How to Do Email Marketing Right

How to Do Email Marketing Right

May 6, 2010 · by Miyuru Sandaruwan · in

Note : This article applies not only to airlines, but to any company.

Is there a future to email marketing ?

Yes. There is, but it depends on how you do it.

Just typing out some message with heavy marketing in it but with no personality or relevance to the receiver, is not going to make it productive.
Such a campaign is simply spam. Just because you have someone’s email address does not mean that they have given consent to receive marketing. A company might feel so, since email is free and you can send enough copies. There are still marketers and legal people who will tell that it is not illegal and that the company has a right to email. But what does it do to your brand trust ?
The receiver will feel cheated when they simply get an HTML advert from your company in email out of nowhere – imagine it to a million people – and this will contribute to decrease your brand’s reputation. It backfires. Spam is not smart.

How to do it right ?
Here’s how.

  • 1. Never buy email addresses ( or email databases ). In most cases, these are simply stolen addresses and the owner of the address will never know they had subscribed.
    2. Get your receivers’ clear consent to receive the newsletter.
    3. Give a personal voice to your newsletter. Not just normal copywriting. Tell stories.
    4. Make it a permission marketing. Personal, anticipated and relevant.
    5. Offer something extra than just your marketing. This could be a free gift or even a jokes section. This brings value to the newsletter and make the recipients look forward for it.
    6. Make a promise. Keep it.
    7. Send your email from an address belonging to your company. ( Make sure you fill in the Sender’s name too. ) There are many third party email campaign tools which offer this.
    8. Add a Reply To address – which is not ‘noreply’ . This makes it possible for your recipients, your future customers, to talk with you. It will give an opportunity for you to make a sale too. Why block sales with a ‘noreply’ if you want to sell ?

    • There are many successful companies who have done just what is above and achieved a multiplier effect in sales.

    Sending email is quick and easy. But there really are no shortcuts to building a good email marketing channel. It needs the recipients’ trust and takes time. Everybody asks “what’s in it for me”. Without giving, there’s no taking. Make your newsletter something the recipients anticipate. So they will even share it with friends. This is the real way to make a sale. Give a new meaning to your email marketing – for which, is a long term activity and the intention is to make a sale. Spamming not just does not work, it hurts your brand too.

    If you have some spare time, take a look at this article by Seth Godin on how to send a good and productive email. It’s old, but still valid today.