Blog posts in Internet marketing

How to stop your emails being deleted in the preview pane

How’s this for a scary statistic? Eighty per cent of the emails you send to your potential customers will be viewed and actioned in the preview pane. That’s how hard email marketing has become – everyone struggles to get past the very first hurdle. And as more and more people move to smartphones, with images and preview panes standard issue, this statistic is set to increase.

So does that mean it’s time to throw in the towel? Is it really so impossible to avoid the dreaded delete button?

Don’t give up!

The good news is there are ways to get around this problem and it’s all about keeping the preview pane at the front of your mind when designing your emails.

A recent Lyris survey makes it very clear just how important it is to think carefully about your emails. The sender’s name and/or address is the key information readers look for in the preview pane (60 per cent), followed by the subject line (54.3 per cent), the main headline (53 per cent) and any teaser copy (30.3 per cent). 

So let’s take it from the top:

• The “from” field needs to be a recognisable name and easy to distinguish amongst all the spam. People are becoming increasingly spam-savvy and can spot a dodgy email at ten paces from their computer (or phone!) screens, but a real name demands a closer look. This field remains a highly influential factor in the decision making process to delete or otherwise. And be aware that only 30 per cent of business users add new email addresses to their safe sender/address book so you cannot guarantee even if they wanted to receive your email that they can be bothered to ensure that it beats the spam filter every time. Think about how you behave on email – do you update your address book with the email addresses of those regular newsletters to which you have opted-in?

• The “Subject” line needs to work as hard as possible for your business. Forget insipid email subject lines, such as “Re: your office needs” or “October Newsletter”. Think long and hard about the benefits you can offer to customers or the action you want them to take. It doesn’t have to be perfect prose, just make sure that subject line is front loaded with your key action-inducing messages.

• The top of your email is prime marketing message space, so don’t waste it with empty words or admin like “view this email in a browser”. Use it for teaser text, intrigue your recipients to the point that they are compelled to read on and find out more about your business and what you could do for them. Or re-confirm what it is they are receiving to add that extra reassurance that the email is worth opening and moving beyond the delete button.

Keep it personal

Personalising emails can be really effective – I’ve had some great results using this approach. Try adding the recipient’s name into the subject line, eg “Sarah, here’s a great reason to buy X”.

Don’t forget it’s always well worth doing an A/B split test so that you can monitor and measure subject line (or even other parameters) performance. That way you’ll be able to assess whether a personalised subject line generates more responses than a generic version, and you can then apply the best strategy to your next mailing or if you use email marketing software like Mail Chimp, it sends the best performing subject line to the bulk of your email database. Clever stuff!

And while we’re on this subject, always make sure your email address data capture gets at least the first name so that you can use a Dear <first name> rather than Hello or Dear Customer/Member, which looks so unfriendly.

Obsessed with images?

Far too many of us spend too much time worrying about what our HTML email template will look like once it is received by our eager recipients. Unfortunately, with so many email clients reading your email, you simply cannot guarantee what it will look like ­– so stop obsessing!

Test as much as you can. Systems like Mail Chimp (provides Inbox Inspection) and other email marketing software allow you to test deliverability for spam. And make sure you send a copy to yourself and view in Outlook and perhaps a few others such as Hotmail and Yahoo mail (BT Internet is one of the most popular consumer ISP’s and uses Yahoo based web mail) – that should cover the basics as best you can.

That said, the majority of business users view their emails in Outlook, and it’s estimated that only 25 per cent of recipients have adjusted their Outlook settings to allow images to automatically download. And many companies have security blocks in terms of their firewall, so it’s best to avoid the inclusion of graphics or images if your emails contain important messages or calls to action. Try using text-based links and body copy for key messages. Avoid putting your action orientated or benefit-led headline into a fancy email header graphic as there is every possibility that it will never be seen and end up as a little white box with a red cross in it!

Don’t forget the acid test

If you’re unsure of the impact your email will have when it lands in someone’s inbox, try sending it to yourself or friends and family (not just for deliverability but for appeal too). Compare it to other emails you receive, particularly the junk that you delete without opening. Would the words in your subject line convince you? Does the slight glimpse of the email content itself look enticing enough?

There’s no point in pretending that email marketing can’t be challenging, but follow my advice and you’ll at least have a good fighting chance of getting through to your target audience.

Sarah Orchard is an expert contributor to Marketing Donut and a consultant at Orchard Marketing Associates.

For more information and advice, take a look in our dedicated section on email marketing.

The rise of social commerce

Social commerce is something often discussed as a natural progression of two successful market arenas — social networking and e-commerce. But with the current forays into s-commerce amounting to little more than adding a Like button or setting up a Twitter feed, the evidence suggests that it’s not yet exceeding the sum of its parts.

The idea of social commerce, or s-commerce, is not necessarily a new one. Consumers have been shopping and having conversations for centuries but only recently have these trends become possible digitally, and only recently have retailers and brands begun to take notice. However, current attempts at using social media to generate loyalty and sales have not offered truly social experiences and have too often led to consumers being pushed onto external sites to interact. Shouldn’t retailers do more to keep their customers on their own websites?  

Giving customers a voice

The growth and popularity of social networking has shown that, when given the right tools, people like to, and do, interact with each other. However, most retailers are not implementing the tools that could see their brands becoming successfully social and engaging with their consumer base. For example, by making reviews and opinions an integral part of the online shopping experience, consumers could be as social online as they are in real life. That is, they could connect online with shoppers of similar tastes in order to influence and be influenced. Brands must put customers first and content second, and stop directing them to other social networks. If customers have a voice, brands must allow it to be heard. 

Keeping it private

Some brands worry about intruding on their customers’ privacy when trying to be more social. While it is important to allow customers to opt in or out, many are happy to share their views and help other consumers make purchasing decisions. Once opinions are shared in public, it is up to the brand to decide how to use them. If they can be harnessed to give the customer relevant and timely recommendations or information, the customer is more likely to have a positive experience. Brands can leave it up to the user to decide what they want to share and when, and information they choose to disclose can be used to provide a more useful social experience.

On-site engagement

Unfortunately, many businesses are still struggling when it comes to s-commerce, pushing customers to external sites like Facebook, rather than engaging consumers socially on their own site.  The result is that consumer interaction with the brand becomes diluted and the brand fails to generate customer loyalty. This could ultimately lead to retailers losing ground in the decision-making real estate that social commerce offers.

If done correctly however, s-commerce can be a profitable way to build brand trust and shopping confidence.  S-commerce provides the perfect opportunity for businesses to communicate directly with their customers, person to person, brand to fan.

Anton Gething is the co-founder and product director of nToklo.

Read more in our section on social media, which has everything from beginners’ guides to in-depth advice.