Bedell Communications

I received an e-mail from Toys R Us last week with the subject line: “It’s Been A While… ” My first thought was they need a copy editor (it’s awhile — not a while), and my second thought was that maybe they were offering me coupons since I hadn’t shopped there in awhile.

I opened the e-mail, and here’s what it said, in a nutshell: We haven’t e-mailed you in awhile, but when we do e-mail you, we’ll send you valuable information.

That was it. No coupons, and no valuable information.

Someone at Toys R Us probably realized it was time to message their contact list to keep customers engaged, but they didn’t know what to say. E-mailing for the sake of e-mailing is as good as not e-mailing at all, because now you’ve wasted your client’s time. It seems pretty obvious, right?

Here’s an e-mail marketing best practice: When messaging your client(s), either give them something of value (a white paper, case study, etc.) and/or engage them in a meaningful conversation (inquire about a new product release, for example).  Don’t waste everyone’s time — and risk losing customers — by sending an e-mail just to put your name in their inbox. — Crystal Bedell

After taking the time to put together a quality e-newsletter or write a lead generating e-mail, it’s tempting to slap on a subject line and hit send. But after all that effort, you want to make sure someone reads your e-mail.  Writing a good subject line is a craft that should be taken seriously. Here are ten best practices for writing e-mail subject lines.

• Avoid gimmicky words (free, guaranteed), playful phrases and punctionation (!) that will trip up spam filters and/or give readers the feeling that your offer is a scam or a plea for money.
• However, do consider using dashes and colons to help break up thoughts while…
• keeping it short and sweet. Recommendations range from 50 characters or less to six words or less, so you’ll want to take advantage of tech acronyms your readers are familiar with (IDS, SAN, etc.)
• Do not use all caps.
• Double, no — triple — check your spelling.
• Use the same words your readers are searching for on Google, but keep them grammatically correct.
• Do not reuse subject lines. Use a unique subject line for each e-newsletter/e-mail blast you send out. When I worked as an editor for an IT Web site, there was one particular newsletter that performed exceedingly well just given the open source software it covered. I always started the subject line with the software name, followed by a colon and the particular topic of discussion in that newsletter.
• Don’t forget to use the From line to indicate who is sending the e-mail. This will most likely be your company or brand name. This information should complement the information in the subject line.
• Let readers know how they will benefit from opening your e-mail, while being honest about its contents.
• Do not begin your subject line with “Re:” or “FW:.” This looks bad, and you won’t be in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act.

Finally, don’t leave the task of writing an e-mail subject line to your marketing intern or a new hire fresh out of college. Writing a subject line that will give you a high click-through rate takes practice and skill. It should be written by someone in your organization who understands your content, your technology product/services and your customers. All of this should influence the six words chosen for the subject line. Most writers will tell you that it’s harder to write short than it is to write long. The same goes for e-mail subject lines. — Crystal Bedell

It’s painfully evident when technology companies fail to use an experienced copywriter or marketer to write and create lead generation e-mails. You’re spending good money on an e-mail list. Why shortchange yourself by having an inexperienced intern or overworked secretary/office manager/etc. compose your e-mail blasts? Here are a few giveaways that your business to business e-mail marketing campaigns are in the hands of an amateur — and are likely suffering low click through rates as a result.

Gimmicky language is commonly used by amateur writers when they don’t understand what they’re writing about. But technology folks are savvy. They can see right through gimmicky language, and if they don’t have an inherent interest in what you’re selling, they’ll hit delete.

Bad grammar, misspellings and excessive punctuation. Don’t insult potential leads by yelling at them (!) or making them edit your e-mail blast. If they can’t read about what you’re selling, they won’t buy it.

Selling a product vs. a solution. Speak to your reader’s information and/or technical needs. What problem does your product/service address? Give readers a personal reason to want your solution.

Bad design. Many freelance copywriters will leave the layout of your e-mail campaigns to you, so here’s the deal: It’s better to send a well-formatted text e-mail than it is to send a poorly designed HTML e-mail that looks unprofessional.

A poorly written subject line. I’ll go into more detail on subject lines in a couple weeks. For now, apply the same rules to your subject lines that we’re introducing here: avoid gimmicky language and excessive punctuation, and give readers a reason to open your e-mail.

Your e-mail blast is scheduled to go out before a holiday weekend, on a Monday morning, or the middle of the night.  Think about when YOU are most likely to read seemingly unsolicited business e-mail that might or might not be of interest. Chances are your lead generation e-mail will be deleted if it’s buried in an inbox on a busy Monday morning or arrives just as your readers are signing off. Experiment with different days/times to see what generates the best click through rate.

The bottom line is that e-mail blasts should be handled by someone who is familiar with your product/service and b2b marketing best practices. If you don’t have anyone inside your organization who can handle the job, consider hiring a freelance technology copwriter. — Crystal Bedell