Quality matters in email marketing: be excellent in every step

When I check out some email marketing campaigns, even ‘regular’ ones like newsletters, it is surprising how many little things go wrong. Broken/distorting images or white lines between them, showing the messages have not been tested in the most used email clients. I really don’t use any exotic email clients, so that should not be the issue (Most used by me are Outlook.com, Gmail and Outlook 2007).
 
Links and the follow-up
Furthermore, what about broken links, or mismatching links? Just reading an article in an email, interested in the bigger picture and clicking through only to land on the general homepage…that happens too often in AdWords campaigns too!
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Make sure every step in the click journey is accounted for. Links, forms, downloads all are tested and given the ok. It’s just bad for your reputation with anyone if someone clicks through and the link doesn’t work or they don’t get where they expected to be (which is sometimes even worse).
 
You know who I am, but why would you use that?
One of many great things about email marketing is data. Big, beautiful, expansive data. Many senders know some or more of my personal details. I’m sure of it because I have filled them in on countless forms, digital and analogue. Why then do I receive emails stating ‘Dear sir/madam,’ …come on! This is 2012, not 1996!
It would be fine if they would only have my email address and want to expand on my personal data and preferences: but many already know those. Use them! It’s so simple and puts in just that little extra touch, even though I know it’s only coming out of databases and automation.
 
Your email looks beautiful on mobile, but your website…
Look, it’s great your getting your email ready for mobile. Wonderful, really! You’re ahead of the rest and serving those 5% ~ 50% viewing your emails on mobile something nice. However, make sure that when you detect someone’s on mobile, keep that experience mobile! Keep it touch and small(er) screen-friendly. It’s no fun to go from a 100% visible email that looks and navigates wonderfully to a 25% visible website that navigates like a drunk horse just because your website cannot detect (and act on) mobile browser user agents.
 
Speed matters
Wonder why Google introduced Google Instant, to show search results while you were typing? Because it saved a few seconds off your searching time. You’d think, what’s a few seconds? But Google gets millions of searches done every single day. That’s millions of seconds that are shaved off the search experience every single day!
People born since MTV appeared with split-second music videos don’t have the time or patience (or both) to read several thousand words in your email marketing message. Get to the point, fast! When that is done I can go on with the rest of my tasks. Don’t make me wait for downloading heavy images, navigate a slow landing page or having to answer dozens of questions on a survey: less is more. Save that for when we meet in person, or when I’m really a customer and ready to give some of my precious time to you.
 
Excellent email marketing = excellent results
Like any form of communication or interaction, email marketing deserves a level of quality and care where you don’t just send out stuff because it’s that ‘time of the month’ again, or ‘because the boss said so’. You send out your email marketing campaigns because you are proud of it, because you are certain everything works, because you know everyone receiving it will be delighted with how it works, it looks and how they can interact with it.
Be excellent in email marketing, and the results will be excellent too.
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