In its early years, email marketing was considered one of the most revolutionary forms of marketing, as potential customers could be reached directly at lower costs and lightning speeds.
While email marketing is no longer new, it’s still extremely effective at helping marketers like you reach customers—when done right.
That’s what truly separates email marketing from spam. Email marketing in and of itself isn’t spam, but improper use of email marketing can be.
What is spam?
Spam is the slew of unwanted emails you get every day. Sometimes these messages are just unwanted, but sometimes they hold malicious spyware and other harmful content.
One of the most critical functions in marketing is to elevate promotional emails from spam and keep them distanced from it as much as possible. The most important thing to remember about what classifies an email as spam is that it’s unsolicited.
What makes email marketing spam?
Most folks would define spam as any email they don’t want being sent to their inbox and didn’t ask for. Spam email has the same non-existent appeal as the stranger who tries to talk to you and sell things.
Not only does sending unsolicited email leave a bad impression ruining any promotional efforts, sending emails to people who haven’t asked for them can be illegal.
However, email recipients might still mark your message as spam, even if they did subscribe to your list for a couple of reasons:
- The subscriber doesn’t remember opting in for your list.
- They no longer want to receive your emails and it’s easier for them to mark your message as spam than to find your unsubscribe process.
Both of these reasons can bring down your sender reputation, so how do you keep your emails interesting to your subscribers?
Keep your email marketing engaging
First of all, you should get explicit permission before sending any emails. In fact, we suggest using a double opt-in process so you know beyond a doubt that your subscribers really want to receive messages from you.
Another great way to keep your email engaging is to ensure your email content is exclusive.
Customers will lose interest if they find your newsletter features the same content anyone can see on your website. Instead, try offering exclusive content, VIP access to sales and new releases in your emails. This incentivizes your subscribers to stay on your list and continue to engage with your emails.
Additionally, today’s consumer expects liberal amounts of individuality in their interactions with brands. That’s why it’s essential to segment your list to send only the most relevant content to every subscriber.
How to measure email marketing success
There are two staple metrics to keep track of when measuring email marketing success: open rates and click-through rates.
Open rates are the first thing you should look at. The open rate tells you how many of your emails have actually been opened by recipients, which helps show you how well the campaign is performing.
Another important metric to follow is the click-through rate, which shows the number of people who clicked on your CTA on the email.
As you tweak your strategy, keep an eye on these metrics to measure how they shift over time. They should get better as you refine your strategy to include more of the content and links your subscribers respond to most.
Don’t forget to compare your rates to your industry benchmarks to understand what goals you should set for your metrics.
Does it really matter?
The figures mentioned above speak volumes, showing that not only does email marketing matter, but it’s also integral to success.
Businesses simply can’t afford to ignore email marketing or waste costly efforts on emails that’ll just end up being trashed.
What now?
To take full advantage of email marketing, you’ll have to exercise the principles discussed here. Always start with getting permission by having customers sign up for newsletters and give them consistent, exclusive, and engaging content for the best results.
Keep your marketing emails out of spam folders and in your customer’s inbox with Campaign Monitor.