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DATADOG INTERACTIVE UPDATE 11.07
Hi,
We teach our children that "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Who would think that same idiom would work for the world of email marketing? You spend thousands of dollars in your marketing budget to create and build a strong brand that speaks volumes to your consumer. Why squander those efforts by mismanaging your messages in a medium that reaches your audience on the greatest one-to-one level? It would be the marketing equivalent of presenting an engagement ring in a brown paper sack. In that scenario, you're perhaps better off not proposing at all.
Johnathan Crawford
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1. Beauty in the eye of the beholder
Typography on the web is a particularly challenging scenario. Using poorly chosen fonts in sizes too big, too small or in a wide variety of styles and colors doesn't "spice up your message", it only leads to literal headaches and eye strain in your consumer.
Don't make them work to read your message, present it cleanly and simply to ensure the highest readability. Avoid italics at all costs and remember that an underline immediately signals a link. 2. Too quick to care
Email may be a fast-paced medium, but it deserves the same amount of thought and effort you apply to any of your other marketing messages. An email note that has been quickly jotted off is apparent when it is opened by your reader. If the content is sparse, not written in an appealing manner, or seems to be misdirected, the reader will experience only frustration in having opened it. If you don't have the time to write a decent email, why should they waste their time in reading it?
3. Jeans at Black-tie Dinner
Carry your branded tone throughout your email. If your readers expect an upscale and polished marketing message from you, they don't want to open your email and find "Buy Now! Reserve Today! Supplies going fast!" It cheapens your brand and frustrates your consumer.
4. Don't play it again, Sam
In an effort to stay top-of-mind, your first reaction is email frequency. This can backfire drastically on you if you don't actually have something new to say. Email consumers expect fresh messages and content. Repeating the same offer or details month after month will quickly reduce your open rate since consumers learn to expect the same-old, same-old from you.
5. Looks can kill
Web messages strongly rely on graphics to appeal to consumers. However, not everyone is blessed with a $10,000 photography budget. If you do not have access to a strong photography library, choose stock photos and clip art extremely carefully. If the quality of images does not match your other marketing efforts, again your email will be that guest wearing jeans to a black-tie dinner.
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