Kelly McGary
Associate Manager, E-Mail Marketing
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Send questions to kmcgary@uschamber.com.

Do’s and Don’ts of E-Mail Marketing

E-mail marketing is all about sending the right message to the right person at the right time. But with so many messages constantly flooding our inboxes, that can be a challenge. So how do you cut through the clutter to make sure that your customers and potential customers hear your voice?

Ask permission. Most people will hit the “report spam” button when they do not know who the sender is. Your message goes unread, and your efforts are wasted. To organically grow your list of contacts, add an e-mail sign-up box on your Web site or rent space in an industry newsletter if you have not yet developed your own. Getting your name out there and driving people to your Web site will make you more familiar to potential customers and set the stage for an engaged audience. To quote one of my favorite movies, “Build it and they will come.”

Most important, compliance with federal anti-spam laws is a must. Read the FTC’s Facts for Business (http://tinyurl.com/6ldb88) or visit www.ftc.gov/spam to learn more.

Don’t be a stranger—or a pest. Keep in mind the frequency of your e-mails. Are you sending enough e-mails so that your customers remember you, or too many that they become sick of you? To find the best frequency, get set up with a good e-mail service provider—the Chamber uses ExactTarget—and test, test, test. An e-mail service provider offers Web-accessed e-mail marketing software that will assist in creating, sending, and tracking your marketing e-mails. Tracking allows you to determine how many people opened your e-mail or clicked on a link. Test to see how variations in your program (e.g., frequency of messages, time of day) affect those response rates.

Get personal. Take the words “e-mail blast” out of your vocabulary. E-mail is personal; one size does not fit all. Think about the customer’s experience. Send a thank-you note when a customer makes a purchase or a coupon when—according to your product lifecycle—he or she is ready to purchase again.

Don’t forget the details. Spell check and copy edit. Have a co-worker proofread your e-mail before you send it. Always send yourself a test of the e-mail. Click on every link and make sure it looks how you intend it to look.

Do your research. Sign up to receive another company’s e-mails. Contact the publisher of an online newsletter that you enjoy and ask questions. The more you know, the better your e-mail marketing program will be.

Here are a few of my go-to resources:

• Complete guide to e-mail marketing—http://email-marketing-reports.com
• The Email Wars—http://theemailwars.com
• Get to the Po!nt: Email Marketing—http://marketingprofs.com