Hubspot recently released an extensive study on how email marketing can be effective. There is a great deal of terrific information in the document, but some of the highlights are here. My favorite point of the study is that people believe they handle email differently than they do. Years ago there was a study where people asked managers how they would like to receive information. Overwhelmingly they indicated phone calls. But in reality, they didn’t return the phone calls. They did read email. With this study people indicated they prefer lots of pictures in their emails. In reality, it was found that more pictures caused the email to be ignored. Over half of the respondents use email filters in addition to spam filters so they have help determining which emails they should read. It was also determined that while email is still opened on desktops/laptops, […] Continue reading
Email Subjects
How do you organize your email? I’m surprised by how many people don’t, but at some level, everyone chooses what to open and what to delete. Obviously, that happens based on two things: who the email is from and what the subject says. If you are like me, you get a ton of email from people you don’t know so that eliminates option one. Which brings us to the subject line. I received an email today that said, “The Best Deal of the Year – $75 off”. Okay – sounds good I guess. Who’s it from? A company I don’t need. Delete. Next? But can’t you hear the person in the office complaining about their open rate? Who WOULDN’T want $75??? Why won’t they just open the email? Because you’ve given me no reason to look further. Because of my past experience with your company, […] Continue reading
On the Subject of Subjects
You sit down to write an email and the first thing you fill in is the subject. Write your email, hit send, and that’s the last you think about it. But it shouldn’t be. Before you hit send, think about what you hope someone will do when they receive your email and modify the subject accordingly. What does that mean? Well, for instance, if you send your client a bill, don’t call it “Invoice for ABC Company” because that’s what it is to YOU. Instead, call it “Invoice from TPG – June 1-30, 2013” so if they file it, they can find it easily. If you send them the same thing regularly, by just changing the date they have neat and orderly information without lifting a finger. Nice. Or, maybe you want someone to respond. If you think about your own email habits, the first […] Continue reading