“Avoiding Email Faux Pas”

Adrienne Bartlett | VP, Education

Avoiding Email Faux Pas

Does Email Still Matter?

Email Marketing

“Email marketing at the moment is kind of a

mess.”

Robert Fleming, eMarketing Association

Email Marketing

How did we get here?

Book Recommendation

“Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It

Better”

#1

Featured on Today and The Colbert Report

Wisdom From Send

Email:• “Took over our world in about a

decade”

• “Hardest written medium of all”

• We’re still struggling to integrate

• “We’re using it and overusing it and misusing it”

Wisdom From Send

“The Unique Character of Email”

• No tone• No reaction• Used both formally and informally• Very fast• “Has vastly increased the amount

of writing expected of us all” (including people whose jobs never used to require writing skills)

Avoiding Email Faux Pas

The “False Steps”

Email Marketing Faux Pas

• Unsubscribes should be managed to keep you CAN-SPAM compliant

• Clean your database of hard bounces after each campaign

• Monitor soft bounces

• Keep an eye on your unsubscribe rate

• Take a close(r) look at purchased lists

1

Poor List Hygiene

Source: Email Experience Council

Email Marketing Faux Pas

• Avoid funky MS Word characters

• Check your spelling. No, really.

• Read your message -- don’t skim (their/they’re, missing words, etc.)

• Print it out and read it on paper?

• Get a second opinion

2

“Sloppy Copy”

Source: Email Experience Council

“Simplicity is about

subtracting the obvious, and adding the

meaningful.”

Book Recommendation #2

Which words can you delete?

“Red Sharpie Rule”

Email Marketing Faux Pas 3

Competing Links

“Unless it's a newsletter, most emails should be single subject

with a single call to action.”

Source: Email Experience Council

Email Marketing Faux Pas 4

Cold Call-to-Action

Source: Email Experience Council

• Text format (don’t forget many images are suppressed by default)

• Keep it “above the fold”

• Top 1/3 and left-most areas most valuable real estate

• Support with minimal graphics

Email Marketing Faux Pas 5

Bad Subject Lines

Source: Email Experience Council

• Approx. 7 words or 35 characters (use your judgement)

• Don’t repeat your school’s name

• Key words first

• Avoid “SPAM-like” qualities

Email Marketing Faux Pas

What gets you flagged?

Source: Email Experience Council

• Percent of Capital Letters• Repeating Capital Letters• Gaps (s*t*y*l*e)• Repetition of Letters• Special Character Flag: Overuse of

special characters (e.g., & $ # @ ( )[ ] !)• Punctuation Flag: Too much punctuation• First Character Flag/First Word Flag

(words like "Free", "hey", "Sale" etc.)

Email Marketing Faux Pas 6

Source: Email Experience Council

Clumsy Coding • Set pixel width to 600 (prevents the need to

scroll to the right)

• Don’t create as one big image

• Readable if images don’t render?

• Consider a “view online” feature

• Check your links! (again and again and again...)

Email Marketing Faux Pas

Insufficient Testing

7

• Links

• Rendering of images

• Final copy-check

• Different browsers

Real-World Example;)

“Email marketers are just beginning to come to

grips with things like the iPad and Android and they really have to...”

8

Robert Fleming, eMarketing Association

Lacking Mobility

Email Marketing Faux Pas

Going MobileTips for optimizing your email campaigns on mobile devices:

1. Keep it plain (plain text or very limited HTML)

2. Keep it short

3. Be very careful with images

Other Email Faux Pas

• Incorrect use of Bcc• ALL CAPS• Obnoxious font size• Too much HTML• Excessive forwarding (FW:FW:FW:)

• “Reply All”

“Reply All”

Words to Send By...

“8 Deadly Sins of Email”

The Email That...

(“Remember to do that thing.”)

1

Is unbelievably vague.

The Email That...

(“HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE DONE THAT THING?!!!!”)

2

Insults you.

The Email That...

(“Please tell them that I asked you to

sell that thing when it hit $70.”)

3

Puts you in jail.

The Email That...

(“Here’s the thing: you’re being let

go.”)

4

Is cowardly.

The Email That...

(Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: that thing.)

5

Won’t go away.

The Email That...

(“Smooth move on that thing. Really

smooth.”)

6

Is so sarcastic you have to get up from your desk.

The Email That...

(“Hiya! Any word on that admissions

thing?”)

7

Is too casual.

The Email That...

(“Want to come to my hotel room to

discuss that thing?”)

8

Is inappropriate.

Email Faux Pas

When all else fails...

APOLOGIZE!

Do I Need to Apologize?

Definitely...

• Misstated date or time• Broken Links• Major rendering problems• Wrong segments or recipients• Server problems caused website issues

Do I Need to Apologize?

Maybe...

• Personalization glitches• Minor coding issues• Egregious spelling and grammar issues

Do I Need to Apologize?

Let these go...

• Minor typos• Missing secondary images• Slight rendering issues• Broken ancillary links (not the CTA)

Adrienne’s “8 Simple Rules” for Apology Emails

1. Send it ASAP (but be careful!)2. Make the subject line clear3. Consider plain-text4. Keep it short5. Be cautious about humor6. Who should it come from?7. No excuses, just fix the problem8. No mistakes in the apology email;)

Best Practices for Apology Emails

Best Practices for Apology Emails

Do I Need to Apologize?

Is this an opportunity to (humbly) connect with readers, be human

and reinforce your original message?

Do I Need to Apologize?

In our experience, most times the apology email gets more

attention, interaction and response than the original

message.

Is Email Most Effective?

Or should I pick up the phone? Walk across the office?

Make an appointment, etc.?

Bottom Line

“What is this email saying about me?”

Think before you send:

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