Email Marketing Best Practices in Plain English
What you absolutely need to know when you’re just starting out with email marketing.
Email marketing is vital for your small business, but you don’t have time to become an expert overnight. So what do you truly need to know?
Let’s help you get started with email marketing on the right foot!
Below are some major dos and don’ts that every business owner needs to know.
*Full disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post, but I only recommend services and software that I use myself, have used, and like and can recommend!
Okay, here are the most important email marketing best practices you need to know, in plain English:
Use a domain-based email address.
A domain-based email address means having an address like yourname@yourdomain.com rather than yourname@gmail.com.
Why is this important? Because your emails might not get delivered if you use a free email address from internet service providers (ISP) such as Gmail or Yahoo. Spammers and scammers often use generic email addresses, so spam filters will likely send your emails to the junk folder.
You can obtain a domain-based email address from your domain registrar (aka GoDaddy) or website builder (aka Squarespace) or directly from G Suite.
FYI, If you choose Squarespace as your website builder, you get an entire year of business email from G Suite free ($72 value) when you sign up for a new Business plan website. (And if you work with me on your website, I can get you 20% off your first annual payment of a new Squarespace site).
Speaking of spam, don’t use spammy language!
CLICK HERE! THIS IS GOING FAST!!! Act now - this won’t last!!!
Is this what you want in your inbox? Me neither. This is why language like this, including all caps, will send your emails straight to the junk folder. Here’s a blog post about spammy language to avoid.
Don’t add people to your list without their consent.
Not only is this bad practice because people will feel upset that they’re receiving emails against their will, but in some countries it’s illegal, including Canada and the EU. Here’s a blog post about email opt-in laws.
Another reason to not send emails to people without obtaining consent—aside from simple etiquette—is that it will lower your open rates and click rates, increase spam complaints, and therefore lower the amount of emails that reach inboxes (aka your “deliverability rate”).
Use double opt-in, aka subscription confirmation emails.
Best practice is to only email people who have opted in, and even better practice is to use what is called double-opt in, or the confirmation email, which will root out bots and people who do not truly want to be on your email list.
Using double opt-in ensures a cleaner list, which will lead to more subscribers opening and clicking your email, which will lead to your emails being delivered at a higher rate.
Yes, it might lower the number of your subscribers; some people who initially subscribe to your list will forget to confirm their subscription. BUT the pros of using double opt-in outweigh the cons.
You don’t want people on your list who don’t truly want to be there!
Clean your list regularly.
If you have people on your list who stop opening or clicking on your emails, that will lower your open rates and might lower your deliverability rate.
Every 30 days or so, or at least every three months, be like Marie Kondo and remove cold subscribers from your list. You don’t want to have people on your list who are no longer engaged—poor open and click rates do not spark joy.
You can send them through a re-engagement email sequence and give them a chance to affirm that they want to be on the list (kind of like when Marie has you hold the item to give it a chance…).
If they don’t engage, best to let them go.
Send emails people want to receive.
Tap into the psyche of your subscribers—why did they subscribe in the first place? What do they want or need? Make sure you are giving them a variety of engaging content—information, helpful tips and services, products that will make their lives better or easier.
But don’t be constantly selling - you’ll get lower open rates, lower click rates, and that lowers deliverability.
So…not this:
Use a sender name that subscribers will recognize.
Your sender name is the “from” name in a subscriber’s inbox, and it DOES matter what it says.
Don’t just use your first name unless it’s Beyonce—that is, unless it’s extremely memorable. People will not always remember signing up for your list, so when they see your name in the inbox, make sure it reflects the branding on your website.
You can use the following formats:
Company name
Company name newsletter
Company name digest
Owner/Employee name from Company Name
Owner/Employee @ Company name
Don’t make subscribers be like:
Mind your sender address.
Make sure it reflects your sender name, or else your subscribers might not trust it and mark it as spam.
Name the sender address according to the purpose of the email—if it’s going to “Company Name Customer Support”, the sender address should be something like “support@companyname.com.”
Don’t change the sender address constantly—it’s a red flag to subscribers when they don’t recognize sender addresses and you may end up in the spam or junk folder.
Don’t use a no-reply email address.
It may be tempting to not have to field emails, but people want to feel that there is a human on the other side who has their ear. Being available for questions and feedback will build your relationship with your subscribers.
Have a physical mailing address at the bottom of every email.
It’s against the CAN-SPAM Act to not list a physical mailing address at the bottom of your emails where you can receive snail mail.
Having a physical mailing address (P.O. Box is fine) shows your subscribers that you are a legit business, are transparent about your business (as opposed to scammers and spammers), and it increases trust.
If you don’t have a physical mailing address, I love that ConvertKit* lets you use their mailing address! Will save you ~$100/year on a P.O. box!
Have an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email.
Not only is it the law, but isn’t it incredibly annoying when you look for the unsubscribe link and can’t find it, or when brands make it difficult to opt-out? Not great for building brand affinity.
Just let it be easy to unsubscribe if people don’t want to be on your list.
Don’t send too many or too few emails.
I know, when you’re just beginning, this can be elusive.
Think of it this way: Too many and people will find it annoying; too few and people might forget who you are and mark you as spam, or simply lose interest and stop engaging. It’s good to be consistent so that subscribers become used to hearing from you and look forward to your emails!
If you’re not sure, once a week is usually a good rule of thumb; it keeps your subscribers engaged, and gives you an opportunity to consistently provide helpful content.
If you’re doing a launch, it’s natural to be emailing more often—you may want to give people a way to opt-out of launch emails so they don’t opt-out of your entire list altogether.
Remember, people signed up to get value from your emails; honor them by putting yourself in their shoes. Think about what people might want to receive and how often.
Segment your list.
If you have different types of clients or buyers, segment them—that is, send different, targeted content to each of the different audiences. Your email subscribers will be happy when they receive relevant offers and information. They will unsubscribe if you send irrelevant content or offers.
Here’s a guide to segmenting your list. (This is a bit advanced, but it’s important to understand the concept. If you have several different audiences, it’s ideal to set this up when you first start email marketing. That way people can self-select what group they fall into from the get-go, and you don’t have to ask them to self-select later.)
Write compelling subject lines.
If you write subject lines that are uninteresting to your audience, they will not open the email.
You need to give people a reason to stop and listen to what you have to say. Here’s a guide to writing subject lines.
Once you get the basics of email marketing down, I recommend A/B testing your subject lines—your email will be sent to a smaller portion of your list to test which subject line gets more opens, and then the winning subject line is sent to the rest of your subscribers.
Oh, and never attempt to deceive or mislead your subscribers in your subject line just to get them to open. It’s against the law (again, the CAN-SPAM Act) and it’s also bad business. Duping your customers does not make them feel loved or respected!
Have a point to your emails.
Always have either an action for people to take, or give information in the email itself that will prime your readers for an action later.
Just make sure you don’t have your subscribers thinking:
Track how well your emails are doing.
Don’t just send emails and ignore the results. Track your open rates, click rates and make sure that people are staying engaged!
If too few people are engaged you can ruin your sender reputation, which means less of your emails will be delivered and more will end up in the junk folder.
Here is a post I wrote about the most important metrics, or things to measure, for beginner email marketers.
Attract the right people to your list.
You want the people on your list to be interested in what you have to offer. Make sure that you are clear about your services or products on your website, opt-in landing page, and social media, and what people can expect to receive in their inboxes.
A great way to attract your ideal customer is to offer a lead magnet or freebie—this is the fastest way to grow your list and ensure that you’re attracting the right people.
When you have the right people on your list, you’ll have better open rates, click rates, and sender reputation.
Remember, it’s all about the quality of subscribers, not the quantity (though a lot of quality subscribers is also good!)
Provide value to your subscribers.
It’s important to send emails that your subscribers actually want to read.
Do you have tips or information that will solve their problems? Do you have a new service that will help them? Did you write a blog post that shows them how to do something that they need to learn how to do?
Provide value and you’ll have success with email marketing (and business!).
Make sure your email looks good on mobile.
Always send a test email to yourself and take a peek on your mobile phone.
Does the subject line get cut off? Does the image you used look good on mobile? Is the font size too small? Is there enough contract between the background and the font color that it’s easy to read?
Think about your audience and make sure they will have an easy time reading your emails (if your audience skews older, perhaps increase the font size of your emails.)
Proofread your emails and check links.
No one likes to receive a second email that says “Oops! Here’s the real link!” And no one wants to attempt to understand what you meant, wading through a bunch of typos.
Your emails reflect you, your business and your brand. Make sure that the email is well-thought-out, proofread, easy-to-read and professional. It should have a voice that’s consistent and feels like it came from the same source as your website, social media, and other brand elements.
Personalize your emails.
People want to feel special, as if you’re speaking just to them.
You’re more likely to build lasting relationships with your customers if you use features that make your subscribers feel like they aren’t one of many, and that they matter.
Use personalization features, such as the subscriber’s first name, in the subject line or throughout the email.
Remember, it’s a person on the other side of the email! Make them feel that you are aware of that.
Be mindful of image usage in your emails.
Images won’t always display.
Know that some email clients and individuals block images for security and bandwidth reasons, so your images might not download. To solve for this, ensure that your emails make sense without the images.
Be aware of your email’s image-to-text ratio.
Don’t put too many images and too little text in your emails—there is a thing called image-to-text ratio, whereby if you send an email with not enough text, it might not get delivered.
To solve for this make sure that your emails have at least 500 characters, and that the email is valuable and makes sense even if the image doesn’t load.
When possible, use alt-text on the photos in your emails.
If your email marketing software allows, add alt text so that people who are visually impaired can know what the photo is depicting.
Send an automated welcome email.
Welcome emails establishes a relationship, a connection.
It’s easy for people to forget who you are after a few days and why they signed up for your list in the first place. The welcome email will reinforce why they signed up—it’s an opportunity to remind your subscriber how you can help, what services or products you offer, and you can encourage them to take the next action.
It also has the highest open rate and click through rate, which is good for your sender reputation and engaging with your subscribers.
Send emails when your audience is available to read them.
It depends on your industry, but typically the best time to send emails are weekdays. Try to avoid Mondays and Fridays when people might be unavailable to read your email, and send in the morning before people start their day, or in the afternoon when people are taking a break and need a distraction or inspiration.
Again, there is no rule because each business is different, but sending at the right time does make a difference in open and engagement rates. You can experiment a bit and see when your subscribers open or take action the most.
Just try not send an email when your ideal customer is like:
Conclusion
Now you’re now armed with the most important dos and don’ts of email marketing!
The takeaways? Put yourself in the shoes of your subscriber. Think about how you can provide value, being mindful of the fact that you might be new to them. Email marketing is a relationship—make sure you nurture it mindfully, and you’ll have great success!
