Sloppy Marketing Weakens Email Effectiveness

In just a few short years, email revolutionized marketing. Yet email abuse, spam and sloppy email marketing practices have reduced its effectiveness.

As a result, I routinely pass over email as a viable acquisition channel.

Only double opt-in email sent to customers offers sufficient revenue to warrant attention. There are exceptions, as always. But unsolicited mass delivered emails to prospects often work to the detriment of the advertiser's reputation and bottom line.

As Reggie Brady writes (a recognized authority on the email channel) in her recent Target marketing article entitled "E-commerce Link : Don’t Tarnish Your Reputation!".

"Email deliverability is still a major challenge for marketers… The newest wrinkle is that user behavior can affect deliverability—particularly for consumer mailers.

Many ISPs now calculate a mailer's reputation based on how many email messages are opened and/or clicked. If too many recipients do not open or click, your email may be routed to a bulk folder even if you are white-listed. Conversely, even if you've had higher spam complaints, your email may be delivered to the primary inbox if your opens or clicks are strong".

The government, ISPs and spam filter developers are all working to reverse the tide. But spam and spammer ingenuity continue to grow. In this environment, emailers struggle to keep their noses above the water line.

Other than spammers, the worst offenders are the companies that send their emails indiscriminately or too frequently. Their sloppiness reduces the email channel's potential for all of us.

The best email strategy is the same strategy for all marketing efforts. Marketers should carefully consider the impact of their marketing decisions on the customer first. If they do so, customers will reward them with repeat sales and loyalty.