E- Mail marketing campaigns sound easy right? . . . Wrong!! It is a delicate art which is very difficult to handle with enough precision to be effective. They allow the administrator a creative license. The aim of the game is to charge this creativity into a campaign to cause a ripple effect of reaction to every person on the receiving end. However the reality is that often there is not an actual person on the receiving end. There is a spam folder, a firewall or well just thin air!
I began my first e-mail campaign at the beginning of July. I was completely excited about this creative opportunity. We spend a few mornings at the Luigi headquarters discussing ideas. Some were a little more bizarre than others...there may have been the idea of saying ‘Special offer on Viagra at Luigis’ in the subject line . . .just to grab attention! We shot this one down fairly lively but it gave us a laugh all the same. We tried and tested these e-mails with our colleagues. Once we found the most effective concept and tidied up any mistakes, it was time to send them out! We clicked the send button with anticipation.
Low and behold – I waited and watched the results in utter despair. Over the course of the following week 28% opened the e-mail. Inside the e-mail was a big shiny red button where the receiver could book a table and avail of a very generous €10 voucher. Only 15% clicked!!! And did they all book a table...I’m afraid not. Quite honestly I felt quite hard done by after the time and effort we dedicated to this project.
I found myself judging this situation in a different light when I logged into my own e-mail account that night. I found myself clicking delete on a whole range of e-mails. They were from deals websites I don’t remember subscribing to and my feathery friend Tripadvisor! I felt quite hypocritical, I realised the recipients of our e-mail were just doing the exact same thing.
Our society has become bombarded with communication in recent years. Walking to work in the morning I pass several billboards encouraging me to change my mobile phone network provider, even though it seems like they are all giving me the same bang for my buck! When I check my post I receive supermarket vouchers for products I never buy. I log into my social media accounts and my side bar is composed of a collage of adverts distracting me from what I set out to do. I go home to kick back and relax, throw on my favorite TV show and find myself flicking through ads for nappies–which at this time in my life I have no need for! And to top the whole thing off - just as I sit down to a nice cup of tea – there is a knock on the door... ‘Would you like to switch over to Airtricty?’ NO THANKS !
As a recent graduate aiming to begin a career in marketing at least I enjoy advertising campaigns, I can get ideas and see what I feel is effective. However advertising can be a disruption to everyday life for most people who are exposed to hundreds every day! But when an advertisement swoops into our inbox we finally have a choice – will I expose myself to this or not? And I guess 72% of my recipients chose not! And I have to respect their choice in the matter!
Now that my rant is well and truly out of the way I would like to suggest tips for e-mail marketers out there, especially newbies like me! The key thing to remember is that you have absolutely no control over how many people open and react to your e-mail communication. So take ownership of what you do have power over!
5 Top Tips for Newbies like Me!!!
1: Start from the very beginning!! Ensure that the details you receive are as clear as possible, ask people to fill out forms in block capitals and black pen or even better online. Make as few errors as possible at this stage to reduce the amount of spam folders that you are going to reach
2: Make sure you get permission to communicate to these people this is mandatory under the Data Protection Act. It is also important that people are given the option to opt out at every communication you make.
3: Firewalls are your worst enemy!! You need to dodge them as much as possible. Keep things simple and don’t make your e-mail too fleshy or flashy. Anything out of the ordinary will be detected and thrown straight in the spam folder
4: Treat every word like gold dust. You have 30 seconds max to impress so use them wisely.
5: Know your recipients. If you’re targeting students do not contact them at 9am. I can tell you from experience they will most certainly not be awake and checking e-mails at this time!
I am completely new to this and would like to welcome subscribers or readers with experience or tips to share them by simply leaving a comment on this post!
Stay Tuned, Aisling
