This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
Does anyone actually look forward to email newsletters? Debatable. But it doesn?t mean your business has to fall to the bottom of the email heap.
Nor do those moans and groans over email newsletters mean you should stop sending them. According to Exact Target data, 42% of subscribers are more likely to buy from a company after subscribing to their emails. So, it?s a safe bet for your business to continue sending out newsletters. However, it?s important to use common sense, strategic language and ethical practices in order to improve your subscription results.
Here are four best practices to help ensure your business and your customers benefit from email newsletters. Please share your experiences (good and bad) with email subscriptions in the comments below.
1. Best Time of Day
Easy answer? There is none. However, we can advise you not to send emails on Monday mornings ? human beings on average don?t crack our first smiles until 11:16 a.m. that day. An overstuffed inbox would just further delay the process.
On the other hand, perform some basic analytics about your business? customers or users. Does your blog or business target parents? Send an email update on Sunday evenings when the family is relaxing with a movie. Do many of your purchases come from another country? Consider setting your email updates to that time zone. Does your service list weekend events? Don?t wait until 4:55 p.m. on a Friday afternoon to send invites.
Sure, many of these tips seem to follow common sense. But as an avid online shopper, you?d be surprised how many emails from Urban Outfitters I delete while feeling the crunch of a Tuesday afternoon deadline. Perform basic demographic analysis: as a gamer, financial analyst, retiree, college student, etc., when would you be most likely to click through promotional emails?
2. Best Wording
?Check this box if you?d like to receive our newsletter.? Let?s point out everything wrong with this all-too-common option: It?s vague, it?s boring and it lacks incentive.
First off, encourage customers to opt-in by advertising what your company?s email newsletters will include. Maybe your company allows its customers to subscribe to specific lists, designated by interest or gender, for example. Can they expect promotions, deals and product updates? Make sure to emphasize the inherent value in receiving regular email notifications from you.
Second, use punchy language to turn vague into enticing. Subject headings are key in this regard ? weekly newsletters with identical subject lines lack click appeal. If customers get the feeling they?re about to read the same thing they read in a previous email, they won?t open it in the first place. Instead, highlight the most important or eye-catching piece of news or product update in the subject line. After all, SEO is key these days.
Finally, customers love a good deal. When inviting customers to subscribe to or open an email newsletter, be sure to emphasize savings. Not only do JetBlue?s $39 flight subject headings get me every time, they inspire me to daydream about travel in the first place.
3. Best Unsubscribe Etiquette
Consider that 91% of email users who have subscribed to a company?s email newsletter later decide they no longer want to receive the emails. Bleak, but useful data.
Even more telling, 54% of email subscribers say they unsubscribe when they feel the emails come too frequently. It?s important to be upfront with subscribers about the frequency that email newsletters will appear in their inbox. Depending on the customer?s interest level, even weekly may be too often. Consider offering several options for email frequency. If a customer clicks the unsubscribe button, try to sell them on a lower frequency mailing.
Which brings me to my next point: Sooner or later, you are going to get dumped. But, you can go out the bigger person. My biggest pet peeve is having to search for or jump through hoops to unsubscribe. Etiquette, business integrity ? and most importantly, the law ? demand that you always give customers the right to opt out.
That doesn?t mean, however, that you can?t ask that customer her reason for unsubscribing. A simple check-box survey can provide information as to why your audience is vacating: unsubscribe explanations can include email frequency, irrelevance, repetition or product dissatisfaction, and they can help you improve the experience for remaining and potential subscribers.
4. Best Ethics
One of the most controversial debates around email involves a user?s opt-in confirmation. Users and security filters alike usually consider spam any email users didn?t approve for delivery. Your business should steer a wide berth away from unethical email solicitation practices as well.
According to Lisa Barone, co-founder and chief branding officer of Outspoken Media, Inc., the only acceptable time to add people to an email list is after they have confirmed through a double opt-in. Any other means of populating an email address book is invasive and unethical, such as using an email address after a customer has registered for your site or entered a contest. Barone warns that it?s even bad practice to add peers or colleagues to an email list after they gave you a business card, for instance.
Not only will the unethical use of email addresses earn your business a bad reputation, but chances are those users will be part of the 91% who unsubscribe anyway.
Until email evolves or disappears all together, I?m afraid we?re stuck with the sometimes intrusive inbox newsletter. The trick is making your newsletter?s content engaging and valuable while maintaining your integrity.
Images courtesy of iStockphoto, chezzzers, Exact Target
Source: http://mashable.com/2011/08/31/email-newsletter-best-practices/
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