Contrary to what you might believe from reading the title – this is not a post about how email itself is dying. It’s a post that I think all fellow email marketers and I will continue to post until we are blue in the face.
I recently receive this email from Dominion/AirMiles and was baffled that these types of emails are still being sent. Look below and see if you can spot the issues. Is it any wonder it landed in my spam filter?
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Number 1: It’s mainly images. Images are not email friendly. You need to use an even ratio of image to text – otherwise you’re going to get something that no one can read. If you must use a lot of images, try some alt tags so those with images off can actually determine if there’s anything in the image worth looking at.
Number 2. From Lines: Obviously there’s somethng to be said for recipients connecting with your brand – but outside of the client or their marketing agency – would you really open an email that said Freshobsessed.com? Not to mention – websites don’t really send emails – it’s companies or people.
Number 3. Subject Lines: It’s been said time and time again, and I think I’ve even mentioned it in a past blog post – but don’t use exclamation points and other punctuation in your subject lines. Okay – question marks are debatable, but exclamation marks are definitely a no-no.
On the plus side they did ensure to include opt out instructions as well as why I was receiving the email.
They also did ask me to add the sending address to my safe list to ensure I would keep receiving these offers – but if I didn’t think to check my spam folder in the first place – I’d never have the opportunity to add them to my safe list.
I don’t mean to pick on one marketer – this is just one of many bad emails I get on a daily basis. It just amazes me that no one appears to be listening to all of us marketers who keep providing these tips and tricks. Though I suppose if they did – we’d all be out of jobs.
Rebecca Atkinson (Muller) is a freelance web marketing/analytics consultant with more than seven years of direct experience helping businesses create and implement online marketing and communications strategies. Her clients come from all industries including finance, technology and not-for-profit. She specializes in helping her clients determine how to improve their advertising programs, focusing on visitor behaviour – beyond the inital click-through. Full bio available