How a Certain Email Format Can Kill Your Subscriber List
Joshua Black asked:
If you are an email marketer and you are just starting out, this article is for you. Email formatting can make or break your subscribers no matter how good your content is. Read on to find out the biggest mistake that even some of the top marketers make with email.
So as you may have guessed I belong to a bunch of email lists from various gurus all over the web. Mostly I use them for education and amusement, but many times it turns into a training exercise…for what NOT to do.
You see, these guys are at the top of their game, the height of their careers, making hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars on-line. Last night I had to do something very painful. I unsubscribed from one of the most famous men alive in copywriting today. He has tens of thousands invested in his web site, which is operated by a team of people, but you know what? His emails suck.
No, he did not have bad content (it was amazing), but the FORMAT sucked. He uses a trend that way too many big shots use in their emails. His copywriting is top-notch and he sucks you in with a great headline. Once you’re inside, he only gives you a few sentences and makes you click on a link that goes to his blog for the rest, but it gets even worse than that. Once you get to his blog, they shorten the story on the home page so you have to click another link to read the whole thing.
It’s got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. They think they are tracking open rates and they think they are creating a multi-phase approach so that people will be more accepting of an offer. Why make someone jump through that many hoops to read a free email? Oh well. I know that you can count on THIS guy to keep giving you the whole enchilada every day. No stupid formatting here. I suggest you do the same with your email lists.
Another word about formatting. You might wonder why my emails are formatted to be so skinny too. Well, my friend, I will let out another little secret. I do that so the people that read the emails on mobile devices like Blackberries can read them easily. You always want to make it EASY for your customers to digest your marketing message. No matter what tool they are using to digest it, make it easy for THEM, not you. I say Down with half emails and clicks to blogs!
They also say writing an email every day to your list is insane and they will all leave. Well, my customers are still here and more join every day so I must be doing something right. I guess it goes to show that the gurus don’t have it all figured out either. Sometimes you just gotta take off your fuzzy slippers and climb down from the ivory tower every once in awhile.
Official Secret Restaurant Recipes!
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If you are an email marketer and you are just starting out, this article is for you. Email formatting can make or break your subscribers no matter how good your content is. Read on to find out the biggest mistake that even some of the top marketers make with email.
So as you may have guessed I belong to a bunch of email lists from various gurus all over the web. Mostly I use them for education and amusement, but many times it turns into a training exercise…for what NOT to do.
You see, these guys are at the top of their game, the height of their careers, making hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars on-line. Last night I had to do something very painful. I unsubscribed from one of the most famous men alive in copywriting today. He has tens of thousands invested in his web site, which is operated by a team of people, but you know what? His emails suck.
No, he did not have bad content (it was amazing), but the FORMAT sucked. He uses a trend that way too many big shots use in their emails. His copywriting is top-notch and he sucks you in with a great headline. Once you’re inside, he only gives you a few sentences and makes you click on a link that goes to his blog for the rest, but it gets even worse than that. Once you get to his blog, they shorten the story on the home page so you have to click another link to read the whole thing.
It’s got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. They think they are tracking open rates and they think they are creating a multi-phase approach so that people will be more accepting of an offer. Why make someone jump through that many hoops to read a free email? Oh well. I know that you can count on THIS guy to keep giving you the whole enchilada every day. No stupid formatting here. I suggest you do the same with your email lists.
Another word about formatting. You might wonder why my emails are formatted to be so skinny too. Well, my friend, I will let out another little secret. I do that so the people that read the emails on mobile devices like Blackberries can read them easily. You always want to make it EASY for your customers to digest your marketing message. No matter what tool they are using to digest it, make it easy for THEM, not you. I say Down with half emails and clicks to blogs!
They also say writing an email every day to your list is insane and they will all leave. Well, my customers are still here and more join every day so I must be doing something right. I guess it goes to show that the gurus don’t have it all figured out either. Sometimes you just gotta take off your fuzzy slippers and climb down from the ivory tower every once in awhile.
Official Secret Restaurant Recipes!
