Email marketing traps – what not to put in a newsletter

We want to know all about industry’s practices and how to translate them into a successful mailing campaign. However, we often forget that sometimes trying too much is simply too much – especially for a customer. It not only makes the open and click rates slump, but can also significantly damage the brand reputation.

Most of us know the email marketing ABC and yet, from time to time in my inbox I bump into things which get me really stunned.

So, today, on the menu: the review of ideas I will never buy – my personal selection.

source: http://www.homebusinessblogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/trap.jpg

Sin no 1: Bad ideas

Can content marketing turn out bad? As Boots campaigns show – yes. It’s all about the choice of subjects – whether segmented or not.

These newsletters definitely match my preferences. But I surely didn’t expect the following topics and titles when I made my choices. I frown in terror and delete, rather than click out of curiosity.

I definitely don’t like the “skin cancer” in my inbox. The question about teeth brings visions of bad breath and rotten gums. But the persistence in providing me with a collection of popular European insects is really remarkable.

Does Boots really want it’s brand to be collocated with images of lice and ticks?

Sin no 2: Personalization gone wrong

Researches show that using custom fields for subscriber’s name in a newsletter can do more harm than good if used in an inappropriate way. The same goes for the default values used if subscriber’s data is missing. “Dear customer” is something I can swallow, but email marketers are even more creative.

I don’t need to be an email marketing specialist to realize that it’s a failed attempt to make a regular batch-and blast email sound more custom-made. Unfortunately the effect is just the opposite. I feel like I’m yet another address on the list.

Sin no 3: Segmentation traps

Advanced segmentation is a great tool that – with an experienced user – can help you create the sense of one-to-one email contact. True. Though, to create a proper segment you need some know-how and some detailed customer information. And if that is missing (not all of use have enough time and good will to manage their preference centers) –  you can still try to be a mind reader.

Since I never ticked any preferences for this store, their pretended knowledge about my tastes seems a desperate shot in the dark. The personalized picks from those three emails are: the autobiography of Rob Lowe, the history of Ford’s empire, a book about a game of baseball and my absolute favorite:

If I successfully followed the tips from this guide I’d be ten now.

Sin no 4: Getting too familiar

Informal, relaxed style has become a standard in email marketing. That’s ok, it helps reduce the distance and sounds friendly. However, there are limits. Some kind of email etiquette still exists.

Would you dare to say the same in a face to face conversation with your customer? I doubt it.

Dissembling your email to look like a message from a friend doesn’t become real pros either.

Especially not from a site that specializes in providing free email marketing tips…

Sin no 5: Aggressive marketing

If you haven’t been an active email marketing player for a while, you better don’t try to be back in the game too aggressively. The attitude “sell or die” won’t take you far.

These are the only two newsletters from Supersavvyme I got over the last 4 months.

The first one was all about the content, the second one all about selling. And to me it just doesn’t sound right if you come with such a direct sale offer after a few months of silence. The choice of a partner for a great come back (plus the “important” tag) are also a bit surprising. So, no, I won’t spare a dime.

Sin no 6: Playing the same tune for too long

Sending the same newsletter to the same customer twice doesn’t make much sense in any circumstances. Neither does an attempt to utilize a bait that didn’t catch over and over again.

The same newsletter with the deadline custom field changing was used at least 9 times – now that’s a thrifty approach.

Reusing newsletters can be a successful strategy to save time and resources. But it’s only the good ideas that are worth it.

Apart from those major blunders, here’s a bunch of some particularly clumsy subject lines.

CUSP: What’s Your Shoe Personality – “shoe personality”, seriously??

Ralph Lauren UK: Children Looks for Summer Holiday – children don’t have looks. They don’t need looks. They need comfy, dirt-resistant gear that’s cheap and easy to wash.

PetFoodDirect: Your Weekends Are For Pets Newsletter –it means that they’re sending me a newsletter which is titled “Your Weekend Are For Pets”, but with no punctuation I got it all mixed up.

(13^th Sep)National Gallery: National Gallery Christmas Cards Available Now

(21^st Sep) Boots: Our Christmas shop is now open… – so the countdown’s officially started.

It’s easy to be trapped and defeated by your own good ideas. You need to be diligent, tactful and modest. And certainly – you need to be your own reviewer and censor. For a start – imagine that you’re at the other end – receiving and reading out the email. And if you’re still not sure – add your own account to the mailing list, ask co-workers for opinions, split test, use feedback available via social media. Don’t waste your resources by sending to inactives too frequently – use segmentation and triggered messages wisely. Follow the engagement metrics – reuse only newsletters with top ratings for opens and clicks. These are simple procedures that can significantly impact your ROI. It’s really worth trying.