Email Dos and Don’ts

Is it me, or is it getting hot in here? Email has become a veritable battleground. There has always been a certain etiquette to email, but as spam and viruses are increasingly sent to your inbox, people’s comfort level in email has been on a dramatic decline. When email was first being used in marketing, the biggest problem people had, was misspelling words, obviously a huge turnoff. Although not using spellchecker, or even proofreading, is a pet peeve of mine, at least it wouldn’t carry a fine with it or get your ISP to ban you (although that should be an option).

First let me clarify, using any of the tips in this article (though helpful) cannot guarantee that someone may not cry spam. With CANSPAM in effect, how is it affecting your email marketing campaign? It’s a law that has a lot of great potential; unfortunately it won’t severely limit the amount of spam reaching your inbox. Truly nefarious spammers are finding new ways to hide their tracks. This law adds needed punishments to those that are “caught” spamming. The tough part is that legitimate email marketers are under heavy scrutiny and will most likely bear the burden of CANSPAM’s enforcement.

Let’s define spam: unsolicited and unwanted email without any prior relationship and ability to opt-out of receiving future emails. Sure the definition is a little simplified, but this is an article not CANSPAM. The best way to protect yourself against being labeled a spammer is to create your own mailing lists from scratch. Your best bet is to use only permission-based email lists: (1) opt-in, customers or clients who sign up on your website to receive newsletters, updates, or correspondence from you; (2) confirmed opt-in, opt-in with extra protection of sending a confirmation email to the customer or client who subscribed, allowing them to unsubscribe; or (3) double opt-in, the highest level of email list integrity where a customer or client subscribes to your list, but must also confirm by reply email or clicking a link.

Afraid to be labeled a spammer? Send only permission-based email. Send clear instructions on how to unsubscribe from your email list, and honor the request. Don’t use deceptive headers,” reply-to”, “from” names, or subject lines, make sure everything describes the content of your message from your company. Sometimes people forget they’ve signed up for your mailing list. Remind them with a message saying “You are receiving this email because you’ve signed up to receive the XYZ.com Newsletter.”

Most ISPs are using spam filtering software, which may be preventing your emails from reaching your customer’s inbox. Here are some extra tips to consider. Watch your use of punctuation, for example, excessive use of exclamation marks may get tagged by filters. Watch out when using the words “free”, “special offer”, “guaranteed”, “money”, “cheapest”, “contact” and “soonest” (in combination), “online” and “save” (in combination), “nothing to lose”, or “don’t miss out”, because some filter those out. Too many dollar signs may be problematic as well. Try not to use all caps in your subject line. Try to come up with compelling subjects that are descriptive to your message.

Produce content that offers good value for your customers’ on your list. Their trust in you will eventually increase. Other ways to promote trust are to include a link to your privacy policy. Show your subscribers what you do with their email addresses.

Something else important to note: watch your email frequency. Don’t email too much because you may annoy and alienate some of your subscribers. However, if you don’t send frequently enough, they may forget who you are. Trust me, you don’t want that. Your business can suffer in more ways than one.

Although all these new regulations may sound daunting and may even question if email marketing is worth it, let me leave you with this last message: email still offers one of the cheapest cost per person advertising available and the returns will still be worth the work. Happy emailing.