As business owners, we all want to make our promotional material a “must read” for our target audiences. Email newsletters (e-blasts) are just one of the ways we involve our target audience in our organization’s news and happenings. If used correctly, e-blasts can be an effective way to market your company and its services. However, there are some common mistakes you should avoid so your e-blast is crafted to avoid landing it in the dreaded Spam/Junk box. Lately, spam filters for common email providers (Gmail, AOL, Outlook, etc.) have become very sensitive to certain characteristics in emails sent to an inbox. Below are things you should AVOID when crafting your next e-newsletter campaign:
- Overusing exclamation points!!!!– We are all excited about our business (and why shouldn’t you be?), but too many exclamation marks can suggest desperation or in some cases yelling. Just remember there are other forms of punctuation that can do your sentences justice.
- USING ALL CAPS– Once again this can signify YELLING, which can make a reader feel uncomfortable.
- Using bright red and green font colors- Spam detectors are often cautious of bright colored text
- Cheesy/Cliché phrases- “Once and a Lifetime Opportunity” or “100% Satisfied” are common phrases spam filters detect
- Using one big image as your campaign- The image could take a long time to load, leaving your email clients waiting, or worse, leaving your email because nothing loads on their screen. Rule when using graphics: for every 1 graphic you use, have 2 lines of text.
- Using XYZ and ABC in place of an actual name- This could be mistaken for pornography
An e-blast should be a way to communicate to your audience, while reaffirming to them why you are an expert in what you’re telling them. The content within your e-blast should benefit your audience and give them information they can use. For example, a veterinary office’s e-blast would be sent to people who would use the information to help their pets, so examples of good content for them would be “why to get a rabies vaccine” or “Table scraps that can be damaging to your pet’s health”. Both of these topics benefit their clients, i.e. pet owners, while also demonstrating their expertise in pet health.
So, good news: Spam filters have become more sophisticated, detecting more than they used to; Bad news: Spam filters are detecting more, putting your valuable e-blasts at risk. Be careful about the subject lines, titles, images and content you include in your e-blasts. Your e-blasts can help to connect and empower your audience, if you use them in the correct way for your organization.
So, how will you craft your next email campaign for your business?