100 words on: Emails–relevant, real and ready-to-go
“We really need to email less often.”
“Of course, they need to be more effective.”
Clients have been suggesting communicating less frequently to reduce ‘clutter’ and ‘email fatigue’ while expecting better results.
Wholesale reductions in frequency rarely make sense. For optimum results, we consider:
- Relevance. If you’re a promotional retailer—say Bluefly, Gilt or Wine Express, daily communication keeps customers engaged. Hearing daily from your accountant wouldn’t be relevant.
- Realness. Recently, applying the discount offered in a Hertz email promotion doubled the cost of renting. We needed a car, but the bogus promotion quashed the sale.
- Ready-to-go. Don’t be creepy, but ‘know me’ and make it easy to engage. There’s only seconds to spare between clicking-through and abandoning your email.
Finally, be inventive. Subject lines and creative treatments still dramatically affect results. Who wouldn’t be intrigued by FTD’s subject line encouraging you to: ‘Tell your boss how you really feel about him’?