Does Your E-mail Marketing Smell Like Spam?
Here is the deal…spam can be compared to smelly, rotten trash. No one likes it and no one wants to deal with it. Marketers around the globe all face the same problem, to NOT be like or look like spam! All marketing wizards want to reach their target audience and doing so by one very common tactic – e-mail marketing. But, you’ve got to be careful that your e-mail marketing efforts don’t pop up as spam or look like spam!
Let’s review what classifies as spam:
- False or misleading header information
- Using deceptive subject links
- Not identifying that your message is an ad
- Not telling recipients where you’re located
- Not allowing users to opt out
- Not honoring opt out requests
- Hiring another company doesn’t mean you don’t have to comply with the rights, both you and the 3rd party company are liable for
Now that we know what can be marked as spam, what can we do to increase our open rates and reduce opt outs?
Do not look like spam. Meaning, don’t have weird flashing text or crazy pop ups. This just looks like something ‘phishy’ is happening, literally. The user will instantly opt out or never open the e-mails again.
Keep it simple, informative and funny. Using the simple, informative and funny approach not only in the body of the e-mail but also in the subject line will help too.
Remind recipients they asked for what you are sending. Let users know that they’ve signed up for the e-mail / newsletter and that is how you’ve gotten their information. A lot of the time people forget that they’ve signed up, so just adding a small reminder in the footer of the e-mail will do wonders.
Promote some sort of savings! The main reason why they signed up for the newsletter in the first place is to save a buck or two. With that being said, promote a ‘newsletter exclusive’ 10% off!
Happy e-mail marketing & may your messages smell like roses!
For more information on what is classified as spam, please visit the Bureau of Consumer Protection Business Center’s site.