Email marketing that ticks all the inboxes

IT giant Atos Origin’s recent decision to supposedly ban email communication made headlines around the world. Reaction was often split between shock at the boldness of their move, and inevitable dismissal of the ‘all email is junk anyway’ variety. But what, if any, were the repercussions for email marketing? Both plenty – and none – argues Andy Sivell of Copywriting Copywriter.

Let’s start by clearing up a glaring inaccuracy: Atos Origin never said that it wanted to ban all email communication, just internal email communication between employees. It found that some managers were spending between five and 20 hours a week reading and writing emails to other employees. By picking up the phone or speaking face-to-face, argued Atos’ chief executive, people could get more done faster and build stronger interpersonal relationships. Who could possibly argue with that?

Much of the media storm that followed the announcement focussed on how most of us now receive a huge daily dose of irrelevant or junk email. It particularly amused me to see the breakfast TV presenters wading through a slew of emails from viewers – without any trace of irony – all repeating the same self-evident mantra: "They slow you down", "They’re irritating", "They contain no useful information". Quite.

Let us therefore also agree that irrelevant messages are a waste of everyone’s time, and that spam is a very serious issue.

Now, when did you last object to receiving relevant information?

The ‘problem’ with email as a marketing channel is that it’s easy and it’s cheap. It’s easy to send 10,000 emails, and it costs pennies. It’s easy to monitor click-through rates, and one person can do it. It’s easy to send follow-up emails, and it doesn’t take long. It’s much, much harder to send only a few emails at a time, targeting specific individuals at known points in the buying process, and giving them information that is relevant to their needs at that moment. Honestly though, which of these two approaches is more likely to succeed?

Drilling into staff the importance of accurate and consistent data capture, and managing and maintaining effective CRM systems, isn’t always easy – and it’s certainly not very glamorous. But it’s central to effective email marketing. When data protection rules changed to insist that recipients actively opted in I was one of those firmly in favour of the move. What could be better than to have a prospect say, "Yes, I am receptive to you contacting me"?

When it comes to relationship marketing so much emphasis is rightly placed on the importance of trust. Yet in reality how often do companies actually place real value on earning that trust? How often do we see – still – opt-in clauses that skirt the boundaries of data protection law? How often do we dive in with the hard sell on the very first contact – the equivalent of going on a first date armed with a megaphone?

So to return to the question posed at the start of this piece: what are the repercussions for email marketing of people’s growing resentment towards spam? The answer is ‘none’, as far as best practice is concerned, and ‘huge’ among those marketers guilty of cutting corners.

The common-sense guide to email marketing

• 1. Treat active opt-in as an opportunity to build trust
• 2. Ensure that all staff recognise the importance of accurately capturing customer data
• 3. Maintain and develop an intelligent database of customer and prospect details
• 4. Only email when you have something to say that is of real value to the recipient
• 5. Keep it simple and keep it short – if the reader wants more, provide links to web pages
• 6. Use good quality images and well-written copy – it will make a huge positive difference
• 7. Always include at least one call to action – but don’t assume that it’s a trigger to close the sale
• 8. Link emails to social media marketing activity to further boost response rates and build trust
• 9. Measure and refine, then measure and refine again – ‘relevant’ can always be made ‘more relevant’
• 10. Remember: if your emails are getting caught in spam filters that’s probably because they are spam.

RIBA Insight publishes a variety of email newsletters in addition to Monthly Briefing, two of which deserve mention in the context of this article. select is a monthly email alert highlighting the latest product and project news to over 7,000 specifiers. All 7,000 have opted in to receive it. All 7,000 know that it features product information. That’s why they want it.

Similarly, the RIBA CPD Showcase is an email bulletin sent to over 15,000 chartered architects and containing details of up to 24 RIBA-assessed and approved CPD seminars, online presentations, factory visits and the like. All CPD is delivered by members of the RIBA CPD Providers Network. The most recent issue generated enquiries for every member featured. Architects value it because it provides genuinely useful information that actively contributes towards their CPD hours and points.

Email spamming is dead. Long live email marketing.

Find out more on select or the RIBA CPD Providers Network.

 

Author Andy Sivell is a writer and editor at Copywriting Copywriter, specialising in B2B articles, eNewsletters and web content.

 

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