“Half the money I spend on Email Advertising is wasted, the trouble is I don’t know which half.”
Over 100 years ago, John Wannamaker, pioneer in marketing and founder of this country’s first department store, which eventually became part of Macy’s, was heard saying these immortal words of wisdom. Minus the email part, of course. But his eloquent words are none the less accurate today.
More than half of the emails sent are slaughtered. Dead on arrival. Deleted. Why?
Consider this, currently, the average email open rate for all industries is 21.33%
In other words, only 2 out of every 10 emails sent get opened, let alone read.
8 of 10 are deleted or ignored.
That’s sad. And wasteful of all the effort and time you spend conceiving, creating, and delivering.
Thinking this percentage of waste was high, I tracked my own email habits for several days and found to my surprise, this percentage was actually quite accurate.
I delete a lot of emails. Daily!
But why? Are email marketers that bad at what they do? Or are there hidden forces at work which are causing this daily inbox slaughter to occur? Can we fix or improve this?
Here’s what I found in my personal study:
Emails are deleted –
- 1. By FROM Name – This is quick, happens within seconds. I look at who it’s from. If I don’t recognize your name instantly, ‘bang’, you’re gone.
The Fix – Don’t spam. Don’t buy lists. Be known. Don’t come uninvited to my house. If you don’t talk to me often, I may forget who you are.
- 2. By Subject Line – Are you saying something of interest to me? What’s this about? Is there any curiosity factor in your subject line? Any surprises?
The Fix – Advertising expert Robert Collier advised, “Always enter the conversation already taking place in the customer’s mind.” If I worry everyday about sales and profits, and you show up in my inbox asking about foot fungus, you’re gone. Bang! Deleted.
Does your subject line address what your prospect is probably thinking about right now?
- 3. By Opening Line – You have less than 2 seconds to hook me into reading. Go! Does the opening line match the subject line that got me to open? Am I still interested?
The Fix – clickbait is a no-no. Don’t entice me with steak and serve hamburger. There has to be a subject line to message match very quickly. Asking a question is often a good start, especially if it contains the word ‘you’. Ex. “Do you (have this problem).
- 4. By Length – Everyone’s in a hurry. Burdened by too much to do. If I open and see this is a long email, I have to ask, “Do I have time for this now?” Often the answer is no.
The Fix – Emails aren’t meant to be articles. Brevity is best. Say what you have to say and be done. Link to a blog or other longer content if that’s appropriate. Sometimes long is OK, if your reader finds interest, but not too often. What’s the best email length? I like this old fashioned description attributed to Winston Churchill, “Like a woman’s skirt, long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.”
- 5. By Dopamine Rush – Dopamine is a pleasure chemical. A hormone produced in your body when you anticipate something good is about to happen. Sex can trigger it. Heroin and cocaine too. Porn. Praise. And sweet things. Whenever I run into an old friend, I expect something good is about to happen. It makes me feel good inside. Some email senders always get me excited to read their email. I just know there is something good inside. Who makes you excited to see them? Be like them.
The Fix – Be a welcomed inbox friend. Have something good to say about me. Have some good news for me. Help me. Entertain me. Make me laugh. Make me feel smarter. Give me something I can share with my friends or coworkers that makes them go “Cool!” (Notice how many times I wrote “me”. The more you talk about me, the more I like you!)
Email advertising may seem free, but the hidden costs of time, attention, and reputation are large. Send too many unwelcomed emails and you’ll soon incur the wrath of the recipient. Or worse, risk getting banned entirely by internet service providers for spamming.
Since email marketing offers one of the highest ROI’s, it’s an advertising medium that should not be overlooked, taken lightly, or haphazardly assembled. But instead, mastered.
If you haven’t time to master best email marketing practices, but are eager to reap the delicious rewards of an email campaign done strategically, outsourcing can be a great alternative to the DIY approach.
You don’t do your own lawyering or accounting. Why do you think you can email effectively?
Reach out if you’d like some help with email writing. I have some spots available.
