Contributed by Steve Fales (excerpted from the April 2019 AdServices newsletter)

E-mail, it’s the marketing channel that never stops playing. It holds equal risks and rewards for businesses that regularly use the medium to connect with customers.

To make sure your e-mail efforts are engaging instead of annoying, here are some best practices worth following.
Don’t Crowd. No one wants to be bombarded by promotional emails every day. Having gaps in your offerings will lessen the risk of people feeling harassed. Set a reasonable schedule and stick to it. If you promise your customers a weekly e-mail, don’t suddenly double or triple the frequency. Also, consider having your welcome e-mail come with a form that lets customers decide how often they want to be contacted.

Optimize for Mobile. Many people are now accessing the Internet exclusively through mobile devices. All your e-mails should be optimized for mobile so that regardless of the device someone is using, your content will automatically adjust itself to fit their screen. Luckily, optimizing for mobile is easier than ever before with a majority of e-mail list providers automatically providing optimized campaigns.

Use Automation Selectively. E-mail automation is a vital component in executing effective campaigns, but this doesn’t mean you should depend on it. By all means, use it to eliminate the tedious processes that come with crafting a campaign, but don’t let it replace the brand voice that gives you and your business a level of trust with customers.

Let Them “Opt Down.” People are opting out of promotional e-mails more than ever, and who can blame them? Low-quality mailing lists send a high volume of irrelevant messages to their in boxes. Marketers caught up in this backlash can regain favor through offering an option to “opt down.” Instead of choosing to stay or go, a form with an opting down option allows people to reduce how often they receive your e-mails. You’ll retain more customers and reduce the chance of inadvertently bothering them with a frequency they consider overkill.

E-mail is still a leading marketing channel for ROI. Make it easy for customers to stay in touch with you on their terms, consistently offer something of value, and you’ll be in a position to stay on their good side. And who doesn’t want to trade irate subscribers for increased subscribe rates?

About the Author

Steve Fales is President of AdServices, a full-service advertising and marketing firm located in south Florida. Serving the HVAC industry since 1998, AdServices has helped many contractors develop top of mind awareness. Contact Steve by calling 800.963.1914 or emailing sfales@adservices.net.