Email is a marketing phenomenon. It’s uncommon to find someone who hasn’t joined an email list at least once in their lifetime: even those in their 80s and beyond.
And in our lifetime, undoubtedly, email marketing is historic in itself. The amount of subscribers worldwide is astronomical, the number and types of mailing lists are uncountable which, in the long- run, can be a real problem for email marketers. Why?
Because, as more competitors’ join the email marketing bandwagon the odds are your “open rates” will decline.
You agree, that there is only so much a person can and will read. Depending on how many lists your subscriber actually subscribes too, your email messages may be in endless competition for reader attention. You may find out the local Pizza joint, who emails weekly coupons has better open rates than your special email coupon of the week-or-your biggest competitors newsletter always gets a second read while your newsletter is deleted. What can you do? To compete on an even playing field with those other coupon specials and rival “newsletters” your focus should start with the inbox.
When consumer expectations’ aren’t well thought out, your campaigns will suffer resulting in low inbox rates: subsequently, low engagement levels. As a marketer it is prudent to consider consumer expectation as you develop your email campaigns. Here are some suggestions:
(ONE) Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan.
Always send a Welcome letter to new subscribers, “to acknowledge their new membership with a timely, well thought out messsage; to thank your new member for joining, set their future expectations by explaining the purpose of your email list and most importantly – to start a subscriber relationship with them”
Create a simple mailing schedule with emails that have a themed subject. Your subscribers will get in the habit of expecting your newsletter and immediately recognize who it is from.
Design a email newsletter program that has your readers lined up to read the next in the series: Take a cue from the soap operas.
(TWO) Segment Your Members
Create mailing segments based on subscriber history, such as active subscribers who are engaged with your list versus those who are not..
Consider mailing from two separate domains, your main domain address, for those happy engaged list members and from a sub-domain or secondary domain to those who need to be stimulated, as they are less engaged.
When mailing from a secondary domain, the results of segments directed to those less engaged can easily be monitored. You can also experiment with mailing frequency, volume, subject line such as with A/B split testing. You will find that a secondary domain address comes in handy for different email campaigns too.
Even with A/B testing and secondary domain addresses, the more emails sent, the more it becomes essential to keep your audience happy with personal, relevant messages. Expect higher email campaign engagements such as increased open rates when you selectively send email based on this type of segmentation. This works well even with the most finicky subscriber.
(THREE) Data Dust
Avoid all those nasty spam traps, invalid accounts and other issues that hinder deliverability by keeping your data clean.
Use an opt-in process to avoid problems, made sure your lists are yours, not rented or purchased.
(FOUR) Just in Time
Add trigger email 
campaigns to your marketing mix
A triggered email is an essential part of customer service as they demonstrate to the subscriber that they come first, evident by your quick response.
Triggered messages increase customer loyalty, as rapid responses to any relevant action has the overall effect of increasing the importance of your brand. And trigger email campaigns offer endless opportunities to engage with prospects and customers at the exact time when they’re thinking about your brand.
All four approaches can go a long way toward ensuring engagement and high inbox delivery. Any of these strategies, alone, you will find is not enough if you’re losing ground. That’s when you need an email marketing program that includes all four tactics and more. Need help or more information, call us at 888-222-8485 or email pat@dundee.net
