One of the challenges faced by email marketing services is that most efforts at communication go in vain because the messages end up landing in trash.
To understand why most messages never make it to their intended recipients, we must understand that there are several stages that an email message must go through. These stages are diverse, and can range from poor keyword choices to inconsistencies in multiple messages that cause them to get lost in spam filters.
Here's a look at some steps that may help your email reach your audience, as you go about preparing your email marketing campaign.
- Crossing the spam filters: Most email marketing services take into account valid email addresses and content. But spam filters will often catch content at the subject line itself as well. When drafting your email content, ensure that you leave out spam keywords, such as Apply Now!, Work from Home, Save $$, etc. You can either check the Internet for a list of spam words. At times, if your email content is free of any spam words, it might still stand a chance to overcome spam filters, despite having spam filter trigger words in the subject line.
- Keep a text alternate ready: When you prepare an email campaign, make sure you keep a text alternate ready because all email services do not allow HTML content. Also, when you create content, remember that online readers have little patience for anything too ornate. Call to action buttons that prompt readers to click and respond are best left plain, though they should be prominent. Keep a sharp eye on the volume of content as well. It does not help to load up online readers with large volumes of text.
- Research well: Before embarking on your campaign, ensure you research your audience. This means, put in a little effort in learning what appeals to them, or what are the peak working days in their industry, where does your target audience typically vacation, etc. You can then tailor your campaign to fit the interests of your audience content-wise and pick the best days for email delivery, when there is a slightly higher chance of them opening the email. Most email marketing services providers can vouch for this tip. While this may sound like a lot of work, it can mean the difference between a potential convert and a turn-off.
- Include freebies: Rarely does something create as much happiness as a simple free gift offer. You do not need to offer your audience entire subscriptions free; however, a reasonable trial period free, or a particular segment of a service free, or tutorial for a particularly difficult application, all can qualify as decent freebies. Just remember to apply anti-spam rules when announcing your freebies as well. Else there is a chance your target audience may never receive it.
