Avoid the Delete Key

Assume you’ve done a great job at growing your e-mail list. You’re beating industry averages, and the annual net growth of your file — after removing bounces and opt-outs — is 50 percent. You’re happy! Your boss is happy!

Ah, but that’s only part of the formula for e-mail success. An indifferent audience is the death knell for catalog marketers. You want an active and involved audience.

There are many bad practices that can harm your programs. If you make one misstep, your customers and prospects may give you the benefit of the doubt. If you make several, however, you’ll lose them. And, you have just a few seconds to capture their attention; the average reading time for a promotional e-mail is less than 15 seconds.

Up against such tight parameters, you don’t want your readers to reach for the delete button the moment they see your e-mails.

The Frequency Frenzy
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to over-mail your list. I recently took an informal count of catalog e-mails that I receive; here are the results:

* Slightly more than half of these catalogers send e-mails once a week;

* About one-third send e-mails twice a week; and

* The rest send e-mails three times a week.

Mailing three times a week is overkill. Sales may indeed be higher with this schedule, and it’s tempting to fall into this trap. But I guarantee that opt-outs will be higher and bounces will accrue. On top of that, these catalogers will experience many more “report as spam” complaints from the ISPs. Bounces and complaints can impact senders’ e-mail reputations and their ability to deliver future messages.

According to an eROI consumer survey, 56 percent unsubscribe because they’re receiving e-mails too frequently from marketers. This impacts the quality and size of the list.

A quick analysis of subject lines and content from those catalogers who mail three times a week shows that there’s nothing extraordinary about these e-mails. They’re just more of the same offers and promotions I’ve already received.
The Curse of Broken Links
Nothing will turn your customers off more than when they’re interested in an item, click on the link and get a “page not found” error message. Overcome this by testing all the links in your message prior to sending.

Not everyone will interact with your message right away, however. Some people will save your message in their inbox, and it may be several weeks before they decide to click. Of course, the sale may be over or the item may no longer be available.

Make sure there’s a user-friendly page that clickers are brought to explaining the situation and suggesting alternative items or highlighting your current offer.
No Personalization
Few catalogers personalize their e-mails in terms of the salutation. Only 5 percent of the catalogers in my study use personalization. And those that do use this technique sporadically.

A missed opportunity? Readers’ eyes naturally are drawn to their own name. So you can create engagement immediately with this technique. I like the way Doctors Foster and Smith does this. Above the content this pet supplies cataloger inserts a salutation and short message that’s also viewable in the preview pane. It reads as follows:

Dear Regina,

Are all catnips created equal? Discover the Feline Fantasia® difference. PLUS - save on Red Tag Specials.

It’s easy to set up and certainly worth a test to see if this technique boosts response for you.

I’ve also received e-mails that were supposed to be personalized, but something clearly went wrong. They said, “Dear [FIRST_NAME].”

Somehow the system didn’t pick up the appropriate information to include in the e-mail. A mistake like this should easily be picked up if you have a good proofing and approval process in place.

E-mails must be easily accessible and easy to read. Occasionally, however, I receive e-mails where the type font size is really small. It immediately looks uninviting and daunting to read.

Your font size should be a minimum of 10 point. Format your e-mails to a tight width of 500 to 600 pixels. Reading on a computer screen is a different experience. It’s much harder for the eye to scan across the entire width of the screen.

As for background colors, most e-mails that present multiple items use a white background or a very light tint. If you’re to use a black background for an offer box, be sure to bump up the font size even more.

Here’s a handy tip from San Francisco-based e-mail vendor Topica. This online marketing and sales solutions vendor suggests you keep in mind the magic number three. As a general rule, use no more than three fonts and three colors in a single e-mail message. This allows you to create a more harmonious message.

Have you received e-mails where there’s just too much going on? Some examples:

* postage stamp-size multiple product images;

* excessively long paragraphs;

* assorted fonts and colors;

* too many columns;

* numerous call-out boxes; and

* assorted headlines littering the screen.

To ensure that your e-mail design is crisp and clean, use digestible copy blocks with short paragraphs. Use bullets and headers to make your e-mails easy to scan. A two- or three-column design can work well for e-mails that feature several products. Additionally, have one main column that’s larger and the central focus, and use the other columns to present your navigation and other items.
Two-way Communication
Count the number of times you use “we,” “our,” “us” and your company name in your copy. E-mail is about two-way communication. You’ll create a barrier between yourself and the reader if your copy feels too one-sided.

E-mail copy should be similar to good direct mail copy. Find ways to put the focus on the reader. Use the word “you” when it makes sense.«

Regina Brady is president of Reggie Brady Marketing Solutions, a direct and e-mail marketing consultancy in Norwalk, Conn. You can reach her at (203) 838-8138 or reginabrady@att.net.

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