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“I work with companies to help them design and send out email that their customers enjoy reading.”

That’s my passion in 17 wonderfully descriptive words.  If you can execute on that short sentence, you will be a successful email marketer.  It’s so much fun to work in an industry that has a clearly defined and executable goal.  I love working with a client and watching the light bulb come on when they understand that this business is as the core very simple.  My experience allows me to help senders cut through the noise and get to the business of success, but it can be transferred and learned.  Teaching is what I do.

What is email strategy?  Strategy is assessing the current program and opportunities.  Strategy is working to build a plan of action for the short-term and the long-term.  Strategy is working with senders to craft just the right message to arrive at just the right time.  Strategy is making sure that you are optimized for deliverability.  Strategy is testing the right way.  Strategy is analyzing numbers and working together to make them better.  Strategy is also having someone to bounce ideas off of and come up with the next killer concept.

Let’s talk strategy!

Transactional messages are about as good as it gets for an email marketing program.  How do you make sure you are getting the most out of these messages?  Here are some tips for improving your transactional email stream.

• Timing is everything – When people book a trip, purchase an item, or request a new password, they want to do it now.  Don’t batch transactional messages.  Send these important messages as soon as the action is performed.
• Identify Your Company – The From Name and Subject Line should be very clear and easily identifiable.  Don’t allow these messages to get lost because someone doesn’t recognize a subject line.
• Cross-Sell – You can safely use about 30% of a transactional message to market to your customers.  Make sure the advertising is very relevant and expect to see big returns.  If your customer buys a camera, offer them a camera case.  If your customer books a flight, show them car rental deals.  Relevance is the key to conversion in a transactional message.
• Keep It Simple – Don’t lose sight of what you are doing here.  This is a transactional message that should be a quick visual confirmation of an action.
• Track – I know many senders who don’t record or study the numbers from transactional streams.  I would submit to you that these statistics will tell you more about the true value of your list than any other type of email that you send.

I encourage you to take a quick spin through your transactional email chain.  Make sure things are happening the way you think they should be.

My current favorite email is one that I receive (but not enough) from American Airlines.  The email letting me know that I have been upgraded to a first class seat is fantastic.  I get excited thinking about the big leather seat, hot towel, snacks, and meal I will be chomping down on during the flight.  It all starts with an email.

My wife loves shipping confirmation emails.  A status update letting you know that special gift, great online bargain, or Ebay auction win is on the way is always fun.  People will watch their inbox like a hawk waiting to know that package is on a truck or airplane somewhere.

Some other email people love:

• Email from kids and grandchildren
• Auction victories
• Sales notifications – The best for someone in business
• Payroll notifications
• Travel Notifications – (With the exception of your plane is delayed messages – those are the pits)

What’s you favorite message?  What email makes you click the “check mail” over and over again?

I believe there are a few key times when you can get your message out and establish a strong relationship with your customers.

• The Welcome Message – A quick thank you message is crucial.  Acknowledge that you have my information.
• Education Messaging – I love the series of messages after sign-up that do nothing but tell the customer about your site, where to get help, what to expect from the email program, and other great things you offer.  Customers are open to this type of dialogue after they sign-up and appreciate the fact that you aren’t hard selling them right away.
• Confirmation Messages – These are so critical from a timing perspective.  When we make a purchase, we’re conditioned to look for a confirmation email right away.  If we don’t see it, we start to panic.  Panic leads to a call to customer service, which leads profit right down the drain.
• Relevant Messaging – Nothing better than a company anticipating what we want before we want it.  It’s impressive to the consumer and keeps you top of mind.
• Cadence – Do you send too many messages?  Do you not send enough messages?  A thorough statistical analysis of your numbers can help you determine cadence.  Sometimes less is more, and sometimes more is better.

I encourage you to put yourself in the shoes of one of your customers.  Walk through the sign-up process and make a purchase as if you were a new customer.  What do you think?  Do you pass the timing challenge?

Here are some tips for writing great subject lines.

• I like to Identify Yourself – It shouldn’t overwhelm the recipient, but I believe familiarity is good.
• Keep it short – 50-60 characters is about right for the subject line.
• Strong Call-to-Action – Open rates are almost entirely based on the subject line, tell me why I should open your email.
• Choose Your Words Carefully – Stay away from “spammy” words like FREE, LIMITED TIME, CALL NOW, CREDIT, AMAZING, and other similar words.
• Tell the Truth – Don’t even think about writing a misleading subject line.
• Test – This is one of the easiest variables to test, try different things.
• Adapt – Don’t remain stale.  Familiarity is different from burn-out.

I encourage you to take a new look at your subject lines.  Think about the subject line in the context of a brand-new customer.  Do you recognize the sender?  Are you interested in finding out more?  Do you trust the content?

Happy subjecting!

Let’s dig a little deeper into my question.  Here are some reasons why a company or organization would send email marketing messages.

• Acquisition
• Transactional messages
• Traditional Marketing
• Build Brand Awareness
• Newsletters
• Revenue Generation

All of these are very valid uses of the email channel, but they are all very different.  Knowing what you want to accomplish before you actually start trying to execute can make a huge difference in the route you take.  Strategy is something that every email program needs.  Everyone doesn’t need to spend 50 hours per month analyzing each open and click, but you should have some type of plan.  The end-goal dictates what content you will send, how often you will send it , and the construction of the messages.  Your audience can differ greatly based on the types of messages you want to deliver.  Certification requirements can change based on the types of email delivered.  Strategy can mean many different things, but above all it means being prepared with a beginning, middle, and a long-term plan.

You have a budget each month based on how much you make and what you have to spend.  That’s all a basic email strategy needs.  You know how much of what variable you need to produce, and the strategy is a plan (or budget) of how you need to get there.

I hope when I ask the question in the future, I get some snappy responses.  The better prepared we are, the better our email marketing results will be.