Call me crazy but I have a number of pet peeves with a variety of email marketing tactics overtaking the digital marketing scene these days. I earn thousands of dollars every month from my newsletter alone. I didn't learn strategy overnight. I studied success rates. I researched emotional triggers. I perfected (well, almost) copy.
Bottom line: I went from 0 to 60 in my email marketing strategy with a ton of success.
So, what am I seeing in my inbox that absolutely makes me cringe? Maybe it is just me. Or, maybe you can relate? Either way, take these nuggets and do what you will with them. If I were you, I would put a STOP to doing any of these email marketing approaches and simply keep it real with your audience.
Mostly I feel manipulated when I open an email that is not authentic. The key is to develop a relationship with your reader and to give your reader insight into your work, your value, and you so she will become familiar with you & your brand.
Email Marketing Strategy Tips
- Your first name only in the “from” to trick me into thinking it is a good friend
- FW: in the subject line – I feel tricked.
- RE: in the subject line – I feel like we're in the middle of a conversation when we're not.
- My first name in the subject line when you don't really know me
- A subject line that is too long and runs too long for mobile devices – it looks sloppy
- A subject line that tells me nothing about the value in the email
- Words such as “ALERT” or “IMPORTANT” in the subject line so I think someone has stolen my identity
- Your blog name in the subject line and nothing else is wasted space!
- New blog post title & date in the subject line is also wasted space and appears automated
- “April 2018 Newsletter” leaves me little desire to open up unless you've done a rock star job & I know you and want your content.
I hope you found this helpful!
Marnie
