Forrester Research said that e-mail sales rose to $4.8 billion
in revenue last year. Whoa, that’s a lot of toothpaste. I wonder if Forrester
can tell us how much of these dollars were for sex, bigger “you know whats” and
Viagra. According to Dr. Phil, sex is still on the rise. Can’t verify that, I
ain’t getting it.
Okay, kidding aside now…
How does a legitimate business operate legal and successful
e-mail marketing campaigns among all these new spam requirements? What can we
do to keep on the up and up?
There are four…
First, every e-mail has to let the recipient know where the e-mail
originated. No, not your ISP but from you. Tell them it came from you. Nothing
deceptive. Don’t hide it anywhere. Say it upfront – at the very top.
Second, be careful on the subject lines. If you know the recipient’s
first name, write it first, followed by a comma, and then the subject. Don’t
hype it up and make claims that aren’t true. And even if they are true, make
them “believable.” Even if you did make a million dollars, don’t say so. Give a
figure that is a stretch for your particular market. When you capture their
attention – meaning that they clicked off the e-mail to your website, then
tell them the truth in your sales letter.
Third, keep your mailing list up to date. When someone wants off,
take them off. And give them an easy way to unsubscribe with clear directions
on how to go about it. Just putting “unsubscribe here” at the bottom isn’t
being considerate. People want to know if they click there what is going to
happen. Many times, I’ve clicked on this and then went to a page that asked me,
“Do you want to just unsubscribe from this list or from everything?” I have no
clear idea of the “everything” is but I always choose it just because. I wonder
how many other people select that, “just because.”
Why not, tell them what they are going to be asked before they
click on the “unsubscribe here.” I betcha it might even deter them from
clicking off. Tell them what they are going to lose if they do. Don’t get
obnoxious about what they are going to lose – I’ve had a few that did). Tell
them what that “everything is.”
Take a few minutes and follow through on how people unsubscribe
and see how you can spice it up to make it easier, reduce any expectations they
might have in following through with it and at the same time kind-of (yes,
kind-of) talk them out of it. Let me put it a different way. Let them know what
they are going to lose.
What about offering them a free ebook for not unsubscribing?
What about telling them about something that’s coming up shortly
that they will not get the opportunity to obtain?
What about…okay keep brainstorming... Apply it to your business,
your products.
Fourth is the opt-in option. I truly feel this is over-rated. Okay,
don’t jump down my throat on this one if you disagree. Agree to disagree. I
don’t offer it and don’t care about it either.
Give them true value, not a sales job. A sale is built on
respect and trust. Give them value that matches their needs, not what you are
willing to let go of. These are two different points of view – positive on this
– always is.
It’s unfortunate legit businesses have to keep their e-mails
campaign. If you want repeat sales it needs to be legal, clean, and
considerate. Best of all, it has to be valuable.
