Email Marketing

What is the most important thing to keep in mind when writing an email for the masses?

It has to feel personal. Nobody creates an email account to receive countless promotional emails and junk mail. They want to connect to other people and/or receive information that is relevant to them. We’ve all been trained (on a subconscious level) to filter out the emails that are less important to us. By having our readers in mind and appealing to their interests, we can have a much higher rate of success. 

What are some common misconceptions that people may have?

One thing I’ve been recently exposed to alot is the misconception that more design = better campaign. Design is kind of like salt. Adding some can add a lot of flavor to your campaign. But add to much, and the dish is killed. Very often the design in campaigns is over the top, and it ends up distracting the reader. Instead of leading them to convert, it pulls them away. 

You had an incredible success recently with one of your email blasts. Can you tell us about it?

The email blast was actually a combination of the two points mentioned above. The email was totally stripped of design. It didn’t even have a call to action button – just a raw link. My goal was to make the email look like a personal appeal from a friend, not something created by a professional. Another important element in the successful campaign was clarity. There were no tricks or gimmicks. I simply stressed exactly what we were doing, why it was important and how they can help. 

What do you do when an email blast does not go as well?

Block it out and pretend it never happened like all trauma. Just kidding! After every email I put out I usually go over every element and try to determine where I could have improved, whether it performed well or not. Even this last blast, which did well, included a few items I feel I could have done better. Hopefully I’ll get to implement some of them in the future.  

Any other parting protips to share?

Albert Einstein once said “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” I think he means that by learning from many, and always expanding your knowledge, you will be able to  combine old ideas in a new way. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel – just keep learning from the best.