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Email marketing

The dos, the don’ts,

and the dodo

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Emails are low cost, easy to create

and can be used to send to many,

many recipients all at once.

More than 132 billion emails are forecast to be sent daily by

the end of 2017 – so your business is under pressure to

grab attention quickly with them.

But how do you ensure your business’s emails stand out?

We’ve identified the dos and the don’ts for you when it

comes to email marketing.

And you’ll find out what the dodo is all about!

Introduction

The Dos

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remarkablegroup.co.uk/content

20 times more cost-effective than traditional media.

But to boost it even further, are you considering some of the

basics when it comes to effective email marketing?

Do have a clear vision of why you’re sending an email

• With each email, think about the recipient. Why should

they open your email? What’s in it for them if they do?

Identify the reason and purpose for emailing.

• Set a goal that you wish to achieve with this email. Don’t

stress if you don’t succeed – just think about what you

can improve with your next one.

Email is said to be

The Dos

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It’s imperative to keep testing your emails to see what works

best for your target audience. Think about the following:

Subject line: try short vs long copy; adding in

personalisation vs no personalisation; or posing a question

vs making a statement.

Sender name: are more people likely to read your email if

sent from a recognised name vs your company’s name?

Timing: try sending on different days of the week and

different times of the day to see if there is a time when your

audience engages with your email more.

Email length: does an email with less content work better

than a long email that goes below the viewing window?

Layout: whether it’s use of imagery, copy or how many links

you have on your email, consider changing the layout to see

what works best.

The Dos

Do test, test, test!

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Do think mobile and tablet

With more than 50 per cent of emails opened on mobile,

it’s vital that yours are responsive to smartphone and tablet

screens - not just desktop.

Do segment your audience

By segmenting your audience and/or creating personas, you

can tailor and personalise your message to suit the people

you wish to talk to – ultimately improving results.

Do add email to your content calendar

Although email isn’t strictly ‘social media’, if you’ve got

a great piece of content why not showcase it by sending

it via email?

Do keep an eye out for competitor’s emails

Sign up to receive your competitors’ emails - this way

you can see what they’re talking about and how they’re

communicating with their (but potentially your) audience.

The Dos

The Don’ts

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remarkablegroup.co.uk/content

Here are some considerations of what to make sure you

don’t do when it comes to email:

Don’t include more images than copy

• To avoid spam filters, the recommended ratio is 80 per

cent text to 20 per cent images. Not all spam filters work

the same, but; most email programs will block the

automatic image downloads by default.

The Don’ts

Given its cost-effectiveness

and scalability, don’t let your

email marketing efforts go

to waste.

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Whether it’s visiting your website, phoning a contact number

or clicking on a “read more” link to your new blog, make sure

you have a very obvious call to action.

With each email, think about the recipient. Why should they

open your email? What’s in it for them if they do? Once

they’ve read the email, what’s the next step you want them

to take? Is this clearly laid out for them?

The Don’ts

Don’t send an email without

a clear call-to-action.

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The Don’ts

DON’T sit and rely on old data

It’s good practice to cleanse and regularly update your data

to ensure you’re targeting the relevant people with your

marketing. Remember that B2B emails are on an ‘opt-out’

policy in the UK, so don’t be afraid to target more business

contacts.

DON’T put a timeframe on your newsletters

If you already send out an ongoing newsletter or bulletin to

customers, don’t include “monthly” or “weekly” in its title

unless you’re absolutely sure that time and resource will be

allocated to undertake this. Using the vaguer term “regular”

instead reduces pressure on you.

DON’T panic too much about ‘unsubscribes’

An ‘unsubscribe’ isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It usually just

means the unsubscriber is not interested in what you’re

sending them. Therefore it’s an easy way for your data to be

cleansed - meaning that your emails will only be sent to

those that are interested…

Quality over quantity!

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The Don’ts

DON’T send an email without a prior test send

Before you release an email, make sure you send yourself

several test copies to certify that images are all correct, copy

doesn’t have spelling or grammar mistakes, and links go to

the right place.

And one final don’t - DON’T take anyone’s guidance on

email as gospel, even ours.

If you do take one thing from this blog, it’s that the most

important consideration is that emails need to be tailored to

your audience.

Work with your email provider to develop your own best

practices based on your audience’s behaviour.

If you keep this in mind, you’re onto

a winner!

The Dodo

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remarkablegroup.co.uk/content

Why the Dodo?

Because it’s alliterative and helped to create a stand-out title –

which is what your subject heading needs to do too, in the

right way.

Using the right language isn’t just important to avoid your email

ending up in the dreaded spam or junk folders. It also helps

your email get read.

Before you send your email, why not test your subject line

using this tool which predicts the likely open, click and bounce

rates.

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It’s fair to say that emails are unlikely to become

extinct (like the dodo) any time soon.

So with people receiving hundreds of emails a day,

you need to make sure your content stands out in a

time where people are constantly digesting

information and marketing messages.

For help with your email marketing, call us on 01962

893 893, email social@remarkablecontent.co.uk or

tweet us @RemContent.

www.remarkablecontent.co.uk