In Focus

7 deadly sins of email marketing

Wendy Roth
Email Posted on May 04, 2009

Still sinning after all these years

Over the 10 to 15 years since email marketing became commercially viable, subscribers have told the email industry exactly what they like -- relevant emails with content they want and expect -- and what they don't.

But some email marketers still don't get it!

Look at how you read commercial email. Getting unsolicited email probably bugs you as much as it does your subscribers. The other consideration is that the reading habits of today's digital consumers are changing. More and more consumers are reading email newsletters and offers in a social or mobile setting -- meaning the format and delivery must evolve too.

But aside from sending unsolicited emails, what else are you doing that might alienate your customers? Here are seven deadly email sins you might not even know you are committing -- but they may be aggravating your customer base all the same.

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Comments

Erin Geoghegan
Erin Geoghegan May 5, 2009 at 5:32 PM

I couldn't agree more – especially with sin #3, ‘Sending email that can't be deciphered on a smartphone or cellphone.' It is so simple, and extremely worthwhile, to insert plain text at the top of your email template that can be read by anyone, at any time, on any device. Furthermore, linking to a text-only version can provide immense value to your smartphone-owning email subscribers, and it is well worth the few minutes it takes to set up. In fact, most email service providers now have mobile-optimizing tools built into their applications that automatically convert HTML emails to mobile-friendly plain text messages within seconds. It's no secret that the communication preferences of today's digital consumers are changing, and opportunely for marketers, evolving to cater to these preferences is well within reach.

Michael Madison
Michael Madison May 5, 2009 at 10:45 AM

the 9th sin was just committed on me:
I received an email from register.com regarding a domain name and email service, which explained some changes to the account and services.
It also told me emphatically that I had to call them to ensure that the account would be upgraded.
It turns out there was no reason for me to call - they just made me waste 15 minutes of my time (waiting and being connected twice) only to have them try to sell me something I did not want, and to chat with a farily clueless operator.

Michael Madison
Michael Madison May 5, 2009 at 10:06 AM

The 8th sin is to use multiple and ever-changing "from" addresses.
Customers may set up rules for incoming mail, which are foiled by this approach, and need to be constantly adjusted.
Another reason to unsubscribe quickly.

Robert Bentz
Robert Bentz May 4, 2009 at 10:08 AM

Reaching your recipients by cell phone text message puts you in a unique category at this point and not amongst the din of 100's of emails that we all receive per day. There are easy services like http://www.84444.com that can allow you to send text messages to your opt-in audience with just a few clicks of the mouse.