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Mike Fleischner Announcements, E-mail Marketing, Fun Announcements, Clockwork, Clockwork Design Group, E-grams, E-mail Marketing

Some thoughts from Sonny Cohen, Director of Internet Marketing Strategy, Duo Consulting:

Your consternation about sending your first email communication through an email service provider is on target and you are right to give it some thought since opting out is forever. Here are some thoughts, which, coincidentally, I recently shared with you when we communicated about my recent conference invitation (.8% unsubscribed). In no particular order & probably not exhaustive

a) Don’t be anonymous. The email should come from somebody. A human being, not a firm name or practice area name. Preferably somebody the recipient knows or perhaps the managing partner. If it is likely the sender is still not known personally to each recipient, then perhaps the name & the firm name (although that takes a lot of real estate on the email line and will probably be truncated). The return email address may be to you or to a more anonymous email address at your firm. But the “From” name should be someone the recipient is inclined to trust (no joke intended).

b) Think value. Your subject line should be carefully crafted. It should be reasonably solicitous and value oriented. Not all about how you want to shove your wonderfulness down the recipients throat.

c) It’s a campaign, not an event. It may be your first send, but something south of 50% will open the email under the best of circumstances. I’m betting 30% – if you’re lucky. (What expectation have you built? Do you expect?) So you have to approach each of your first sends with some appreciation that your Xth send is your recipient’s first receipt of the email. Sorry, you are not the center of your recipient’s universe.

d) Think one-to-one. Even though you’re talking to several thousand, the recipient is getting the email one at a time. Write the email like you write an email – to the recipient, not to a crowd.

e) TEST!! Maybe send your first email to 200 recipients and test the outcome. Take what you learn from the sample and then send the email to everyone else. Or maybe another sample.

Mike Fleischner E-mail Marketing E-grams, E-mail Marketing