This email will self destruct in…

So according to a  study by Litmus Apps of hundreds of email campaigns and 4 million opens 51.1% of those emails are closed within 2 seconds.

So that means you have 2 seconds to make an impression. That’s quite a task.

The stats go on further to state that in the very best campaigns 77% of people fully read the email. 0.12% actually print the email (do people still put that “save the planet and don’t print this email” footer on their emails anymore ?),0.63% actually forward the email unless it was a really viral campaign in which case 9% forwarded it.

So What does this mean for your campaigns ?

Here are a few points I’ve put together :

1. Mediocre won’t cut it anymore , personally I think theres nothing worse than dull dreary “newsletters” with “safe” design, tons of content and endless scrolling. Due to the very nature of the email inbox there does need to be some scrolling but try and keep it to a minimum, and make it look great.
2. Break up the text, short paragraphs, emphasize key phrases, readers that get past 2 seconds will scan and not read.
3. Have a powerful statement or image at the top of the email that will keep them on the page. If you came to this blog post from the email we sent out then you can see how that approach works.
4. Put the content on your site not in the email, create links from the email to that content. You can track who’s clicking and if they are actually interested in that content then they clicked on it !
5. Remember the email is about THE READER not the writer. The reader doesn’t care about Joe in accounts getting married, they’re reading that email to see what THEY can get out of it. Whether an offer you’re making or some knowledge that will benefit their business, write it for THEIR benefit, not yours.
6. Don’t bombard your subscribers – once a month is more than enough, send me any more and I’m hitting that unsubscribe button.(UNLESS you’re an online store in which case if you’ve got special offers on, then once a week works – Wiggle and ChainReaction you can keep sending me your weekly cycling offers email).
7. Average open rates for a proper targeted email list has now dropped to 11% so if you’re not in that region then you need to reassess not only your list but the content and design that you’re using. Open rates have dropped significantly every year since 2004. Why is that ? Improved understanding, new tools (Twitter, Facebook etc.) as well as the almost invasive nature of email – “you’re in my inbox you better have a damn good reason for being there”.
   
8. Spend your time on the design, copy and proofreading. It takes us about a day to put together our email, we read it, re-read it and then test send it out many times before we finally hit send. Sometimes a mistake will slip through but we try our damn hardest to make sure we’ve checked and triple checked everything.
9. Be absolutely sure email is the best solution here, maybe a Facebook campaign, a mobile phone app or something else completely is a better idea. Include email as part your overall digital strategy by all means but don’t rely on it solely. You need an integrated approach to digital these days.

I think email is still a great tool but it has to be done well and sparingly. Before the plethora of social media tools out there it was the only way to disseminate your message, now it’s just one more gun in your communications arsenal, but if designed and developed properly it could just be the perfect weapon of choice.

How can we help ? We design emails for a large number clients and send out thousands on their behalf using what we believe is the best email out program available which in turn gives a huge breakdown on stats – API’s for site integration and Google and Litmus add-ons for really powerful interrogation of how your campaigns are working for you. BUT we also utilise all the other social media tools available to develop an all-encompassing strategy that brings all of your communications together So get in contact with us today.

Posted by Matt.