Email marketing strategy guide

Table of Contents

Why Your Company Should Be Using Email Marketing 4
INTRODUCTION
Using Email Marketing as an Integrated Campaign Approach 4

Educate Yourself and Your Staff 5
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
General Email Marketing Guidelines 6

How to Build Your Database 8
How Effective Are Your Opt‐in Techniques? 9
WHERE TO BEGIN Choosing an Email Marketing System for Your Company 10
Define Your Objectives and Marketing Goals 11
Determine Your Customer Segments 12

Writing Effective Subject Lines 14
EMAIL CREATIVE: Email Messaging Best Practices 18
SUBJECT LINES, Email Design Do's and Don'ts 21
DESIGN & COPY Email Structure: HTML vs. Plain Text 22
Adding Social Media Elements to Your Email 26

Understanding CAN‐SPAM Regulations 28
EMAIL
How to Ensure You Don't Get Blacklisted 29
DELIVERABILITY
How Your Message Looks to Consumers 30

Meaningful Metrics 32
MEASURING &
Setting Internal Benchmarks 33
REPORTING
Email Marketing ROI 34

Maximize Email Performance 35
TACTICS TO Testing Your Email Marketing Messages 37
INCREASE EMAIL Uncover Business Opportunities by Nurturing Your Database 39
CONVERSIONS Integrating Your Email Activities with Other Marketing Channels 42
Optimizing Your Email Messages for Mobile Users 46

Email Case Studies 48
RESOURCES Email Template 50
Email Checklists 51

Locate a WSI Consultant 55
CONCLUSION
About WSI 56

INTRODUCTION

Why Your Company Should Be Using Email Marketing
The continual expansion and competitive advantage of any company, regardless of its size or industry,
lies solely on two things: lead generation and customer retention. Generating new sales and repeat
business from existing customers is the lifeline of all companies. Without new leads entering your
sales pipeline and existing customers staying engaged with your brand, your company would simply
not be able to grow.

One of the best ways to generate new leads and nurture existing ones is by implementing a carefully
planned and engaging email marketing strategy. Email is a tool that nearly everyone uses today, and it
continues to grow and be more prevalent among Internet users worldwide.

But email marketing is more than just sending a mass
message to the people on your contact list. It is a type of
drip marketing technique and is best described as a direct
marketing strategy that involves scheduling several
promotional and educational messages with specific “call‐
to‐actions” via email. It isn’t just an “email blast” – email
marketing is a campaign that spans over a period of time.

Using Email Marketing as an Integrated Campaign Approach
Email marketing isn’t a strategy that can stand alone. It should be a strong component of your overall
marketing mix because it can reap significant benefits when accompanied by other marketing
techniques, such as landing page optimization, social media marketing and of course, Web analytics.

Let’s say, for example, the call‐to‐action in one of your email communications is “download a free
whitepaper”. You would need that call‐to‐action to link to a landing page where your readers would
complete a download form before receiving the whitepaper. This technique allows you to capture
more information about your contacts, in turn allowing you to segment your database for more
targeted emails, leading to higher results.

Also, you could incorporate social media icons in your email communications driving readers to your
social media pages where they can follow you, thus further engaging your contacts. In addition, you
could promote your email content on your company website, blog and social media pages. Then using
Web analytics, you will track and measure the success of your email campaigns to further enhance
your strategies to achieve optimal results each time.

These are just examples of how critical it is to use email marketing as an integrated campaign
approach. Email marketing, when done strategically, is a strong engagement technique; however, it
must also include other components of digital marketing to truly see success. Integrating email
marketing into your overall strategy will be discussed in further detail in the section entitled “Tactics to
Increase Email Conversions” within this guide.

Copyright ©2010 by RAM WSI Email Marketing Strategy Guide Page 4

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Educate Yourself and Your Staff
Whether you have never implemented email marketing in your company or
have been conducting email campaigns for years, ongoing education is the
key to continued success. Your company must stay abreast of the latest
techniques, technologies and best practices associated with email
marketing in order to stay competitive and effective.

Since email marketing is not as fast‐changing as the social media realm, it
isn’t necessary to appoint a large team of email marketing gurus within your
company, as we recommend with social media. (To learn more, please ask
your WSI Consultant about the WSI Social Media Strategy Guide.) Instead,
we recommend that your Marketing Manager/Director appoint 1‐2 people
who will become your in‐house email marketing experts.

These individuals will operate as your internal email marketing researchers, who will go out, get
educated on email marketing, share that knowledge with the rest of your staff and more importantly,
apply that knowledge in your company’s marketing strategy.

Some qualities to look for when selecting your in‐house email marketing team include:

Those on your marketing team who currently manage your email campaigns
Those who have a strong understanding of the importance of integrated marketing
Those who have strong written communication skills
Those who are self‐learners and can ensure they stay educated as the industry evolves
Those who are comfortable training and educating their peers

Once you’ve selected your internal email marketing experts, it’s time to enable them to get educated.
There are a number of marketing agencies out there that offer a wide range of training opportunities,
including conferences, hands‐on workshops and online training courses. There are also several free
online webinars covering the basics of email marketing.

Below are some ways to stay educated on email marketing:

Consider having your email marketers attend an email marketing conference hosted by your
local marketing association
Sign up for online webinars hosted by WSI email marketing experts
Subscribe to receive newsletters from industry leaders such as:
o Lyris HQ (http://www.lyris.com/)
o Constant Contact (http://www.constantcontact.com/)
o Inbox360 (http://www.inbox360.com/)
o All with whom WSI maintains strategic partnerships

Since your team will likely be a group of curious, innovative self‐learners, be sure to commission them
to research email marketing basics online. Once the basics are understood, then you can have them
embark on external training opportunities available, such as those listed above.


BEFORE YOU BEGIN

General Email Marketing Guidelines
Keep it Personal

Since you will actually be mass mailing your database, this may be difficult. The trick is to make your
readers believe you are writing to them and only them. You do this by personalizing your messages to
include information that is unique to your readers. For example, starting your email with “Hi John”
rather than “Hi Customer” goes a long way.

One thing that we wouldn’t recommend is including the recipient’s name in the subject line. How often
do you write an email to your family, friends or business colleagues with their name directly in the
subject line? Probably not often or at all. So keep the personalization for the greeting inside the body of
the message. It also helps that your email comes from a person in your company, rather than your
company as a whole.

Keep in mind that the tone of the email should be casual. Think of how you would formulate an email if
you were writing to John directly. How would you speak to him? What tone would you use? Incorporate
the same tone and verbiage into your message.

Segment Your Database

A mistake that many companies make with email marketing is they send the same blanket message to
their entire database. This is not only ineffective but could have an adverse impact on your campaign.
Chances are you will increase the number of people who unsubscribe from your database if you send
them information and offers that are not relevant to them. We recommend you segment your
consumer database based on specific criteria like: demographics, purchasing behavior, etc. For more
information on segmentation, please refer to page 12.

Compose a Catchy Subject Line

A key component of email success is ensuring your subject line (which is the first thing your email
readers will see aside from the “From” name) is compelling enough to influence readers to open your
email. Your subject line forms an overall impression of your email. If the subject line isn’t catchy, the
email won’t get opened no matter how compelling the information / offer could be. We will discuss this
topic in greater detail in the “Email Creative: Subject Lines, Design and Copy” section of this guide.

Get to the Point

The first couple of sentences of your message should address the purpose of your email and should be
intriguing enough to keep readers reading. Ideally your database should be segmented into several lists
appropriate for each campaign you are running. This way, each message relates to the needs and
interests of each list. Within the first paragraph, readers should know the purpose of your email, and
the purpose should relate directly with their interest and needs.


BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Place Call‐to‐Actions Up High

As mentioned earlier, each email must have a purpose – for both the reader and the sender. For the
reader, you should be offering information of value to them, educational content that will keep them
engaged with your company. As a sender, your purpose will vary from campaign to campaign. For
example, one goal could be to capture more information from your readers to further segment your list.
Other goals could be to persuade them book an appointment, request for a quote, make a purchase,
join a membership, etc. Your call‐to‐actions should be clear, concise and located high in your message.

Educate and Provide Value – No Hard Selling

People subscribe to receive newsletters from companies because they find value in their email
communications, not because they want to be bombarded with a bunch of different sales pitches.
Consider email marketing as an opportunity to position yourself as an expert in your industry. Provide
your readers with tips and techniques that they will find interesting. This will keep them engaged while
building your credibility as a company.

Send Both HTML and Plain Text Versions

With the increasing usage of Smart Phones, such as Blackberrys and iPhones, more and more people are
sending and receiving emails with their mobile devices. Email marketers need to ensure their newsletter
templates are compatible with mobile phones. This means ensuring that they create and send both an
HTML template, which can include graphics and eye‐catching layout, as well as a plain text version,
which just has the content of your message. We will go into more detail about optimizing your emails
for mobile users in the “Tactics to Increase Email Conversions” section of this guide.

Track All Links

Make sure any URLs in your emails are set up to be tracked in order to measure
clickthroughs and the overall effectiveness of your campaign. This can be done in
any email system you are using. By tracking which links get the most clickthrough,
you can do several things: further segment your list to send more targeted
messages to your database, tweak your emails to generate better results, test new
campaigns based on previous results and improve your future campaigns.

Don’t Be Afraid to Test

Email is a great mechanism for testing your offers and messaging. Whether you’re just starting out with
email marketing or have been doing it for years, it’s always a good idea to experiment with a small list
of contacts and test different messages, template designs, content and graphic layouts. You’d be
surprised. Even a small change such as changing the color of a call‐to‐action button, re‐arranging
paragraphs or shifting images from one side to another could drastically alter your results.


WHERE TO BEGIN

How to Build Your Database
A core aspect to the success of an email marketing strategy lies in the quality
of your contact list. The best way to ensure that you collect quality information
is to obtain it with permission directly from the contact. Much like how
telemarketing wore out its welcome, so has unsolicited email marketing. This
is why permission‐based email marketing offers better response rates,
increased trust in your company’s brand and better deliverability.

Depending on if you are a B2B or a B2C company, you will want to collect different information from
your contacts. For example, if your contacts are primarily business owners, you would likely want to
have their full name, business title, company name, industry, business address, phone number, fax
number and email address. If you are a B2C company, then you will likely have their full name, gender,
age range, home address, phone number, some of their personal interests and email address.

Using email and other research tactics (such as surveys), you should always attempt to capture more
information about your contacts. Every time you have additional information about them, be sure to
update your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System. The more you know about your
contacts, the more accurately you can segment your database in order to send targeted emails to them.

5 Ways to Build Your Email Database

1. Ask For It!

Every communication or touchpoint with your prospects and customers should start and end with a
request for an email address. If you are a brick and mortar business, include a ballot box at the cashier’s
desk where customers can provide their email address to receive updates on your latest promotions.
Anytime you are at a networking event, collect business cards from the people you speak with. Ensure it
is added to your checkout form when processing online orders. Email has become a very popular form
of communication, so asking for someone’s email address may be perceived as less invasive than asking
for their phone number.

2. Create a Form on Your Website

The homepage of your website should have a call‐to‐action button that directs visitors to a page where
they can subscribe to your newsletter. Be sure to list the reasons they should subscribe, such as
receiving exclusive promotions not available to the general public, learning valuable tips and techniques
that would help them in their everyday life or business and any other members‐only perks associated
with subscribing to your newsletter. Also, include an option for people to subscribe to your newsletter
on the “Contact Us” form of your website.

3. Publish a Whitepaper or eBook

This isn’t as hard as it sounds. Your industry expertise and knowledge along with that of your staff will
give you more than enough information to compile a whitepaper or short ebook.


WHERE TO BEGIN

By offering people a document of educational value, something that will address a challenge they may
be facing, you could easily capture some email addresses. Offer this document for free from your
website, and via an online have people share their email address when they request for the document.

4. Run a Contest

A creative way to build your database could be running a contest or draw that would require
participants to complete a ballot or form to enter. This allows you to capture their email address,
among other useful information about them to include in your CRM. This could be as simple as running
a draw for a free product, service or giveaway package. If the offer is enticing enough, people will want
to participate – especially if all they have to do is provide some basic information to enter. Promote
your contest on your website, your blog, your social media profile pages, your brick and mortar store, at
business networking events and whenever you are in front of prospects and customers.

5. “Forward to a Friend”

Within each newsletter, you should have a “forward to a friend” link. This should be somewhere visible.
We recommend putting it in 2 places: in the top right corner and at the bottom after your sign‐off. The
link should then drive readers to a landing page with a form requiring them to share their friend’s
contact details. Be sure to set your form up in a way that allows them to share your newsletter with
multiple friends, not just one (approximately 5‐10 friends is recommended). You should also include a
message box where your reader can include their own personal message to their friends. An email
marketing consultant can advise you on how to do this and the technology required.

How Effective Are Your Opt‐in Techniques?
Once you establish all the different ways you can collect people’s email addresses, go to each channel
and subscribe to your own email database using those methods. Determine the effectiveness of each
technique by evaluating the following:

Visibility: Where is your email sign‐up invitation posted on your website, landing pages or
other forms of communication? Is it posted prominently?

Transparency: How professional and trustworthy does your opt‐in process appear? Do
subscribers have the option to request to join your list or do you use a pre‐checked box to
subscribe them automatically?

Flexibility: Do you list a series of topics for your subscribers to choose their own content? Do
you offer them the option to select the frequency and format?

Continuity: Do you send new subscribers a personal welcome message? Or do they just
receive a generic confirmation message sent after they complete your subscription form?

Subscribing to your own email database will shed light on some areas that could be improved in your
opt‐in / subscription process immediately.


WHERE TO BEGIN

Choosing an Email Marketing System for Your Company
There are several powerful email marketing systems out there, but the challenge is choosing the right
one for your company. Be sure to do your research. Learn about the various systems out there and how
each one differs. Then select the one that best meets your company’s needs.

4 Qualities to Consider When Selecting an Email System

1. Functionality / Tracking Capabilities

Examine the functionality of the system, and ask yourself these questions:
Can I upload my own HTML newsletter template into the system? Can I easily
create an HTML template within the system if need be? Does the system
allow me to send both HTML and plain text versions of my newsletter? How
easy is it for me to track the URLs in my email? Can I change the “From”
name and email address simply? Can I insert personalized fields within the
message? How do I send a “test” email prior to releasing the blast? What
type of reports will the system generate for me? Does it offer deliverability
testing reports? Does it evaluate my message based on spam guidelines? Etc.

It might be a good idea to have your Marketing and IT departments
evaluate the email marketing systems together. Your marketing team can
assess if the system will meet their marketing needs, while the IT team can
provide feedback from a technology standpoint. Coupled together, their
feedback will help you determine the functional quality of a system.

2. Ease of Use

When it comes to ease of use, be sure the person on your marketing team, who will be deploying the
email marketing campaigns for your company, has a chance to use the system and determine its ease of
use. You will want to select a system that allows you to easily: upload an email list, update an existing
email list, update details of a single contact, upload an HTML newsletter template (or create a template
within the system), edit that newsletter, personalize portions of the message (ie: Dear John), track URLs,
send test emails and generate easy‐to‐understand analytics reports.

The process of getting an email list and newsletter ready for sending (not including the time it takes to
write the email and prepare the list) should not take more than 5‐10 minutes. If it’s taking your email
marketing expert longer than this to prepare an email for distribution, the system might not be very
user‐friendly. Consider using an email system that streamlines the way you conduct email marketing.

Also make sure the email marketing system you select comes with a comprehensive user manual that
your marketing team can refer to whenever needed. This user manual should contain all the how‐to
information related to using the features of the email marketing system.


WHERE TO BEGIN

3. Training / Support

When purchasing an email marketing system, remember to take
into consideration the level of training and support you will
receive from the provider. In most cases, you will have
undergone a walk‐through of the system prior to purchasing it.
This is typically a high level overview usually conducted by a
sales representative showcasing the system’s major features
and functionalities. However, once you purchase a system, you
should receive a thorough training session as well as a user
manual from the provider.

Another thing to consider is if the provider offers any ongoing support for their system in case you
encounter challenges later on. Do they have a support phone number and an online support contact
system? Are the support representatives available at reasonable hours during the day? If the provider is
located in a different region, how will the time difference affect their support services? These are all
questions you should get answered prior to selecting a provider.

4. Price

Lastly, you need to determine if the system you are reviewing fits within your budget. If you are serious
about conducting effective email marketing campaigns for your company, don’t be afraid to spend
money on a powerful system if it meets your needs, offers the features and functionality you require
and ongoing technical support.

Define Your Objectives and Marketing Goals
Before diving into email marketing, you must first set your goals and objectives. You can have several
campaigns running at the same time, each with a series of goals that need to be accomplished to reach
your overall objective. Generally speaking, marketers have 2 main purposes for engaging in email
marketing:

To acquire new customers (funnel leads through the sales cycle)
To retain existing customers (encourage repeat business from previous customers)

The type of campaign you are running will determine your objective and
goals. For example, if you have a new product or service to promote, the
objective of your campaign could be for people to make a purchase, either
directly online or by visiting your brick and mortar store.

Therefore, your goals could include: getting them to watch a product demo
video, click on an online flyer, view a user manual or request for a quote. The
possibility of people making a purchase increases when you persuade them
to complete the above goals leading up to the overall objective of a purchase.


WHERE TO BEGIN

Let’s say for example, you have an event you would like to promote. The objective of your campaign
then is to get people to register to attend your event. The goals leading up to that objective could be:
getting them to view the agenda, click on the speaker bios, get directions to the venue, visit a landing
page to learn more about the event, etc. Again, if you can persuade people to complete these goals and
drive them to your event landing page, you’ll have a stronger chance of persuading them to accomplish
your overall objective of registering for your event.

You’ll notice in these examples that all the goals are “clicks” that can be
measured through Web analytics. Each goal of your email campaign
should be some sort of action (a click) that can be measured. This way,
you can define which links are being clicked on and which aren’t to
enhance your future campaigns.

Keep in mind when defining the objectives and goals of your email marketing strategy that all marketing
campaigns you initiate, whether offline or online, should be in line with your overall company‐wide
vision. All your marketing efforts should work together to accomplish the same corporate‐wide goal.

Determine Your Customer Segments

The same way a clean and complete database of contacts is the
cornerstone to your overall email marketing success, appropriate
segmentation of that database is pivotal to the success of each
campaign you run. After you strategize your email marketing
campaigns (keep in mind you can run multiple campaigns at the
same time since the audience for each will be different), you must
then determine your customer segments for each campaign.

A customer segment is a group of contacts with similar interests in your products or services, which you
have created based on a criteria used to create the list. List segmentation is an easy and effective way
to ensure that each message is targeted at the most receptive audiences. If you want to engage your
recipients, then be sure to formulate your messages so they speak to each segment.

If you aren’t sure where to begin segmenting your database, think of the types of campaigns you are
running. This will help you determine your customer segments. If your campaign is to launch a new
product or service, then ask yourself the following questions:

Would this product or service be more appropriate for men, women or both?
What is the age group of the people who would be interested in this product or service?
Would location impact whether they would be interested in this product or service?

Let’s say for example that your company is a hair salon chain and you are launching nail care services at
one of your locations. This service would draw the attention of women likely within all age groups, but
particularly between 18‐45 years old. Also you will want to communicate to the women located around
the salon location in which you are launching this new service. There’s your customer segment.


WHERE TO BEGIN

7 Things to Consider Segmenting Your List By

1. Demographics

As discussed, demographics could include gender, age, ethnicity, education levels, occupation, location
of residence, marital status, number of children, income or other socio‐economic factors, etc.

2. Interest‐based Preferences

If you have conducted any sort of research on your database through surveys, then you know certain
subscribers have different interests that could help you identify what type of offers / information
related to your product or service would be more likely to engage them.

3. Prospects That Have Become Clients

When a subscriber becomes a customer, it’s time to move them to a different list where they will
receive emails that are designed for customers and not prospects. This prevents you from sending an
email to existing customers as if they were prospects, offering them a better deal than they just
received when they made their purchase with you.

4. Open Rate / Clickthrough Rate

Email subscribers that open your newsletter or click on a link on a frequent basis are clearly more
engaged than those who rarely open your emails or click on your newsletter links. Therefore, these
members should be segmented and you could test sending different messages or a higher frequency to
this more engaged group.

5. Product Lines Purchased

If your company has a vast product line, it might be a good idea to address your subscribers based on
the product line they’ve purchased from and give them information related to that product line. For
example, a consumer that purchases an iPod would likely be interested in iPod accessories as well.

6. Average Sale Price

Take a look at the past purchases of each subscriber and segment those who have spent more than a
certain amount of money with your company into a list. Those who have spent less than that amount
should receive different information and be spoken to differently from higher spending customers.

7. Major / VIP Customers

Your VIP customers should be remembered, acknowledged and given special attention and exclusive
offers / information than the rest of your database.

The last thing you want to do is send a message to contacts that have no interest in your offer. So
effective customer segmentation is critical to ensure you achieve success with each message.


EMAIL CREATIVE: SUBJECT
LINES, DESIGN & COPY

Writing Effective Subject Lines
Aside from the sender’s name, the subject line is the first text
your audience will read when they see your email in their inbox.
Your subject line could literally make or break the success of your
campaign. Every advertiser, marketer and copywriter
understands the importance of having an effective subject line –
it sets the stage for the rest of the copy. If the subject line isn’t
compelling, chances are your email won’t get opened and the
rest of your copy won’t get read no matter how well it’s written.

Any politician or public relations person will tell you the same thing about persuasion ‐ words have the
power to motivate, prompt and entice people into a specific course of action. If you have the right
headline, you can be almost sure that your readers will explore the rest of your copy and will be
persuaded to do what you want them to do – your “call‐to‐action.”

The Secret to Writing Effective Subject Lines

Psychologist Abraham Maslow said that human behavior is always the result of one or more of the five
basic needs, all of which are referred to in “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”. These are listed below
starting with the basic needs.

Physiological: This includes hunger, thirst, shelter, clothing and sex
Safety: The need for physical, emotional and financial security
Love: The need for love, affection, companionship and acceptance
Esteem: The need for achievement, recognition, attention and respect
Self‐actualization: The need to reach one’s full potential

Humans are motivated by the desire to meet these five needs. So the secret to writing powerful
headlines is to address at least one of these needs in your writing. A great headline appeals to readers’
needs, wants and desires. Below is a list of words that relate to one or more of the five basic needs,
thus they are very powerful words in the English language.

Discovery Love Results
Easy Learn Safety
Guaranteed New Save
Health Proven You

With email marketing, you have about 3 seconds and approximately 6 words (or 40 characters) to
make an impression and motivate recipients to open your email. So take into consideration the
following tips when writing your subject line.



7 Tips to Writing a Persuasive Subject Line

1. Tell Your Readers What’s In It For Them

Most of us are bombarded with a barrage of email messages from various different sources on a daily
basis. So it’s natural that we look for the immediate personal benefit of taking the time to open an
email. Take off your corporate hat for a moment and put yourself in the recipient’s position. Ask
yourself, “What’s in it for me?” and write a subject line that focuses on the benefits of your email
message for the recipient. The subject line should answer the reader’s question of “Will this email help
me solve a problem, meet a need or make life easier?”

2. Steer Clear of Spam Triggers

As you’re trying to make your subject line “catchy”, be careful not to cross
over into “spammy”. Every Internet Service Provider (ISP) has spam filters
in place to prevent unwanted messages from entering your inbox. There
are a number of things that can trigger a spam filter. For example, using all
uppercase letters (ALL CAPS) in your subject line or using more
exclamation marks than necessary could make your message appear
spammy, not to mention they both look unprofessional. It is good practice
to avoid the use of exclamation marks in your subject lines altogether.

Some words tend to get caught in various spam filters, so be sure to avoid these words in your subject
line to bypass the trap:
Free* Call Now Subscribe
Sale Act Now Opportunity
Cash Order Now Discount
Money Click Here Cheap

*Note: “free” is not a bad word. People still respond to the word “free”. Just don’t use it at the beginning of
the subject line, in conjunction with an exclamation mark or capitalize the entire word.

Here are some common subject line mistakes to avoid:

Excessive punctuation, such as multiple exclamation marks or question marks
Using all caps
Using symbols, such as dollar signs, asterisks, pound signs, etc. (ie: F*R*E*E, Make $$$ Fast!)
Using a blank subject line
Using your recipient’s name in the subject line (ie: John Smith, this email is for you)
Using “RE:” unless the email is really a response to a previous email
Attempting to trick your readers by using vague subject lines like:
o Hi! or Hey you!
o Check this out
o Please read carefully
o Personal information



We recommend that you run your entire email or newsletter through a spam checker prior to sending
it out. A spam checker will notify you of any potential “spammy” issues you could run into in both your
subject line and the body of your message. This is discussed in greater detail under the “Email
Delivery” section of this guide.

3. Utilize Motivating Words

Again, you only have about 40 characters to work with in order to increase the likelihood of your
entire subject line appearing in your reader’s email client. So choose words that will motivate
recipients to do something (complete your call‐to‐action). Start with words that are most powerful and
will motivate the reader to act. Words like “improve”, “enhance”, “focus”, “boost”, “discover” and
“learn” are powerful motivating verbs to use in your subject line.

As you’re selecting motivating words for your subject line, be careful not to promise more than the
email can deliver. If your subject line is exaggerated or doesn’t accurately reflect the content of the
email, your readers will lose trust in your company and could potentially report your email as spam.

4. Convey a Sense of Urgency

Urgency moves people to act more quickly than any other
form of persuasion. Without a sense of urgency, it’s easy
for your recipients to bypass your email and move on to
the next – perhaps never coming back to your email. Set a
deadline for readers to act on your email.

Phrases like: “5 days left…”, “Last day to act is…” or
“Response required by….” are good examples of creating
urgency in your subject lines. You can also use this
technique to schedule a series of emails. For example,
your initial email could be “Response required by…” and
then you could send a reminder the day before the
deadline with a subject line that reads “Only 24 hours…”
5. Use Numbers

Including numbers in your subject lines work because they quantify your content and let readers know
exactly what they can expect when they open your email. In addition, numbers are quick and easy to
read and take up very little characters. Here are some examples of using numbers in subject lines:

5 steps to losing weight without dieting
3 ways to improve your overall health
A 10‐point strategy for better health in 2011
Only 10 spots left for next week’s health seminar

Think of the benefits you’re providing your readers through your email. Then try to quantify those
benefits and compose a simple, straight‐to‐the‐point subject line using numbers.



6. Tease and Entice

This technique can be challenging because you have to find a proper
balance between teasing readers to learn more by opening your email
without being so vague that your email could be tagged as spam. As
discussed earlier, don’t attempt to trick your readers by using mysterious
and vague subject lines like “Check this out”. Instead, state a direct
benefit in your subject line and motivate them to want to learn more.

Here are some examples of subject lines that tease and entice:

Learn the secrets to living a healthier life – 5 tips
Discover why dieting never works unless…
How our clients got healthier in 5 steps. Read their stories…
Want to shed 5 pounds in 10 days? Read this…

Cliffhangers can be quite influential in increasing your open rates. The key is to provide enough
information that readers can see the immediate benefit of opening your email while enticing them to
want to open your email and learn more. Here are some enticing words you can use to provoke
curiosity: “learn”, “discover”, “how to”, “find out”, “secrets”.

7. Test, Test, Test

The best way to improve your subject lines is to test them. Before sending an email to a target list, we
recommend taking the following steps to test your subject line. Let’s say, for example, that you have a
target list of 1,000 people to which you would like to send an email.

Step 1: Select about 200 contacts that have opened an email from you in the last 3 months

Step 2: Divide that list into two (100 contacts in each list)

Step 3: Using the tactics above, come up with 2 different subject lines for your message

Step 4: Then send the same email message to both lists using the 2 different subject lines

Step 5: After a few days, compare the open rates of both emails

Step 6: Then determine the better performing subject line

By using a list of people who have responded to previous campaigns, you will be able to better gauge
the success rate of each subject line. Once you determine the stronger subject line, you can send your
email message with the stronger subject line to the remaining 800 contacts in your target list. Over
time, testing your subject lines will help you become better at formulating them.



Email Messaging Best Practices
Once you utilize the tactics previously discussed to compose compelling subject lines that get your
emails opened, the next step is to ensure the message or body of your email is compelling enough to
keep readers reading. There are a number of ways you can format the body of your email message to
ensure it is appealing to your users, keeps them engaged and encourages them to click on your links.

10 Best Practices to Consider with Email Messaging

1. Display Your Brand

Displaying your brand in your emails provides a consistent and professional brand identity, which in turn
makes your emails more recognizable to your audience. When readers feel as though an email comes
from a trusted and familiar source, they are more likely to read its content. So the upper left corner of
your email should feature your company name, logo and other brand‐identifying design elements.

2. Start with a Strong Headline

After the subject line, the headline of your email becomes the next most important text because these
words are the initial attention‐grabbers. A strong and effective subject line got readers to open your
email, and a compelling headline will keep them engaged enough to continue reading.

To write a strong headline, you must first get inside your reader’s head. Think of their needs, wants and
challenges, and determine how your message can help meet those needs, fulfill those wants and
overcome those challenges. There is an array of resources available to help you formulate a strong
headline, but below are just a few tips to keep in mind:

Educate your readers
oLearn how to get to healthy in just 15 minutes a day
Provoke curiosity
oDiscover a new diet secret celebrities are using to lose weight
Connect with them emotionally
oFrustrated with feeling overweight and unhealthy?
Exaggerate (but only if you can validate it)
oA revolutionary way to lose weight and keep it off forever
Issue a command
oStop your yo‐yo dieting once and for all – new 10‐step solution
Provide a step‐by‐step process
o3 easy steps to getting fit this summer
Use a quotation or part of a testimonial
o“I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks following these 3 steps!”

The above tips are just suggestions to keep in mind when writing your headlines. It’s important to test
various headlines to see which strategies work best for your campaigns.


3. Personalize Your Greeting

Personalization allows you to connect with the reader and improves response rates dramatically. Emails
that open with “Dear Friend” or “Dear Customer” tell the reader that your company is too important to
offer a personal connection with your customers. Rather, start your email with a personalized greeting
like “Hi John”. To do this, you would need to ensure your email list has the first name and last name in
separate columns. As you are uploading your newsletter in your email marketing system, you would
need to plug in the appropriate field in order for the system to pull the correct name field automatically.
In addition, tailor your offers and email content to the needs of different customer groups. Show that
your email was sent specifically to them based on needs they expressed to you at one point or another.

4. State the Benefits Right Away

After the headline, sub headline and personal greeting, you will have your opening paragraph. This
should only be a couple of sentences and should summarize the contents of your email, clearly stating
the benefits readers will receive if they continue reading. Keep it short. A long, text‐heavy introduction
paragraph could discourage readers and push some important content down “below the fold”.

5. Keep Call‐to‐Actions Above the Fold

The term “above the fold” refers to all the content on a Web page that viewers can see without having
to scroll. Naturally, the content that readers must scroll down to see is located “below the fold”. There
is nothing wrong with creating an email that requires scrolling, but all essential information should be
located above the fold. Make sure your main offer appears above the fold, preferably in the upper left.
A good idea is to place your main call‐to‐action in the sub headline of your email with the link
embedded directly in the text. For example, if your email message is about a new weight loss program
and your call‐to‐action is for readers to download a guide, your headline and sub headlines could be:

Frustrated with feeling overweight and unhealthy? (headline)
Download your FREE guide and learn how to shed pounds in 10 simple steps (sub headline)

Another suggestion that could increase your conversions is including a graphical call‐to‐action button in
your email. People are more drawn to colorful graphics, such as buttons and icons.

DOWNLOAD A FREE 10‐ GET YOUR FREE GUIDE!
STEP WEIGHT LOSS GUIDE! LOSE WEIGHT IN 10 STEPS

Don’t be afraid to test your call‐to‐action buttons either: gray vs. red, round vs. rectangular, etc. Also try
different messages in your buttons. Different buttons will work for different audiences, and the only
way to know what works best for your campaign is to test.

6. Expand on the Benefits

Don’t tell readers what you have to offer them; tell them why they want it. Tell them how your offer will
make their life better by solving a problem, meeting a need or fulfilling a desire. This is basic sales
writing. Again, get inside the reader’s head and answer the question “What’s in it for me?”



7. Leverage Bullet Points

People don’t read on the Internet – they scan. Their eyes are naturally drawn to headlines, images,
subheadings and bullet points. Large blocks of text and wordy paragraphs will likely cause readers to
dismiss your message. So when you’re expanding on the benefits of your offer, do so in a way that’s
easy to read by using bullet points in conjunction with short paragraphs that are declarative and
concise. Using numbered points can be a great way of clearly listing the many benefits of your offer in a
simple‐to‐understand manner.

8. Include a Personal Sign‐off

As previously mentioned, a personal touch can make all the difference in your email marketing
campaigns. Make your email appear as if it came from a real person in your company rather than from
your company as a whole. Signing off your email with a personal name, business title and direct contact
information can put potential customers at ease with the thought of doing business with you. There is
an added sense of comfort that comes from knowing there is a person behind the keyboard. It might
also be a good idea to include a graphic of the sender’s signature as well as a small photograph,
preferably a headshot. When readers can see a picture of the person writing to them, they are often
more inclined to develop a personal relationship with your company and brand.

If for some reason it isn’t appropriate to sign off from a single person, you could sign off from a “team”
or “committee”. By signing off from the “Support Team” or “Membership Committee”, you still provide
a sense of personalization in your email.

9. “P.S.” Works in Email Too

The P.S. has been a tactic used in direct marketing copy for years and has now found its way into email
copywriting. A powerful P.S. can be an effective way to remind readers of why they should take action
immediately. Keep in mind that you should not put any new, critical information in the P.S. in case
readers do not scroll that far down your message. Instead, use the P.S. as a way to re‐iterate the
benefits of your offer and the importance of them acting now. The P.S. also acts as an attention grabber
even when the reader doesn’t take in the entire message. In addition, including it at the end of your
message adds a nice personal touch to your email and reminds readers that they received this email
from a real person. Be sure to keep it short. The P.S. should be no longer than 1‐2 sentences.

10. Make Your Message Viral

Take advantage of the “forward to a friend” tactic in your email marketing. Ideally, when a reader clicks
on the “forward to a friend” link in your email, they should be taken to an online form where they can
provide names and email addresses of friends or colleagues who might be interested in your offer,
along with a comment box where they can write a personal message to their friends. This is a great way
to grow your email database.

A good place to put your “forward to a friend” link would be in the top right corner as well as at the very
bottom after your contact details.



Email Design Do’s and Don’ts

DO’s DON’Ts
DO include anchor links in your template. DON’T go over 620 pixels in width when
For example, somewhere at the top of designing your template. With a size that
your template, you should include a sub small, people who use MS Outlook will
headline for each topic in that particular be able to view the email template in the
issue, which are anchor linked to where preview pane. This is effective for other
they appear in the newsletter. email clients with preview panes as well.
DO validate the HTML code against a DON’T use ASCII characters such as curly
spam checker, which will determine any quotes, as they are not supported by
“messy code” that could cause your some browsers or email clients.
message to get caught in spam filters.
DO use images sized appropriately for DON’T include any important text in an
Web viewing. Stick to 72 DPI and use image, unless it’s repeated in the body.
either GIF or PNG formats. Steer clear of Some email clients have images turned
large sized images as this will increase off, and this could result in critical
the loading time of your newsletter. information not being displayed.
DO incorporate videos and other DON’T use elements like CSS, Java script,
multimedia elements in your email, but animated GIF, Flash and Web page
link out to them rather than attempting templates, as most email clients will not
to embed them in your newsletter. render these items and therefore could
impact the way your email appears.
DO use solid background colors instead DON’T use elaborate tables within the
of images. Most email clients will not email, as they can cause problems for
render images set as backgrounds. Also people who use browsers that
this will help minimize the possibility of sometimes display tables inconsistently.
your email being caught in spam filters.
DO include “Web version” and “Mobile DON’T forget to include the width and
version” links pointing to appropriate height in all image tags, as well as ALT
pages for optimal email viewing. text describing what the image is.
DO keep body text left aligned. Centered DON’T use more than one or two types
text can be difficult to read, and justified of font, otherwise the email will begin to
text is even harder to read. look cluttered.
DO test your email template designs DON’T re‐design your email templates
thoroughly to see which layout works too frequently. It will be more difficult
best and whether it achieves your for readers to recognize your brand if
company’s goals. your template changes too often.



Email Structure: HTML vs. Plain Text
There are 2 different formats in which you can send an email: a graphically‐based HTML template and
plain text. An HTML email is a template that is formatted like a Web page, using formatted text, colors,
embedded graphics, table columns and links. On the other hand, a plain text email is an email that only
includes text. It doesn’t contain any formatting, images or hyperlinks.

5 Reasons HTML Email Templates Work

1. Better Response Rates

It’s been proven many times that HTML newsletters outperform
plain text emails. In most cases, they are much easier to read and
offer information in an attractive way. Aside from a captivating
subject line, the other thing that grabs the attention of readers is
an image. When a recipient opens your email, you have a fraction
of a second to capture their attention before they immediately
delete it. The use of eye‐catching graphics and colors make your
email more compelling than plain text.

2. Attractive Content

HTML gives you the option to dress up your content. You can select the font type, font color, link color
and background color. By adjusting the formatting of certain text, you can draw attention to the most
important information of your email message. You can also include images as well as other multimedia
such as videos and audio. These elements help enhance user engagement in your email marketing.

3. More Layout Options

There are no formatting capabilities in plain text emails, meaning your content runs from top to bottom,
all in one column. In an HTML template, you can have multiple columns for your newsletter. This allows
you to position content and graphics wherever you want – along the top left, bottom right, etc. You can
put your important content in colorful call‐out boxes to draw more attention to them. HTML also allows
you to create graphical call‐to‐action buttons and position them wherever you want.

4. Branding Opportunity

By using an HTML template, you can brand your newsletter with your company logo and corporate
colors, so recipients recognize your brand as soon as they open your message. Brand consistency
extends into email marketing as well. A well‐designed company newsletter template should resemble a
similar look and feel as the company’s website and blog. A properly branded newsletter can convey
your company in a professional manner, which will increase your credibility with readers.


5. Ability to Track Clickthroughs

HTML newsletters allow you to create call‐to‐action buttons with hyperlinks, text with embedded
hyperlinks (ie: click here), images that hyperlink, etc. This allows you to track clickthrough rates and
determine the effectiveness of each linking channel. On the other hand, plain text emails don’t have any
formatting or linking options. Of course if you provide the full URL, you can track how many people click
on that link. But without the formatting capabilities, you are unable to track the effectiveness of various
linking options.

5 Reasons Plain Text Emails Work

Though HTML triumphs plain text in many ways, plain text emails still offer a lot of benefits for effective
email marketing. Here are 5 benefits that make plain text emails popular.

1. Consistent Display

HTML emails can display differently across various email clients. Some email clients will strip out many
elements from your HTML code or recipients could be reading your email with images turned off.
Because plain text emails include no formatting, they will display consistently across all email platforms.
You don’t have to worry about a plain text email not rendering properly in Gmail versus Outlook,
whereas HTML newsletters have to be tested very carefully across all popular email clients to ensure
each platform renders the code properly. This can sometimes involve going back to the designer for
modifications anytime an email client upgrades or changes the way it displays email.

2. Appears More Personal

Regardless of whether or not you use “Dear <First Name>” in an HTML newsletter, a plain text email
always appears more personal, because it looks like it was written and sent directly from the sender’s
email client. Even if your HTML template incorporates elements of personalization, such as a greeting,
everyone knows people don’t send personal emails from their account in the form of HTML newsletters.
Plain text emails offer a stronger degree of personalization, which could result in better read rates.

3. More Compatible for Mobile Devices

With the growing popularity of Smart Phones, like
Blackberrys and the iPhone, more and more people are
reading their emails on their cell phones. This often poses
a problem for HTML emails. Not all mobile devices display
HTML properly. Some will remove your images or stack
them vertically while only displaying the text portion of
HTML. Other devices will only display plain text.

You will learn more about how to optimize your email for
mobile devices in the “Tactics to Increase Email
Conversions” section of this guide.



4. Less Formatting Time

Plain text emails are simply faster and easier to create than HTML
emails. Coding an HTML email is not the same as coding an HTML Web
page. HTML newsletters need to pass the spam filters and designers
must use CSS in very specific ways. And there is still no guarantee that
your newsletter will appear consistently across all email clients. HTML
newsletters require a great deal of time to format, whereas plain text
emails are quick to create since there is no formatting required.

5. No Messy Code ‐ Better for Spam Filters

An HTML template that contains any messy code could trigger the spam filters. For example, if your
newsletter looks like it’s been copied from a Word document, your code could appear messy and this
could increase your overall spam score. Plain text emails contain no formatting or coding.

It’s Not One or the Other – You Must Offer Both

Today, there is no debate on whether marketers should send one or the other. Anytime you send out an
HTML newsletter, it should be accompanied by a plain text version – a process known as “multi‐part
mime”. This way, if a user’s email client is unable to display HTML messages or if he/she chooses not to
receive HTML emails, then by default the plain text version will automatically display instead.

Most email marketing systems offer the option of sending both formats in one message. This increases
your deliverability rate and minimizes the possibility of your message being filtered. In fact, some
systems require that you accompany your HTML newsletter with a plain text version before the system
will allow you to send a message. By offering both formats, you will have the benefit of displaying color,
images and creative layout to those who can view HTML in their email clients, without prohibiting those
who cannot view HTML from reading the message in a plain text format. It is also a good idea to include
“Web version” and “Mobile version” links in the top right corner of your HTML newsletters, just to
ensure your message is optimized for all of your readers.

Newsletters vs. Personal Text‐based Emails

As you begin implementing your email marketing campaigns, you will likely come across the option of
sending an email newsletter versus a personal text‐based email. Note: a personal text‐based email is
not the same as a plain text email as discussed above. A personal text‐based email is created using
simple HTML code, simply for font formatting purposes and embedding hyperlinks. The goal is to design
a basic email that appears as if it was written by a person directly from their email client. Since there is
some coding required with personal text‐based emails, it is essential to send a plain text version with it.

Newsletters are effective when you want to communicate various topics to a mass audience. Personal
text‐based emails are impactful when you want to remind recipients about a subject from a different
sender / voice than your regular company newsletter. Both techniques should be utilized hand‐in‐hand
in your email marketing campaign strategy.



Let’s say, for example, that you want to send a personal text‐based email from the president of your
company. When designing this email, you will want to keep the following in mind:

1. A Personal Greeting is a Must

In order for your email to appear like it came directly from the president of your company to a client, it
should begin with a personal greeting like, “Hi John”. When people write to each other directly from
their personal email client, they often greet them personally and directly.

2. The “Reply‐to” Address Must Match the “From” Name

You want your personal text‐based email to appear as authentic as possible. One thing that will take
away from its authenticity is including a reply‐to address that’s noticeably not the sender’s email
address. (For example, sending an email from “Ron McArthur, President of WSI” with the reply‐to
address of “support@...” will damage the authenticity of the email.)

4. Match the Font Type and Color to the Actual Sender

Take a look at the font type, color and size that the sender uses for real personal emails sent from their
email client. Then adjust your HTML code to match their formatting. This way, when readers reply to
the sender and the sender writes back, the font will be identical.

5. Mask the Sender’s Email Signature

If possible, design your personal text‐based email to include the exact same email signature file as the
sender’s real email signature. You can either do this directly in the code or by including a graphic of the
sender’s email signature in your message. This again will make the email appear as if it was written
directly from the sender’s email client.

6. Write in the Voice of the Sender

If you are sending a personal text‐based email from the
president of your company, you must write the content in a
tone and manner that would reflect how the president would
speak. This will likely be very different from the tone of your
HTML newsletters.

The more a personal text‐based email looks and sounds like it
came from the sender (for example, the president of your
company), the more likely your readers will believe it actually
came from that sender.



Adding Social Media Elements to Your Email
The explosion of social media has transformed the way people communicate online, and particularly
how companies market their products and services to their target audience. Smart email marketers
understand that social media is not a threat to email marketing. Social media complements email as it
provides new avenues for sharing information and engaging readers. When marketers integrate both
channels, they strengthen the reach and viral marketing potential of their campaigns.

3 Ways to Combine Social Media with Email Marketing

1. Include “Share” Buttons in Your Newsletters

The first step to combining social media with email marketing is to include social sharing links in your
newsletter templates. According to MarketingSherpa, marketers who integrated social media share
buttons in their email newsletters saw a 25% boost in reader interaction and a surge in inbound traffic
from social networking sites (June 8, 2009 case study).

You may have seen that many websites today now have a “share” button located at the top allowing
visitors to share Web content with their social community. Integrating these social sharing links in your
email newsletters is a great way to expand your readership beyond your subscribers at no additional
cost. Below are some tips to consider when integrating “share” buttons in your newsletters:

Identify the most relevant social networking sites – With so many social media sites that
exist today, it’s important to select only the ones that are relevant to your company. Think
about your target audience and where they are likely to converge on the social portals. Then
zero in on the social networking sites most relevant to your company.

Integrate the “share” icons into your newsletter templates – This requires unique code to be
included in your HTML newsletter template. Consider looking at your email marketing system
for a feature that will include the “share” icons into your template automatically.

Test the new newsletter template with a focus group – If this is your first time using “share”
icons, it would be a good idea to test this strategy with a small segmented list prior to rolling
it out to your entire database. If you find that adjustments need to be made, such as the size
and location of the “share” icons, make those changes to the template accordingly. It
wouldn’t hurt to work with 2 different template concepts to see which one performs better.

Roll out the newsletter template to the rest of your database – When you are satisfied with
the template and where your “share” icons appear, you can then start using it for your regular
newsletters with the rest of your database.



Track shared article metrics – A good email marketing system will have strong tracking
capabilities allowing you to track how many times users click on your “share” icons. This is no
different than tracking any other click on your newsletter. To track the number of times other
people read a shared article on Twitter, for example, be sure to use a URL shortening tool like
bit.ly to measure how many times a shared article was clicked on.

If you have several articles in your newsletter, be sure to link each article to a page on the Web. For
example, you could include an introduction paragraph of the article and a “Read more” link allowing
users to read the full article online. If you choose to go this route, then make sure your “share” buttons
in your newsletter template are set up to share the URL of each article on the Web.

Since most email clients cannot render Javascript properly, stick to images and text links for the “share”
buttons in your emails. Look for an email marketing system that has the capability to share your
newsletter across various social media sites automatically through the system. For example, WSI Digital
Marketing Pro supports several popular social media sites, including MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn,
Delicious, Digg and Google Bookmarks. Integrating social sharing links in your newsletter can be very
easy with a powerful email marketing system.

2. Increase Your Social Following Through Email Marketing

In addition to inviting your subscribers to share your newsletter content on
the social networks, make sure all of your email newsletters include links
allowing your subscribers to follow you on the social media sites. Consider
creating a call‐out box in the sidebar or in the header of your newsletter with
call‐to‐actions like “Follow Us on Twitter” or “Become a Fan on Facebook”.
This will inform your subscribers that you have a social media presence and
build your online following. Again testing is key. Try positioning your social
icons in various places on your newsletter and track the clickthrough rates to
determine which location works best.
It’s also a good idea to include a button on your day‐to‐day business email signature inviting readers to
subscribe to your newsletter as well as follow your company on the social portals.

3. Promote Your Email Content in the Social Media Platforms

Don’t be afraid to cross promote email marketing and social media. Remind your Twitter followers,
Facebook fans, LinkedIn contacts and YouTube channel subscribers that you have a regular email
newsletter and encourage them to subscribe to receive emails from you. Once they sign up, they are
likely the subscribers who will share your email content with their own social networks.

Use email marketing as a catalyst to start conversations online about your brand. Create compelling
content that people will want to share and include a specific call‐to‐action asking readers to spread the
word. Your content should not be directly selling your products or services to your readers, but should
provide education and value to them – information they would find useful to share with their friends.
With valuable content and a well thought‐out social media sharing strategy, your email marketing can
enhance your brand reputation and grow your company.


EMAIL DELIVERABILITY

Email Deliverability
All the design and copywriting skills in the world won’t help your business if your
email never reaches its intended destination. And whether or not you’re new to
email marketing, you might be wondering exactly what issues there could be
around email deliverability. After all, you write an email, enter your recipient’s
email address, hit “send”, and you expect it to simply land in front of that person.

Unfortunately, when you’re sending a marketing email out to dozens, hundreds,
thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of recipients, not all
of them are going to get your email. As a matter of fact, it’s not unusual that at
least 10% of your target audience misses out on your message. Clearly, nobody
can click on a link in an email they never see!

The worse your deliverability, the less successful your company’s email marketing campaign will be.
Luckily, there are steps you can take to ensure your email lands in its proper destination and prompts
your audience to open it and read your message.

Understanding CAN‐SPAM Regulations
Anyone who uses email is no stranger to spam and has dealt with it in one way or another. In fact,
consumers receive so much spam in their inbox that they often hesitate to open emails at all unless it’s
from a trusted sender. In knowing this, keep in mind that your consumers are also not likely to hesitate
in reporting your emails as spam to their Internet Service Provider (ISP), especially if your emails appear
untrustworthy, are received too frequently or the quality of the content is poor.

So to alleviate the frustration felt by consumers, lawmakers enacted the CAN‐SPAM Act of 2003 in an
effort to prosecute spammers. (Its official title is the Controlling the Assault of Non‐Solicited
Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003.) Essentially, this law set forth a number of requirements that
need to be met in order to send commercial emails to consumers.

The Central Points of the Act Are That It:

Prohibits the use of false or misleading headers
Prohibits the use of deceptive subject lines
Requires a clear, conspicuous opt‐out mechanism in each email
Requires the inclusion of a valid postal address in each email

Now, it’s important to note that the Act distinguishes between a commercial email and a transactional
email. If you’re responding to a customer inquiry or sending an email receipt of purchase, this is a
transactional email and you don’t need to worry about CAN‐SPAM. On the other hand, if your email
contains a customer solicitation or any general marketing information, this is considered a commercial
email and you must comply with the requirements of the law. Remember, each violation of a rule in the
CAN‐SPAM Act can leave you with a fine of up to $16,000! So following the rules is important!


Email marketing strategy guide

Email marketing strategy guide

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