Home Library Translate
A A A
Share »
Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect »

Blog: Marketing and Social Media

Menu

  • This Blog's Home
  • Guest Writer Submissions
  • Policies
  • To Subscribe to a Blog
  • About
  • Feedback

Email Marketing Best Practices – Part 2 of 2

By Lisa Chapman on October 21, 2010

Things You Should Avoid in Your Email Campaigns

In the most recent post (Part 1 of 2), we covered the commandments of email marketing campaigns – those things you MUST do to optimize your delivery, open and response rates. Thanks to Vertical Response, we also have a list of things to AVOID.

This list is only half as long, but equally important to protect the integrity and boost the outcome.

___ DO NOT use rented lists. These recipients did not opt-in to your mailing, so you could be reported as spam, or even blacklisted by ISPs. Horrors.

___ ISPs and filters search and screen for the use of punctuation in the middle of words. Examples: “FR EE” or “FR^EE”. When they find these, your message may be blocked completely.

___ Don’t over-punctuate. “Read this! You’ll love it!! And it’s FREE!!!” Now that’s just too much. It’s poorly written copy, and it actually works to make you message less believable, not more.

___ ALL CAPITAL LETTERS indicates yelling. You don’t want to yell, do you? It diminishes your credibility. Subject lines with all caps are often redirected to your recipients’ junk mail folders.

___ Don’t send attachments. If you use bulk mail delivery systems, ISPs don’t have the capacity to handle large volumes, and the entire campaign may not be supported.

___ Don’t send offers that your recipients did not request. It is tantamount to spam, and will get you unsubscribed in a heartbeat.

More Tips to Avoid in Email Campaigns to Increase Deliverability

For technical advice, consider using an expert to review your campaign before sending it. Many of the systems vary so much that it’s impossible to know if your message and its construction are compatible with the delivery systems. Here are some examples:

___ Gmail forwards all email content as plain text

___ Hotmail strips out Flash entirely.

___ Yahoo! Mail does not accept JavaScript. (The code will appear in the body of the email.)

___ AOL strips out flash and form tags.

___ Netscape strips out Flash and JavaScript.

___ Internet Explorer can misalign images due to white space.

(Thanks to ZetaInteractive.com for the tips above.)

What email marketing systems work best for you?

——————

For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book, How to Make Money Online With Social Media: A Step-by-Step Guide for Entrepreneurs will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

Articles in this series

  • Expand Your Sales Force – Part 2 of 2
  • Email Marketing Best Practices - Part 2 of 2
  • Back to Basics – Small Business MUST Adopt Social Media Marketing – Part 2 of 2
  • How to Attract Laser-Targeted Traffic – Part 2 of 2
« Previous Next »

Search Our Site

Meet the Blog’s Host

Lisa Chapman serves her clients as a Business and Marketing Coach, Business Planning Consultant and Social Media Consultant, specializing in increasing revenues. [Read more ...]

Recent Blog Posts

  • How to Write Business Proposals
  • How to Deal with Google’s Mobile-First Index
  • 6 Ways to Instantly Reach a Wider Social Media Audience
  • Guide To WordPress Website Creation
  • 7 Mobile Apps to Amp-Up Your Social Media Presence
  • How to Create Content With Long Term Value for Your Subscribers
  • Save Time and Money
  • 10 Best Content Marketing Tools
  • Who Are The Millennials and How Do They Shop?
  • Free and Cheap Press Release Sites for Small Business

Categories of Posts

  • Advertising and Promotions
  • Basics and Overviews
  • Branding
  • Communications
  • content curation
  • General Resources
  • Market Planning
  • Market Research
  • PR
  • Sales
  • SEO Search Engine Optimization
  • Social Media Management
  • social media marketing
  • Social Media Tools
  • social media trends
  • Social Networking
  • Strategy
  • Uncategorized
  • video
  • Web Traffic

Related Library Topics

  • Advertising
  • Business Planning
  • Market Research
  • Customer Service
  • Public Relations
  • Competitor Analysis
  • Pricing
  • Marketing (Overview)
  • Planning (Overview)
  • Problem Solving
  • Product Management
  • Program Planning
  • Project Planning
  • Quality Management
  • Sales
  • Social Networking
  • Branding
  • Communications

Library's Blogs

  • Boards of Directors
  • Building a Business
  • Business Communications
  • Business Ethics, Culture and Performance
  • Business Planning
  • Career Management
  • Coaching and Action Learning
  • Consulting and Organizational Development
  • Crisis Management
  • Customer Service
  • Facilitation
  • Free Management Library Blogs
  • Fundraising for Nonprofits
  • Human Resources
  • Leadership
  • Marketing and Social Media
  • Nonprofit Capacity Building
  • Project Management
  • Quality Management
  • Social Enterprise
  • Spirituality
  • Strategic Planning
  • Supervision
  • Team Building and Performance
  • Training and Development
About Feedback Legal Privacy Policy Contact Us
Free Management Library, © Copyright Authenticity Consulting, LLC ®; All rights reserved.
  • Graphics by Wylde Hare LLC
  • Website maintained by Caitlin Cahill

By continuing to use this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.X