Email marketing tips

How often your emails are read decides how well your campaigns work. One survey found that even among subscribed emails, only 23% are read in full, 27% are never opened and about half are only skimmed. Email is still one of the strongest online marketing channels, so these skills pay off.

Collecting and managing addresses

1. Collect addresses with a sign-up form in a prominent place on your website.
2. Reduce typos. Train staff who take addresses by phone, and ask users to type their address twice, like a password.
3. Confirm sign-ups. Add users to the list only after they confirm by email, and prompt them to fix addresses that bounce.
4. Let users update their address and review your list regularly to remove invalid ones.
5. Handle bounces properly. Treat hard and soft bounces differently, and use another contact method to ask users to update their address.

Designing your email

1. Send HTML with a plain-text version. Each email client shows the best version it supports.
2. Control image width so the email fits the preview pane — most people scan in preview.
3. Keep it simple and focused, with one clear call to action.
4. Put the most important message first, where it is seen on opening.
5. Avoid attachments. They often go unopened, and uninterested readers just delete the email.
6. Avoid spam trigger words such as excessive money symbols.
7. Write a clear subject line. It is the first thing people see and decides whether they open.

Sending

1. Send only to people who opted in.
2. Follow the law. Include your company name, address, phone, email and website, and a free unsubscribe option. See anti-spam laws.
3. Avoid the days just before and after holidays, when inboxes are ignored or overflowing.
4. Target. Send different topics to different audiences; untargeted email gets treated as spam.
5. Watch your frequency. Too many emails in a short time annoys readers.
6. Reply fast. Answer interested readers within 24 hours so you don't miss the opportunity.

Last but not least: check everything once more before you hit send.