As email has strengthened its hold in marketing, in today’s time, there is a clear and recognizable difference between spam and email marketing. When people think of spam, the first example that comes to their mind is when they receive an email telling them, that they have won a huge amount of money. For example, you receive an email telling you that if you click on the link provided, then you will be given the reward of one million dollars, which you have won. Some spam emails even claim that you entered a survey or a lucky draw, when you never did. Keeping this standard in mind, individuals are not able to recognize what a spam email is and what it consists of.
People don’t fall for such emails anymore and immediately delete them, or send them directly to their spam folder. Thus, spammers or spam senders have become more creative with their techniques. At times, even when a company doesn’t want to spam its customers, their email seems like spam to customers, because of the strategies they use. If a brand is creating their email marketing campaign strategy, then they need to remember a few points. These points will help them differentiate their email marketing campaign from spam and will make it more legit.
Permission For Email Marketing, None For Spam
When a company carries out a legit email marketing campaign, they have an opt-in form on their website, where they ask the visitors of the website for their email addresses. When you become an entrepreneur, you have to respect the privacy of your customers and given them the choice to decide if they want to receive updates about products and services, or not.Spam messages are basically an annoyance for the customers, because they are unwelcome and cause disruption. Moreover, while legit websites do give their customers the choice to opt-out of their email campaigns, spam messages don’t give customers the same choice. Those who run legit email campaigns can learn something from spam messages; they offer something to the customer, even if it is not real. Businesses should include the benefit that customers would get, when they use their product or services. For example, if Adobe is emailing a customer, they can offer them a free trial of their software and this would attract the customer to try it out. Customers, when they subscribe to an email service, need to know what they can get in return. For example, if a business is having a discount week, then the subscribed users should be notified first, so that they can benefit from it more.
Descriptive And Specific Subject Lines
Spam messages give customers more value, and they mention that value in their subject lines. On the other hand, legit email marketing campaigns consist of emails that offers their customers a gift in the subject line, but those subject lines are usually deceptive, as the customer doesn’t get anything in the end.This practice is becoming so frequent, that even customers who receive such emails realize that these emails don’t offer them anything of value. The subject lines are over used and within a blink of an eye, a customer can differentiate between a legit email and a spam message.
The best way to make sure that a customer opens an email is to use loops; for example, chose a subject line that is incomplete, so that the customer would be motivated to know what the next part is. Subject lines that are incomplete increase the curiosity level of customers, and they try to find what awaits them.
Opt-Out Choice
Giving an opt-out choice to customers is a great marketing tactic, because customers love to have a choice. Marketers should give choice to customers to receive their emails or unsubscribe from the email list. If the email marketing campaign is good, then the customers would be able to opt-out, and they would be able to do it easily as well. Businesses should include an unsubscribe option on their websites or the emails that they sent to customers, so that an opt-out doesn’t become irritating for them. The customers should be given a return email address as well, where they can email and ask about their subscription and if they want to receive different updates.When a customer has unsubscribed from a service, then an email marketer should not spam their inbox anymore, because this would negatively affect the reputation of a company. When an email marketer has given a customer the choice to opt-out, then their decision should be respected as well. If the business continues to spam a particular customer, then that would be counted as messages that are unwelcome and forced.
Marketers should develop ethical guidelines when it comes to email marketing, so that they respect their customers. If they follow guidelines, then the campaign, they are running would be a success; otherwise, it will backfire and would prove to be bad for the company. The strategy that an email marketer adopts in communicating and engaging with the customer is very important. This is why businesses and entrepreneurs should seek advice from email campaign management experts. These experts can help marketers differentiate between legit email and spam, and how they should respect the privacy and choice of the customer.