Email marketing has remained the most popular mode of business communication since the time of its inception. Businesses adopting email hosting are incorporating email marketing in their strategy to fortify their digital presence and get their message across. This is quite understandable given the effectiveness of emails: the median RoI of emails is around 122%, four times more than any other digital medium.
If you are planning to leverage email marketing to grow your business, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind while creating a campaign. Here are some important do’s and don’ts of email marketing etiquette that will make sure your emails are effective and valuable:
The Do’s
1) Do Segment your Contacts
Have a poor email open rate? It’s quite possible that the emails you share with your contacts aren’t according to their preference. So, how to make sure you are sending relevant emails? Simply by asking directly or analyzing your user demographics. Here are some criteria that you can use to segment your email contacts:
- Age Group
- Gender
- Geographical Location
- Buyer Persona
- Purchasing History
- Stage of Purchasing Cycle
- Email Response
- Sending Frequency
Segmenting your emails will help you target recipients on the basis of their interests and adopt a personalized approach to promote your offerings.
2) Do Mention Sender’s Name
Your recipients should know where the email is coming from. People typically delete emails from unknown sources, so mentioning your name in the email makes perfect sense. It ensures more people will open your emails. Besides, it is also considered more polite to use the sender’s name.
3) Do Write a Clear Subject Line
The subject line of your email is often the factor that decides whether your recipients will open the mail or not. So, it should clearly mention what the email is all about. If your readers find a discrepancy between the subject line and the content of the email, they will most likely move your mail to spam. In short, a clear subject line is a must and for that you must have a content marketing strategy.
4) Do Stick to Your Brand Design
It’s vital to maintain the look and feel of your brand while drafting your emails. Brand consistency makes your message stand out. Make sure your brand logo is at the same place in all emails. The colors and fonts used on your website should be applied while designing your emails.
5) Do Convey the Benefits of Your Offering
Your prospects may open your emails but may not buy from you unless they find your offer convincing. It is, therefore, essential to convey the benefits of your product/service clearly in the email. If you are selling something like a consulting service, you can elaborate on how it solves the user’s problem.
6) Do Add a Signature
No matter what kind of emails you are sending-plain-text or HTML- it is recommended to add a signature to your emails to make them appear professional.
Elements that you can include in your signature are your company name, detailed contact information, postal address, social media icons and the reason why you have reached out to recipients. It may also contain the name of the person responsible for running the email campaign in your company.
The Don’ts
1) Don’t Use Too Many CTAs in one Mail
It’s good to use just one call-to-action (CTA) per email. Including too many CTAs in your email can distract the user. He may get confused after reading your email and leave without taking any further action. Besides, one CTA will keep your message succinct.
2) Don’t Use Overly Promotional Language
Emails loaded with overly promotional words such as ‘free’, ‘cash’, ‘sale’ will set off spam filters and are likely to end up in your recipients’ spam folder. This simply means they won’t even get to read your message, let alone act on it.
3) Don’t Buy an Email List and Send Unsolicited Emails
Buying an email list to run email campaigns may look like an easy way to win prospects but things don’t work that way. First of all, there’s no guarantee that the people on the list actually want to receive emails about your product/service. Then, contacts from a list are less likely to open or read your emails. Emails from unknown sources can irk the reader who may mark your mail as spam. All of this can lower the reputation of your brand.
4) Don’t Ignore Analytics and Reports
Analytics can provide you with the information required to customize and personalize your e-mails. Analytics throws light on the kind of content your readers relate to the most, the subject line that brings the highest open rate or click rate, etc. Ignoring such information will only make your campaigns less effective.
So, these are some important do’s and don’ts you can include in your emails to make them more credible, professional and effective. Apply them to your campaigns to drive more sales and grow your business.
