Lara McCulloch

Lara McCulloch

On Posted on by Lara McCulloch to Email Marketing Campaign, News

7 things you may not know about email marketing

online email marketingEmail marketing has gotten a pretty bad rap. You need only look in your email’s inbox to understand why. Littered with promises of lottery winnings, unwanted product deals and promises of riches in far off lands, we often associate email marketing with spam.

However, it’s important not to discount the power of email marketing. According to Campaign Monitor, the average open rate for an email marketing campaign is between 20-40%, with a click-through rate of 6%. Also, according to research conducted by the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing generated an ROI of $43.62 for every dollar spent on it in 2009. That’s pretty darned impressive – it outperforms all the other direct marketing channels examined. Email marketing can be a key tool in your marketing arsenal…when done right.

If you want to be successful in email marketing, you’ll want to consider the following critical, and often misunderstood, rules:

1. You can’t use tradeshow leads to build your mass email marketing lists

Let me be clear on this point. Building your mass email list with people you met at a tradeshow (see how tradeshow email lists can get you blacklisted), a list you bought from somewhere or cards you collected at a networking event is not permissible. Recipients of your email marketing must have explicitly opted in to your email communications.

2. If more than 1% of subscribers unsubscribe you could be blacklisted

Many reputable email marketing software providers, like MailChimp and Aweber, have strict tolerances for unsubscribes. Generally speaking, if more than 1% of your subscribers unsubscribe from your email marketing it flags the software provider that your list may not be of high quality. Those providers work very hard to ensure their customers’ lists are top-notch. This allows them to be white-listed by most ISPs (internet service providers).

3. You can’t mislead recipients with your subject line

The FTC has very strict guidelines under their CAN-SPAM act to protect American consumers from spam. Penalties of up to $16,000 can be given to companies who ignore these rules. One such requirements is to ensure that an email header doesn’t trick the recipient into opening your email.

4. You must have accurate header information

In other words, your ‘from’, ‘to’ and ‘reply-to’ headers must accurately identify the person or company the email is being sent from/to. (via CAN-SPAM)

5. You must allow people to opt-out of your messages

This is one of the most overlooked rules in email marketing that I’ve seen. According to CAN-SPAM you must clearly tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future emails from you.

6. You must honor opt-out requests within 10 business days days

If someone has told you that they no longer wish to receive your emails you must honor their request as quickly as possible (and within a maximum of 10 business days). (via CAN-SPAM)

7. You must disclose your address

I’m not talking about an email address. You must disclose a valid physical postal address with your emails. (via CAN-SPAM)

Above board email marketing will not only help your reputation with your customers (and potential customers) but also the reputation of the practice overall. Did any of the rules above surprise you?


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