You only have a second to capture your subscribers’ attention before your email is dismissed. If you don’t get that attention with the first look, odds are that it will never be seen. Your first challenge is getting emails past the spaminators* to your subscribers’ inbox. This requires knowledge of how spam filters work so you can avoid the top triggers. (For a list of the top filters used to block emails, check out 100 Email Delivery No No’s.)

The email reviewed today is from Staples. It passes the first test because it makes it to my inbox. But when it arrives, it isn’t very compelling. The image below shows the email as it appears in my inbox (without the green and red tags added to highlight items.)

Do’s and don’ts from this email:

Do use a compelling subject line. This email uses the free shipping offer as the subject. While it is compelling to the recipient, it is also one on the top spam triggers. Using it increases the risk that the email will be blocked.

Do add option to view on mobile device or browser. People are increasingly using their smart phones to manage their email messages. They are also turning the html option off on incoming messages to increase their virus protection. Providing the option for alternate viewing makes it easy for subscribers to get the message on their terms.

Do show the offer with a clickable link. Staples repeats the offer at the top of the email using text so it is viewable even if images are turned off.

Don’t include images without alt tags. The default for viewing images is off for most email software because it improves the protection. Unless your subscribers manually turn it on, they will see a blank space as shown in the image. Adding alt tags increases the text to image ratio (helping avoid spaminators) and provides information for the recipient. Make the takes interesting so people will want to view the images.

Do include category links. Staples offers links to their most popular categories so recipients have a direct path to online shopping.

Do provide contact options. Adding contact options makes it easy for customers and prospects to get their questions answered. In a world, that keeps moving faster every day, easy trumps exceptional. Make it easy for your people and they will keep coming back for more.

Don’t include too much fine print. People don’t trust documents with excessive fine print. To see if your legalese is having a negative affect on your sales, run an A/B split test. Once it is complete, you can determine how important it is to add all of the goobley-gook.

* Spaminators are filters used by Internet Service Providers to identify emails most likely to be spam.

Getting emails to your customers is challenging. Internet service providers (ISP’s) are increasing their filters in an effort to stem the exponential growth of spam. According to Return Path’s recent benchmark report, fifty percent more marketing emails are considered spam by ISP’s. The study focuses on the European market, but the pressure to reduce spam is increasing in the US market, too. Spaminators are working overtime, screening every message that ventures into their digital space. If an email includes anything that looks or feels like spam, it risks being blocked. Marketers that use email have to avoid spam triggers if they want their messages delivered to customers and prospects.

There are no easy answers to the spam dilemma. ISP’s have to be secretive about the specifics of their methodology to deter the onslaught of unwanted messages. Spammers are continuously improving their ability to skirt past the spaminators. The more they make their emails look legitimate, the more legitimate marketing emails get caught in the trap. Spammers understand the emotional triggers that motivate people to buy and use them on a regular basis. It isn’t a coincidence that the best phrases for generating a response from your customers are the ones most likely to be blocked.

Here are five items that keep your emails from being delivered:

1. Free Customers love free stuff from shipping to gifts with purchase. Adding a freebie is an easy way to increase response rates and average orders. It is also one of the top spaminator triggers.
2. Money Back Guarantee Offering a risk free transaction inspires trust from your customers. It annoys spaminators. Be careful how you use it.
3. Images A low ratio of text to images shouts “SPAM” to spaminators and looks funny to the recipient. Email software often blocks images from downloading. Preview your messages with the images turned off before sending them.
4. A Sense of Urgency People need to be motivated to act. Adding phases like “buy now”, “act quickly”, and “limited time offer” can stop your messages before they reach your customers.
5. Proper Etiquette Remember when all correspondence began with “Dear”? Those days are gone. Emails that include “Dear” in the salutation are a red flag for spaminators.

Encouraging your subscribers to white list your address doesn’t guarantee deliverability. Spaminators screen emails long before they reach the white list test. Designing emails to minimize spam triggers significantly increases the chance they’ll be delivered. For more information on delivery best practices, check out our 100 Delivery No No’s guide.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make your customers respond to your emails by clicking on the links. You may use any and every tool and tactic available to accomplish it. But, should you fail, this agency will deny any knowledge of you. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.

When you receive a directive like the one above, it is saying that the message you received will self-destruct. It is not saying that you should craft an email that self-destructs. There seems to be some confusion about this because people are sending emails that defeat their purpose.

They start out perfectly, engaging the recipient with a personalized message:

Isn’t that good? The email has my name, spelled correctly, flattering content, and a call to action. I’m thinking about clicking as I read on until I reach this:

The email just self-destructed. The personal message became an email blast.

It takes time to manage your lists, but housekeeping can be the most important thing you do. It eliminates the need to add disclaimers like the one above. It also improves your email marketing reputation with Internet service providers and keeps you from annoying your customers with duplicate emails. The best email marketing strategies include housekeeping as a regularly scheduled maintenance item. When was the last time you cleaned your list?

Once or twice a week, I sort through hundreds of emails from companies I love, like, or need. Every time, I wonder what the marketers are thinking when they press send. I suspect that there is a prayer on their lips, “please, please, let people respond so I get to keep my job.”

I’m looking for personal and interesting. They send promotional and unimaginative. Email marketing has become a numbers game. It begins with acquiring a list of addresses, continues with sending offer after offer, and ends with a pat on the back.

Because it works.

And, it is relatively easy. Very little thinking is actually required.

If you have 100,000 addresses and generate a 3% response with a $50 average order, you’ll generate $150,000 revenue with every outgoing email. All you have to do is change the dates, offer, and graphics to freshen up the look. It’s no wonder that marketing departments have become email-blasting factories.

The quest for immediate sales overshadows long-term email marketing objectives. Customer retention and prospect conversion take a backseat to the instant gratification received from quick responses to promotional offers.

The problem is that ho-hum email marketing sacrifices a company’s future for short-term gains.

While 3% of the recipients are responding to the promotions, 97% are looking for something else. Presuming the company follows best practice opt-in policies, everyone on the list has requested to be included in the email club.

They had a reason to join. Some are there because they want sale promotions. Others want more. They want to be included. They want to be educated. They want to be a part of something bigger. They want a relationship with the company.

Your job as a marketer is to recognize your customers.

They are your friends, your supporters, and your future. They are inviting you into their life when they sign up for your email program. Be a good guest. Start by asking them what they want. Verify that their behavior matches their requests. And, then test different marketing campaigns to find the best one for every customer type.

You can continue to send the sale emails that keep your CFO smiling. We all know how grouchy the numbers guy can get when the money isn’t flowing. Just send them to the people most likely to respond based on previous performance. Then get your creative juices flowing for the rest of your friends and supporters.

For more information on how to improve your email marketing, read:

Email Optimization: How Simple Changes Increase Open Rates, Click Through, Response, & Average Order Size

And, check out our email marketing playbooks:

You don’t have to be a marketing guru to deliver great email results. Follow the Email Map to increased sales and profitability.

Emailing a list with dirty data is quickest way to let customers or prospects know that they are a few bytes of data in a file. In addition to minimizing your response rates, it risks alienating your target market.

An email I received today inspired this post. At first glance, it was a good example of email marketing. The return address identified a sender that I recognized. The subject was personable. And the content called me to action.

Unfortunately, I was the wrong recipient.

The subject began “It was great seeing you at…conference”. The problem is that I wasn’t there. I have attended the conference mentioned quite often, but not this year. The email message is lost because someone skipped cleaning the file.

So you don’t make this and other dirty data mistakes, follow these tips:

1. If the email is attendee based, use only the names acquired from people who visited your booth. Presuming that people attended this time because they have in the past is dangerous.
2. Clean your data files on a regular basis. Merge duplicates and purge bad data. It reduces costs and improves response rates.
3. Coordinate your marketing plans with different channels and divisions. Sending multiple messages or competing offers makes you look silly.
4. Even with a regular maintenance program, clean your data files before every mailing. Things happen. Don’t wait to find out what.
5. Update your files after every mailing to remove nixies and bounces (if verified.) If your customers or prospects send personal messages asking to be removed, confirm removal with a personal message.

Doing it right isn’t hard. It only takes a little due diligence.
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