What Do Subscribers Expect from You?

Posted by Justin Premick

Consistency is something that we all lean on, from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep. When my alarm clock goes off, I hit the snooze button and it consistently reminds me to get up exactly 10 minutes later. I turn the left-hand knob on my shower, and hot water comes out of the faucet.

If my alarm doesn’t go off again after I hit the snooze button or if my faucet won’t give me hot water, it throws me off. It doesn’t necessarily ruin my day, of course, but it does remind me how reliant we are on routine and how disruptions in that routine aren’t usually welcome.

And just what does this have to do with your email marketing campaigns?

You’ve done a great job getting subscribers to your site, generating signups to your list and putting great content in your newsletters, but maybe your open rates aren’t where you’d like, or you’re seeing an increase in your unsubscribe rate.

You’ve looked at your messages, and you’re still providing the great content in the messages that you always have. So why isn’t the response where it should be?

Maybe you’re not making yourself part of your subscribers’ routine.

There are several things you can do to build consistency into your newsletters, and in doing so, build your subscribers’ expectations and get them into the habit of anticipating, opening and reading your newsletter:

Format Your From Line and Subject Lines Consistently

Once subscribers have gotten your initial message and the first issue or two of your newsletter, they form an expectation of what your messages look like in their inbox. Future messages that follow this format are more likely to stand out when they scan the dozens or hundreds of messages in their inbox.

The best way to build in consistency is by sending each message with the same from line. This, along with the subject line, is the first thing subscribers see.

You can build consistency into the subject line itself, too, but don’t make it boring… after all, you want people to get excited about what’s in the email!

Many email marketers develop a “voice” that shines through in their subject lines and makes them different and compelling, yet unmistakably “theirs.” Others use tags such as [Justin's Totally Sweet Newsletter] and place those at the end of their subject lines.

Brand Your Messages, At The Top

Whether you use a logo, your company name, your website URL, or your own name as your brand, get it in front of your subscribers, at the beginning of your message!

Example:

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Justin’s Totally Sweet Marketing Newsletter:
What Do Your Subscribers Expect From You?
http://www.example.com/issue15.html
August 1st, 2006

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You’ll notice that I put a URL in the headline. As Marc noted in an earlier post, you can put online versions of your newsletter issues on your site, and give links to those online versions in your messages.

This is a great idea because it can drive subscribers back to your site, where they may sign up for another one of your newsletters, purchase one of your products, or click on an AdSense ad on your site - and there’s certainly nothing bad about them doing any of that!

Format Your Message Body Consistently

Now that you’ve gotten your subscribers to open your messages through consistent subjects and message beginnings, you’ll want to provide readers with a consistent format.

Readers scan email for the information they deem relevant. When your subscribers are familiar with the format of your messages, they’re better able to scan your mailings and find the information they want.

If they’re not able to find the information they want easily, they’re less likely to read future issues and more likely to unsubscribe.

Stick To Your Schedule

Build expectations for when your messages will arrive. If you’re offering subscribers a weekly newsletter, send it weekly.

By doing this you will be building anticipation that will foster relationships and lifetime readers.

Consistency with your newsletter can make you as much a part of your subscribers’ routine as my snooze button is a part of mine.

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Optimizing your email marketing program

Here's a dilemma that affects all email marketers, deliverability issues. Is your email actually getting opened and read, or are the spam filters blocking your action? There is a way to resolve email deliverability issues, by optimizing your email marketing program.

Optimizing your email marketing program simply means making sure your "From, To" and "Subject" headers are dynamic yet identifiable. This is easy to do. Be sure you use your business or organization name in the "From" header. This establishes your emails as credible and valid.

Surely you've been told to create a compelling "Subject" line. This is what will get your customer in the door, devise subject lines that exhibit sheer curiosity and emotion. Your email marketing program will see an increase in the amount of responses you get when you optimize your subject lines. For me, the subject line has always been a stickler. Getting the subject line in front of the right audience at the right time will increase all kinds of profits for any email marketing program. According to Lyris, email marketing has a ROI of $45 for every $1 spent. Just for that reason alone, it is worth it to optimize your email marketing program.

Another easy optimization tip is to include the recipient's full name in the "To" header. If all you have is an email address and no name, then you should not include this person in your email marketing campaign until you introduce yourself. My belief on that is, it's just rude, plain rude to send 'blind' emails that way, basically what amounts to spam.

Here's another easy email marketing optimization tip: Create a consistent prefix to your "Subject" line so it can be easily identified in a recipient’s inbox. Doing this also helps with the passage through anti-spam filters, i.e. "[Teasas World] http://www.teasasworld.com/2009/01/american-bald-eagle.html."

Test out different headers...testing and more testing is an email marketing mantra. Try out different "Subject" or "From" headers and track the results. Effective email marketing involves constant modification and creativity. Optimizing your email marketing program is one way to make your job easier.

I'm using the free trial dowload email marketing software I got as a free trial. It comes highly recommended from CNet...check it out...

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