It’s true that e-mail marketing is the unsung hero of digital marketing. It costs so little that even mild efficacy (1-2%) results in a healthy return on investment. Surveys of digital marketers support the view that e-mail marketing is under-hyped. But measuring e-mail’s impact via ROI misses the point: it’s a tool for managing relationships with your customers, not an advertising opportunity.
Back when I was a communications consultant, I had a client who could measure how many employees opened the CEO’s all-staff e-mails. He didn’t send these e-mails often, so when he did, it was typically for a major issue. Despite this serious context, over half of employees left the CEO’s e-mails unread. What struck me about this experience is the degree to which people are self-interested when reading e-mail. They likely get dozens if not hundreds of e-mails per day, and simply have no compelling reason to read your e-mail.
So when thinking about e-mail marketing, I think about my audience’s needs. The moment my customers feel there is no value in my e-mails, they will unsubscribe – likely never to return. The proper mindset is: I have one shot at this.
To that end, building an e-mail marketing program requires strong copywriting and buy-in from product management. It’s not enough to be catchy – there needs to be substance behind your offers. In my opinion, Zipcar does a fantastic job. Some recent Subject lines:
Foursquare and two seconds ago, Andy checked in.
Want to name a Zipcar, Andy? Join the fun today.
It's official, Andreas. Android is riding shotgun.
Note the fun language, the opportunity to play games, and the FYI that new services are available. This is e-mail marketing done right. It takes time and money – which will certainly dilute your ROI – but it’s worth it, because the returns are real and your customers matter more than anything else.
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