Email Marketing & the Golden Rule

We all remember the Golden Rule from the elementary school playground (or at least I do). But in case you forgot, it goes something like this: treat others as you would like to be treated.
It’s a great rule – applying equally well to school-yard squabbles as to marketing strategy. And when it comes to email marketing, the golden rule is vital to building a successful campaign. With email marketing, the temptation is always toward blasting more messages. It’s easy to understand the reasoning behind the temptation, but before you start flooding customer’s inboxes – consider the golden rule.
Beyond just being polite, the golden rule shapes your email marketing as it works to reduce spam and helps with content decisions. Email marketing is an often-misunderstood channel – as it presents opportunities and challenges different from direct mail, PPC advertising, and social media marketing. But there’s no need to feel lost if you keep an eye on the good-old-fashioned golden rule.

Being Polite

Being polite may not be standard operating procedure for marketers – as persistence is usually valued over politeness. But when it comes to invading people’s personal space (including their inbox) with our message, it is important to balance our persistence with a healthy dose of politeness.
For email marketing, following the golden rule means only sending emails you would want to receive. By following this rule, it is easy to see that our emails need to offer real value – whether that value is educations, entertainment, or financial is up to you and the brand you represent. But make sure that your emails contain something that your customers want to receive – otherwise you’re nothing but spam.

Reducing Spam

No one likes email spam, so if you’re following the golden rule it is obvious that you shouldn’t be producing spam. But what exactly does that mean? It means that you should build your email list the old-fashioned way – through individual opt-ins from your website or social media, instead of through purchased or rented lists. I know the draw of purchased lists is strong, but resist that temptation to flood unsuspecting inboxes with your latest offer.
Further, reducing the spam-factor of your email will help you reach customer’s inboxes. If you’re sending IP address is constantly seeing low open rates and getting flagged for spam, then you will start seeing more spam folder and less inboxes. In this case, following the golden rule isn’t just good for your potential customers, it is good for your business too.

Keeping it Easy

One of the best things about observing the golden rule? It makes things easy. When you combine points one and two above, many otherwise difficult decisions are made for you. When it comes to content creation – you should just ask what you want out of promotional emails. You still must do the hard work of creating the content, but many of the front-end questions are already answered for you.
And your list building will be hard work, but you don’t have to agonize over whether to buy a list or not. Following the golden rule still requires dedication and hard work – but it provides a clear road map to follow in times of difficult decisions.

Email Marketing Experts

At Fusion Group USA, we love email marketing and we love the golden rule. We don’t spam, instead we offer real value to real (opted-in) customers. If you need help in any step of the email marketing process – from list building to content creation to design services, we have the skill and experience to build a successful email campaign that treats your customers like real people. Contact us today to learn more about our email marketing services.

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