETING CHANNEL.  Every time you hear the phrase “email marketing,” think of awe-inspiring music rising up from the background with pounding drums.  Music that makes your spine shiver.  Think BIG. Think GOOD MARKETING. Think RESULTS.

DON’T LET THESE EXCUSES STOP YOU from using email marketing in your marketing mix.  It’s important for ANY online store to build and implement a well-planned, well-executed email program.

Good luck,
David
OnlineStoreCoach.com