1. Ensure your key proposition is above-the-line.  Create one key message as the main focus.


  2. Don’t just let them unsubscribe: you may be able to retain them by offering to amend the frequency they receive their email.  For those that do unsubscribe ask them why before they click.


  3. Analyse: look at what your customers are buying and clicking on.  Send out surveys to get feedback.


  4. Ensure customers can immediately see your brand whichever type of viewing pane or format (e.g. no images displayed).  Ensure the email is still comprehendible if the images are turned off.  69% of at-work email users usually view emails in their preview panes.


  5. Personalisation where practical: allow for dynamic content population dependent on customer profile.  Ask the customer to state their preferences as well.  You could even personalise images e.g. credit card with the recipient’s name on it.  You could include the contact details of their local store.


  6. Personalised salutations: by including the recipient’s name in the subject line and welcome message.


  7. Sign-up to your competitors’ emails.  If you’re an eCommerce site sign up for newsletters of the big players in this market.  They have the budgets to perform comprehensive (multivariate) testing and there’s a good chance that changes they make will work for you too!


  8. Be sure to deliver on your promises: too many people sign-up to eNewsletters believing they will receive valuable content only to receive promotions.


  9. Send your emails from the same email address you send your order confirmations from.  People are more likely to add this email address to their address book, preventing your promotional emails going into the spam folder.


  10. Get the calendar out: certain events will suit your business e.g. Mother’s Day if you are in the flower business.  Also, you should factor in things like school holidays when fewer people are likely to be at work.


  11. Test to ensure your email is compatible with the top service providers: Yahoo, Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail and others.  Open accounts with each of these to test.  Furthermore, ensure it is compatible with the common browsers: Internet Explorer 7 & 8, Firefox 3, Google Chrome & Safari.


  12. Re-enforce your offer on your landing pages and ensure it’s as easy as possible for customers to convert.


  13. Avoid animations e.g. animated gifs and flash. 


  14. Set-up automated emails e.g. following a new registration or dropped shopping basket.


  15. Insert an ‘add to address book’ link in the header or footer.


  16. Include a link to a web version in the header.


  17. Include a ‘forward to a friend’ link.


  18. Send the email to your Customer Service team prior to deployment.  This will give them time to get up to speed.


  19. Less focus on creative, more focus on the message.


  20. Remember you’ve got ten seconds to grab them.

For more information on our email marketing services, call or email us: 09 579 4269 or email@steer.co.nz

Useful Email Marketing Information

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Personalising your Emails >>
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