How To Not Suck At Email Marketing

If you have a company, an organisation, or even if you’re just a wannabe famous person with a few followers, you should be familiar with the simple yet not so simple, concept of e-mail marketing. *Yay*

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  • WHAT IS YOUR POINT?

As all emails, nobody wants to read through a bunch of stuff just because it’s stacked over the part we want to get to. We are turning into a fast pace kind of generation. People barely even take the time to read books anymore, we just skim through things. That being said, DO NOT OVER DO IT. Get straight to the point, make it clear, make it vibrant. Blogger Sophia Bernazzani says that “everyone’s behaviour is different, so be flexible”. This quote was interesting to me, as, how the hell are you supposed to know how each and every person feels or interprets, or what their preferences are. I say BS, flexibility just provides room for questions. And when you send and e-mail you don’t want them to ask any questions. you want them to come in, go out knowing what the hell they just read, fully understanding, and of course at the same time, all with a smile (we’ll get to that later). To conclude: Be clear, it’s an email, not a blog for fudge sake.

  • DIFFERENT AUDIENCE, DIFFERENT SCHEDULE

Depending on the type of organisation you have, you may want to assess what time and day is best in order for your audience to read it almost instantaneously. For example, if you are a theatre promoting shows through your emails, it is most likely that the target audience will read it later on in the evening, preferably after work. It is essential to experiment with the timings of your emails as well are the intensity of the content. Nobody wants to wake up to an email about helping children in need, when a better response might be received later on during the day after they have gotten home, relaxed and had a large glass of wine, trying to unwind and forget about their hectic never-ending work day.

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  • IF THEY’RE NOT HAVING IT, THEY’RE NOT HAVING IT

We are only human, therefore, not everyone can be constantly interested in what you have to say, or what you are trying to promote to them. If they mark your email as spam, take them off your recipient list. It is important to maintain integrity, even though it can be hard whilst being involved in marketing.

  • ONE WAY IS NOT A SAFE WAY

Never ever think that just because one email was received successful feedback, that if you follow the same protocol, you will receive the same results. Audiences look to be captivated, not bored by repetitiveness. Change it up, convey your message in different ways. Change is good. It may not seem like a smart choice leaving your comfort zone, but in fact, it will keep the audience questioning the innovative side of the email overtime they tap the open button.

  • BE BOLD, BE FUNNY

Its always a good idea to lighten the mood. If there is one thing people share in common, its the pursuit for the feeling of happiness. If you can slide in a little joke towards the end, or even near the greeting, it will stimulate some sort of emotional connection to the client. Allowing them to feel more at ease, when reading the rest of the email and perceiving the email in a light hearted fashion.

  • TITLES ARE IMPORTANT

It’s hard coming up with a great name for your email without sounding too eager or desperate for attention. But the bolder you are with the title, the more attention your email will receive. When thinking of titles, I suggest a pun, or even just a one or two word title. Something straight to the point is usually attractive to customers who are on a busy schedule, so as I previously stated, it all relates back to the kind of consumers you have attracted with your business (or whatever).

Subscriptions for the Self-Involved

Lets take a think about this.

  1. How many e-mails do you get a day?
  2. Now, how many of them are from companies or organisations?
  3. And finally, how many times do you wish you never subscribed to them?

Giving out your email could go lead you to exploring and discovering things that relate to your interests, or could lead you to wasting your time and filling your inbox with unwanted e-mails.

I am subscribed to the luxury fashion brand, Burberry. I recieve emails regarding their new items, seasonal releases and such. I never usually read in depth most of the emials I received from Burberry, but this week something caught my eye!

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The emails I receive from this company are usually straight to the point emails. Not really promoting excessively with over-the-top enthusiasm. As you can see above the title of the email is simply what the email presents “Monogram the Burberry Rucksack”. Burberry tries to maintain a classy, elegant style through clothing as well as through their marketing techniques.

Nobody enjoys cooperating with a company that is too eager. Its a mutual attraction. Subtlety is Burberry’s best policy. Personally, I don’t enjoy excessive information, nor do I enjoy misleading titles. Which is probably why I haven’t unsubsribed to Burberry yet.

Now, I am not a very egotistical person, but who could pass up a customised Burberry bag ? This actually relates back to one of my classes called “Consumer Psychology”, which has allowed a light to shine upon to topic of brands.

Why do I want this ? Is it just because it is a brand associated with a higher socio-economic group? What is it about this email that makes me want to reach for my wallet in my bag, take out my card and make a rediculously stupid and impulsive purchase?

My theory is that you have a different persona when exploring thorugh your emails, as it is private, no one can see who you are subscribed too. And maybe, a your super-ego takes over allowing self-involved characteristics to take charge. Thus, a customised monogrammed bag pack with my initials, took advantage of my current state of mind, pulling me towards an unnecessary irresponsible buy. This can be supported by a study from The University of Texas that reasons the craving of personalisation with “desire of control” and “information overload”.

Now they did only mention being able to monogram the Rucksack Bag in the title, but right below this main image, comes a section of promoting Monograms on some of their other items.

As Burberry attracts a target market that enjoys subtlty and people that enjoy visuals rather than written articles, the way that they have structured and planned out the layout of the email, was visually appealing, giving information about the offers, but not enough to lead the interested customer to click on the hyperlink leading to the website.

The pictures displayed in the email are artistic and not straight forward at all, slightly confusing, allowing my interest and curiosity to blossom, maybe even visit the website to further my understanding on the products.emailb2

Burberry is a stable brand, cut throguh, revolutionising the fashion industry every year. But although classy is classic, their ways of marketing have not evovled over the years, as target markets develop new trends and interests shifting their attention away from the regular Burberry strategies and on to newer modern eye catching marketing campaigns for other brands.

I must affirm that this e-mails Call To Action was successful, with a straightforward title and clear cut layout. It suits the audience quite well and maintains the attitude we expect to see and feel when opening an email as such.

The fashion world is a cold place, and Burberry just heated it up with this email.

References:

Ellis-Chadwick, F., & Doherty, N. F. (2012). Web advertising: The role of e-mail marketing. Journal of Business Research, 65(6), 843-848

Burberry Store Fashion. 2016. Burberry – Iconic British Luxury Brand Est. 1856. [ONLINE] Available at:https://uk.burberry.com/. [Accessed 03 November 2016].