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What’s going on with email marketing at the moment?
Have you been receiving emails from “whiny toddlers” lately? The screaming and shouting for your attention, the forceful, coaxing topic lines, etc.
At a recent conference, I received an absurd quantity of emails from vendors; if you printed and put them all up, they would be taller than my nine-year-old kid. He also towers over the majority of his peers.
Email marketing needs to mature now.
ye.commastmas, and The emails themselves seemed so juvenile: “Ahava, why don’t you respond?” Hava, did you receive my most recent email? “Obviously I don’t want to waste your time,” is one of my favourites.
Why did you send me 10 emails about your product in the last two weeks if you didn’t want to waste my time? If I haven’t replied yet, it’s likely because I’m not eager to get to know you better.
I got it. I work in marketing. Compared to the line for America’s Got Talent, our market is more cutthroat. However, we’re misusing our lists, and as a result, our recipients are getting worn out. So exhausted that those priceless potential customers are clicking the delete button before even reading the cherished subject line you toiled over for three days with nine different authors at your business.
A Smarter Email in 3 Easy Steps
So what should a wise marketer do? With marketing automation, segmented lists, and ongoing ROI requirements? (I don’t understand why that phrase doesn’t have four letters.)
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Organize
Take a close look at your lists. Who are you addressing this to? Think about tidying up your lists. If someone hasn’t seen your email in a year (or two years, or however long your sales cycle is), you probably rank somewhere in the back of their wardrobe among the forgotten sweaters.
You’ll have a cleaner, more manageable list if you remove people from it. How likely is it that someone who has never done so before will open an email? Even if I don’t bet, I can calculate such odds.
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Avoid or Stop Clicking Send
Before you send the message, ask yourself these three crucial questions:
- Do I possess a focused message?
- Am I improving things?
- Do I currently have a better understanding of this prospect’s needs than I do of my own?
Do not click “Send” if you are unable to answer “yes” to each of those questions. Will you consistently get it right? Nope. No one does (secret: However, if you exercise more discipline, you might allow your audience some room to become interested.
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Review Your Objectives
Additional queries to ponder:
- What do you hope to achieve through email?
- Is it well-researched?
- Is it transparent like my windshield when I wash my car?
- Can you succinctly describe it in two to three bullet points?
If not, you should review your email objectives and stop sending them. (Stop saying “strategy. That should also be a four-letter word, in my opinion.)
Additionally, make it simple for folks to unsubscribe if they so choose. Do not need them to give their email address or choose the newsletters they do not wish to receive. Making it challenging for users to unsubscribe is the ultimate sign of a terrible user experience.
So, my wonderful marketing colleagues, the future is in our hands. Don’t misuse your lists. Because of it, you’ll become a better marketer and person.
