How to get your e-mails opened, read, and acted upon
We’ve all heard the mantra “The money is in the list!” But if you are sending out email after email and your readers either delete it or read it and discard it, then you are wasting money, time and your credibility with your readers.
This is the second post I’ve written this week (Don’t be a Spammy Sammy)regarding email marketing because if done correctly an email campaign will lead to a decent revenue stream. But when done poorly it will distract from the message you are trying to get across to your readers.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve opened an email I subscribed to only to quickly scroll to the bottom to unsubscribe. I’m pretty sure that’s not what the sender wanted me to do, but there wasn’t a clear call to action, the header was not very descriptive and the content of the email really didn’t pertain to me but probably did to some of the senders readers.
Here is a link to a list of Six Effective E-mail Marketing Strategies . I found the list in an article on BlackEnterprise.com and found it to very useful. One strategy that was of great interest is…..
Don’t use the word “free.” Avoiding the word “free” can be a challenge if you genuinely are offering something for free, says Clinkinbeard, but spam filters pick up on the word, which “scores very high on how they evaluate whether messages are spam or not. Find a software program (such as MailingCheck.com or SpamCheck ) that will analyze your e-mail before you send it to let you know about other spam-related items that you might have included in your e-mail, and that may get those well-meaning messages caught up in the filters. “Remember that just because you sent it,” says Clinkinbeard, “doesn’t mean it was delivered.”…..more
What are your thoughts? What is your email marketing strategy?
Ms. FreemanRelated posts:
- Don’t Be a Spammy Sammy! submit_url = "http://www.freemanlegacyllc.com/2009/10/spammy-sammy/"; I am growing my email list...
- 7 Tips to Email Marketing submit_url = "http://www.freemanlegacyllc.com/2009/09/7-tips-to-email-marketing/"; Marketing via email is powerful and...
- Ode to Akismet submit_url = "http://www.freemanlegacyllc.com/2010/01/ode-akismet/"; Akismet without a doubt is the...
- List of Online Blog Directories and Search Engines submit_url = "http://www.freemanlegacyllc.com/2009/09/list-of-online-blog-directories-and-search-engines/"; One of the most important things...
- How to Create a Twitter Account submit_url = "http://www.freemanlegacyllc.com/2009/09/how-to-create-a-twitter-account/"; Express yourself in 140 characters or...
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You are absolutely right about the word free. Most cases I do not even bother to unsubscribe. What I do is filter all emails to my junk folder and delete
them all in one click. I have had the unpleasant surprise once that although I have unsubscribed to the sender’s list, it still continued to send me emails.
In my case, I have never purchased anything from offers coming from emails, hence the reason why I do not believe very much worth the mantra of the money being in the list. Maybe it worked before, not sure still does.
Hi DiTesco, welcome back!
It is a shame we have to maintain several email addresses just to out smart the spammers LOL:)
@ DiTesco,
I think it still works, but there are few who utilize it correctly.
@ Ms. Freeman
I have email accounts set up that I use just to subscribe to things. I only check it once per week, and I sort by sender and quickly delete 99% of the emails. If there is only one or two emails from someone during that week then I will open those and see what they have to say.
For the people who respect their list, and from whom I think I will learn something or receive value, I subscribe with another email address that I check daily. From that email account the odds are good that I may purchase something. But the people on that account have taken the time to earn my trust and do not spam me.
I have not started collecting a mail list on my site so I am not sure what my strategy will be, but I am betting that many people do the same thing I do when on the receiving end.
Brad
It is terrible that we have to go to such measures, but we do what we have to do, right?
Something that we do every week with both of my business’s and using the word FREE is always very powerful.
That’s awesome John, I am glad your strategy is working for you. I think it makes a difference seeing how you actually have a tangible business and the products are something people actually want. A lot of the spam email I get is for some lame Get Rich Quick Scheme.
Opps, I recently sent an email to my list regarding my free ebook that I am about to launch.
Thanks for your tips
You should use the ebook to grow your list as well…:)
I’m not yet into email marketing because I want to learn how to do it properly. Good thing I have found this blog in which you’ve shared an information which I’m looking for. Thank you very much.
Hi Walter, good luck:)
Thanks a lot my friend. I have always wondered how to go about handling my email lists. I really have not taken any step yet because I want to start prepared.This post has been really helpful. Thanks
Hello and welcome, I am glad yo found the post to be of help. I hope you visit again and often