We use to worry about mail ending up in the “circular file.” Now, we worry about the Spam folder. E-newsletters are a powerful and inexpensive way to stay in touch with customers, prospects and others in your network. Constant Contact has some great tips on how to avoid having your news end up in the spam file.
1) Have a clear identity
Clearly communicating your identity is the number one way to avoid spam complaints. According to a survey by the Email Sender and Provider Coalition, 79 percent of consumers clicked the spam button when they didn’t know who the sender was. Here are two easy ways to make your identity apparent.
· Use a familiar name in your “from” line. Use the same words your audience uses to identify you or your business. For example, if you’re an online business and your customers refer to you by your domain name instead of your formal business name, put your domain name in your “from” line. If you are your brand, and everyone on your list knows who you are, use your name.
· Include your brand. Insert your logo into the upper left or center of every email and include image descriptions (alt text) of your company’s name for readers who have images disabled.
2) Send only relevant content
Consumers expect their email subscriptions to deliver value. According to eMarketer, 46 percent of Internet users say the commercial emails they receive are not targeted to their needs. Since your email list is likely to include people with a variety of interests, take these interests into account before you send.
· Send surveys and polls to learn about preferences. Don’t assume you know what people want – ask! You can conduct a formal survey before starting a major email campaign or use ongoing polls to get small bits of information over time and adjust your strategy as you go.
· Offer choices on your sign-up form. Some consumers want to receive promotions, while others only want informative newsletters. Offering options helps you make your emails relevant.
· Use click-through data to target future messages. When people click on your links, they tell you what they are interested in. Use this data to create different email lists.
3) Send only what your subscribers want. Don’t send promotions when they signed up for an email newsletter.
4) Avoid excessive promotion – from recipient’s point of view
Selling your products or services is an important part of your email marketing, but, according to a Jupiter Research survey, 40 percent of consumers said they stopped subscribing to opt-in emails because they were getting too many offers. Sending promotions too frequently might lead to spam complaints.
5) Let them out
Sometimes consumers report legitimate email as spam because they simply want to get off a list and don’t understand the negative impact of hitting that spam button. You can make it easy for people to find the “Unsubscribe” button or instructions and reinforce in communications that they can safely unsubscribe to your list by following the Unsubscribe path.
While no one likes getting spam complaints, you can minimize them. Get permission to send, make your identity clear, send relevant content, and keep tabs on your frequency.
