- September 16, 2015
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Six Rules for Earning the Respect of Email Readers
Email tends to be underestimated by many marketers. In fact, permission-based email marketing generates a higher return on investment than direct mail or traditional advertising. Email marketing can be an effective tool to attract and grow your customer base.
Marketers are integrating email into their marketing efforts for lead generation, sales, website traffic, as well as to strengthening customer relationships and building loyalty.
The trick with email marketing is to avoid the spam trap. We all have trouble getting to the bottom of our email inbox. So don’t make it easy for your customers to dismiss your next email.
Adapted from a list of 34 email tips on Campaigner, here are six rules that are so crucial they could be considered best practices for building a list of loyal subscribers who will open, read, and act upon your emails.
Six Rules For Earning The Respect of Your Email Readers
- Build a Permission-Based List — This is the most important as well as most difficult step. It takes time to develop, but you should only send emails to people who have signed up or asked to be on your list.
- Offer Something of Value — You’re asking for people to give up their personal information. It’s only fair that you give your readers something valuable or helpful in exchange for their name and email address. White papers do particularly well for B2B audiences.
- Only Ask For Info You Need — The more you ask, the more you risk putting people off and not getting any information at all. If you only need a first name and email, then keep it simple.
- Offer an Opt-Out — Give recipients the ability to unsubscribe in each email you send. Don’t risk damaging your business reputation with spam complaints.
- Practice Good List Hygiene — Addresses can change, so keep your list minty fresh by watching for bounce-backs or undeliverable emails.
- Respect Readers’ Privacy — Post a brief privacy statement (without all the legalese) on your subscriber page that says how much you respect your readers’ privacy and how you will use (or not use) their contact information. Always link to your privacy statement in every email you send. Then stand by your policy and never break your word!
