There are songs that I have heard 1000 times in my life and I could listen to them 10,000 times more (over a lengthy enough period) and be quite content. And then there are songs I hear 2 times and it is 2 times too many. Sometimes receiving email from a company works the same way. There are companies that send me email for years at a time – sometimes I open it and sometimes I don’t, but I never mind it being there. And then there are the other ones – maligned digital deviants that should fall off the face of the earth.
Oh believe me, my vengeance for their very presence in my inbox will be exacted. Carefully, methodically, and spitefully I open the email and click ‘mark as spam’. The ramifications for my discontent are great indeed – great in the sense that I will never have to see them again, and great as in they will likely reduce the chance that their entire mailing list receives the next email in their inbox. I go on about my day feeling vindicated as if I was able to rid myself of Princess Bride’s eponymous 6 fingered man, and the emailer goes about their day unknowingly closer to the spam folder.
How can you make sure your own company can keep away spiteful spam markers like myself?
1) Only send to opted in users – you knew that would be first, right?
2) Make it easy to unsubscribe
3) Segment your emails based on open/click habits
4) Don’t send out garbage emails unless you’re selling garbage barrels or bags.
This stuff is elementary guys. I hate that I’m writing it and I know that if you are reading it, you probably aren’t the problem anyway.
Let me give you an example of a good email
That’s right, Smurfs – they are sending me stuff that a grown man would likely never want to watch by themselves (nor Grey’s Anatomy), but this guy has a 5-year-old son that loves the Smurfs – Boom! Great job knowing your recipient, Netflix!
Let me give you an example of a bad email
This garbage is from some company I have never heard of, has a stupid subject line (my name), and I hate it. My spammy trigger finger is acting up.
How about you guys? Do you ever have situations where you will spitefully mark as spam, or what I now call (I just thought of this) ‘MAS (Mark As Spam)’ people? If so – please share!
Need help figuring out how to use best practices to reach as many engaged recipients as possible? Reach out to us today.
