Getting Your Emails Read

Use these techniques to make sure that your emails get opened and read on a consistent basis.

One of the most valuable marketing tools we have as eBusiness owners is email marketing. It is the "FOUNDATION" of our eBusiness. Think about that for a second...most people think that traffic is the foundation of your eBusiness....wrong!!

While yes traffic does have a role to play in the marketing of our business it is the email marketing aspect which carries the ball for us and builds the trust and rapport for us.

Or, I should say it should work at building trust and rapport, however if our email messages don't even make it to the person who has requested it...well then "Houston we have a problem!"

We face essentially three challenges when it comes to email marketing, let's take a quickie look at them.

Challenge 1 - Spam Filters

Filters do a reasonably good job at deleting those unwanted emails, but there is still the chance that the legitimate email (like yours and mine that people have actually requested) end up not making it through the spam filters.

There is no real set way of determining what is legit and what isn't. I mean lets face it the "list" of words that are on the hit list grows every day...so even trying that approach is a daunting task.

Challenge 2 - Mass Deleting

Within the control panel of my email box I have a little check box that I click which marks all the email in my inbox for delete. What I do then is quickly scroll down the list and I will uncheck an email that I have been expecting or one that I know I need to keep. After that the rest are deleted. I am not alone in this little process of "mass deleting" we all tend to do that in one way or fashion. The thing is though that there are times when I have been scrolling quickly and end up deleting a message that I shouldn't have.

It's human error, it happens and unfortunately we run the risk of having our customers do the very same thing.

Challenge 3 - Competition

As much as we would love it, our email arriving in a customer or potential customers inbox isn't the only email they are getting. We are in competition with every piece of email that they receive...all of us are jockeying for our customers attention and asking to be read.

Competition is everywhere, you can't escape it.

Obviously there are business owners who see these challenges and decide that it is time to bail on email marketing altogether. I have actually had clients myself who have said the very same thing to me. If you are one of them, my answer to you is the same as I say to my other clients...DON'T DO IT!!!

Lets face it, the internet is still in its infancy and yes there are going to be huge adjustments made as we go, but you just don't toss in the towel...you find ways to adapt to the challenge. So, with that said, lets look at a few things you can do to "adapt" to the challenge and get those emails opened.

Adapt Idea #1 - Brand Your Messages

Branding your messages is a simple tactic that you can put into place immediately (if not sooner). Come up with a one or two word tagline that will immediately register in the mind of your customer, so that when they see it they will keep it.

Forums and newsletters use a brand all the time. If you look through your inbox you will immediately recognize a "brand." For example; HowTo, Ryze, ProfitSpace, DEMC, InnerCircle.

Go a step further when you set up your brand and let your customers know HOW your messages are marked. For example, when people subscribe to an eCourse I have written, after they sign up I send them a message that says "you will receive a lesson each day for x amount of days. Look for the [Test Drive an eCoach] in your inbox!

REMEMBER - brand the subject line and brand the FROM. Make sure you cover all the bases.

Adapt Idea #2 - Choose your email subjects well

Goes without saying that if your subject line even hints of a sales pitch...well, did you hear that click? No, it's not your message being opened...it's the click to delete it. You want to stand apart from the pack so choose a subject line that will compel your customer to open it. Also, go the route of personalizing the subject line. If you know the name of your customer, then use it.

Adapt Idea #3 - Send a follow up email

Again, you'll see many newsletter publishers using this. What it is, is a follow up message that refers to a previous message that went out. For example, I fire out an issue of ProfitSpace Newsletter through my autoresponder and then a day after I will send a follow up message that reminds people that they can view the issue online. What I have done now is again, sent out another message that "brands" so the name recognition has just gotten another hit...plus it reminds people to go to the site if the newsletter didn't make it through the filters. All is not lost, I have created yet another opportunity for my subscriber to still get their hands on the issue!

Now if you don't have a newsletter, not a problem, this tactic can be set up for anything. Umm let me give you an example...

I sent out an initial solo message that announced a new program launch. The second message (follow up) would refer to the first message and then I would add a little "incentive" to get people to go take a look. Ok, I have given you three ideas that will certainly get you rolling.

Now, the important thing to remember with all your mailings, regardless if they are an initial mailing or a follow up is to provide good solid information. I can't think of a better way to stand apart from the rest of the pack...AND...to have customers actually "look" for you. I mean if you are known for providing good, solid information on a consistent basis then your branding efforts are really going to pay off. Your customers will come to think of you as "their expert" and as such will recognize you right away. When they see an email with your brand on it they will KEEP IT because you have a reputation of being a good solid resource for them.

If all you are doing is sending out one sales pitch after another then branding is working there as well, only against you...not for you. Pitching sends a branding message as well...as soon as a customer sees your brand then click they dump your butt because they know you are not known for helping but selling.