YOUR E-MAIL MARKETING STRATEGY SHOULD AVOID THESE 6 MYTHS

If you are an 80s or 90s kid, you’ll probably empathise when we say that e-mails were quite a phenomenon back when they were

introduced to the world. You could do away with having to wait for 2-3 days for your handwritten letter to be delivered. Now, your

messages could reach people in minutes! It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that having a mail id and chatting over mails was

indeed a cool thing. E-mails were fast, convenient and a big success story in communication. With such popularity, it was only a

matter of time before they were commercialised and used by brands to communicate with their consumers and followers as well.

That too was met with resounding success. But then came social media and people seemed to gravitate more towards it. Suddenly,

you started hearing things like e-mails are decadent, they are no longer as effective and appealing. And e-mail marketing, which

was once a tool used by marketers heavily, seemed to lose its relevance. But was it merely the boom of social media that caused

this? And is e-mail marketing really ineffective in today’s day and age? Or have too many unverified myths plagued it? We

strongly feel it is the latter. Because however old e-mail marketing might be, it has certainly not lost its relevance or effectiveness

in the modern marketing world. In fact, when it comes to purchases made as a result of receiving a marketing message, email has

the highest conversion rate (66%), when compared to social, direct mail and more. Time to clear up the myths surrounding it

then, right? Let’s start!

Here are 6 myths about e-mail marketing that you should disregard.

 

MYTH 1: E-MAILS ARE STRICLY A MEDIUM FOR CONVERTING SALES

The motive of all marketing tools and strategies is to generate sales and convert customers, right? Sure. But is it the ONLY

motive? We don’t think so. With the degree of personalization and the scope of communication they offer, e-mails can also be a

great medium to generate conversations rather than just conversions. We know, sales are important. But do you know what

generates them? An appealing and clear line of communication. Your customers do not want to hear your sales pitch. They want

to know how your product/service can add value to their lives. So, talk to them. Tell them how your brand can make a difference

in their lives and hear what they have to say. An engaging pitch/conversation would prove to be more effective for you than an

impersonal subject line that is strictly sales oriented. Don’t just talk, start a conversation. The conversions will happen.

MYTH 2: WORDS LIKE “FREE SHIPPING” AND “CLEARANCE” WILL LAND YOUR MAILS DIRECTLY IN THE SPAM FOLDER

Some years down the line, this might not have been a myth. But fast forward to 2020, and it is. It is true that mail filters tracked

words like “free shipping” and marked them as spam before. But with time, AI and consequently the mail filters have gotten

smarter and more advanced. They don’t apply the older filters anymore. Modern mail filters focus more on the user engagement

and the credibility and reputation of the brand sending the mail to determine its spam-ability. Hence, it won’t really matter if

your subject line has or doesn’t have words that are considered spam, as long your content is engaging and truthful.

MYTH 3: PEOPLE ALREADY GET A TON OF E-MAILS

A lot of brands and marketers think that their consumers are tired of receiving too many mails and hence they won’t or don’t

respond to their mails, as it will only add to the clutter. They also show how the responsiveness on their sent mails has been low to

prove their point. However, you might want to rethink your stance on this. Because, contrary to popular perception, your

consumers are not getting as many e-mails as you think. According to a survey by Optinmaster, 60% of people receive less than 6

emails per day from trusted brands. Out of those, 40% of them received less than 3 emails. If your mails have not been getting the

kind of response you desire, it could have more to do with the content & design rather than the quantity of the mails. So, do away

with the hesitation and craft out high quality and engaging mails that add value to your consumers and send them right away!

MYTH 4: SEND E-MAILS AT AN OPTIMUM TIME, LIKE 3 P.M ON THURSDAYS

We are sure you must have across this bit when it comes to social media as well. Experts always suggest an ‘optimum time’ to post

as they believe the majority of your followers are online at that point of time. Hence, they will be able to view & engage with your

post better. As far as e-mails go, the currently trending ‘optimum time’ is 3 P.M on Thursdays. The weekend is right around the

corner and sending e-mails on Thursday could help spur sales, say experts. So, say you follow this dictum and mail your

consumers at the mentioned time. But what if all your other competitors are also following the same routine? What if all of them

clutter their customers (who are also your customers) at the same time with a barrage of mails? Would you have the optimum time advantage anymore?

Hence, much like social media, it is always important to do your research and determine when your target audience would most

likely check their mails, irrespective of the widely followed optimum time. Some people check their mail when they get up in the

morning or while traveling to work, others prefer to wind up their day and check their mails at night as they relax. So, scan your

audience base and mail them according to their browsing habits. You can also try an A/B testing model to see which time works

best for you.

MYTH 5: THE LIKELIHOOD OF GETTING FLAGGED AND SPAMMING IS HIGH

We know, spam is a fearful word when it comes to e-mails. Nobody wants their mails to be labelled spam. Moreover, the risk of

getting flagged due to sending unwanted mails also prevails. But then, your consumer is not going to randomly flag you as soon as

he/she receives any mail you send. As we mentioned before, there are several factors that determine the value of a mail to a

receiver. If you are a data and statistics enthusiast, consider this. Less than 0.05% of people hit the spam button in general. That

is less than 1 person per 2,000 emails! So, unless you send too many mails or fail to add any value to your consumer via your

mails, you should not have a cause for concern. And just in case you do get flagged, don’t worry. Just back off and stop mailing

him/her. Respect their space.

MYTH 6: SHORT SUBJECT LINES EQUALS BETTER RECEPTION FOR E-MAILS

In a world where attention spans are short and less is more, short subject lines should be the way to go, right? Well, not really.

Conciseness and clarity are more important. If you need to convey a certain message through your subject line, convey it without

worrying how many characters you are using. Consumers look at a subject line to see whether a mail is worth their while.

A precisely written subject line will help them engage with you better. Moreover, a short subject line, in its quest to be brief, could

also prove to be misleading for your customers. Hence, it is important to take more space and be clear. But don’t lose focus and

say anything more than you need to. In general, people prefer to interact with their favorite brands via e-mail. So, make it count.

We hope these myth busters help you the next time you create your e-mail marketing strategy. If you need any more clarity on the

points we have touched, or help in creating and executing an e-mail strategy for your brand, just reach out to us on

connect@gdcs.online and we’ll get back to you right away!