Whether you are email marketing to promote your business or drafting a one-off email it is important to communicate effectively. Many people myself included use email regularly and forget how they can be misleading. Below are some tips for writing effective emails, that do not offend people.
Email newsletter.
- Only send emails to people that you have collected their email personally, and have permission to email.
- Less is more. The emphasis is to put quality over quantity.
- Send HTML email newsletters no more than every other week.
- Sending email newsletters
- Send HTML welcome emails to you new clients.
Communicate more effectively though one off emails.
- Start with a strong subject line. Your subject line is like the headline of a news article. Make sure your subject line relates to the message content.
- State the most important things first. Follow with supporting details.
- Keep paragraphs short and easy to read. Sub-heading are a good idea for lengthy emails.
- Subtle implications are sometimes missed in email. Ask for action. Let people know what outcomes you desire. When in doubt, check it out. Use the spell check or consult a grammar/style manual.
- Email is not always the best form of communication. Highly complex information, complaints/dissatisfaction, confidential information, and negotiations usually are better communicated by other means, such as a phone or face-to-face conversation.
- Keep acronyms to a minimum. They can be confusing to your readers.
- Do not use too much punctuation!!!!!! If something is important it should be reflected in the text, not solely in your punctuation.
- In email there are no visual or auditory clues. Smilies can be used as a part of a good natured one-on-one conversation with someone with whom you are familiar.
- The use of upper-case words (and red lettering) is equivalent of shouting in some one’s ear. Only use upper-case words when you are trying to make a strong point. Even at that, you should be careful with whom you are exchanging messages.
If you receive an unpleasant email, respond to it professionally.
- Resist the temptation to fire off a response.
- Read the original message again; you might be misinterpreting the message by the sender.
- Draft a response and let to cool off for a time before sending it.
- Break the cycle of message and response. A telephone call or personal conversation can do wonders for resolving difficulties.
Whats next?
Searched Marketing can help you in the creative design, strategy, implementation and management of your marketing campaigns. Contact Searched Marketing today for a complimentary consultation for email and online marketing.