EMAIL MARKETING ROADMAP

E M A I L M A R K E T I N G R O A D M A P

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rerouted for 2022

Did you know that the world’s first email was sent in 1971? That means that email turned 50 years old in

2021. In digital technology years, that’s nearly prehistoric.

So why didn’t email go the way of 8-tracks and rotary phones? Why does email continue to not only

survive, but thrive as a medium for both communication and marketing? The answer lies in its ubiquity

and effectiveness. According to Litmus’ 2021 State of Email survey, 91% of respondents said that email

marketing is critical to the overall success of their company, up 20 percent from just two years ago.

And Statista projects that by 2025, more than 376 billion emails will be sent and received worldwide

every single day.

That means email continues to be a crucial channel businesses can use to continually get their name

in front of past, present and future clients. This “old reliable” digital channel has survived years of

predictions about its imminent demise, but the numbers don’t lie: email is still going strong. So rather

than worrying about whether email is relevant in 2022, businesses should be worrying about how to

stand out in their recipients’ crowded inboxes.

For many small business owners, email marketing may seem too complicated to be worth the effort

to learn. That’s why we created this guide: to show you why email is worth it, and teach you the

fundamentals you need to succeed.


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Hitting the Road. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

7 Benefits of Email Marketing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

SECTION ONE: Best Practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The elements of an effective email. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5-Step Checklist to Writing Good Content. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Design best practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Scheduling details: creating a consistent schedule and when you should send. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

How to build an email list. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Why you should take advantage of email automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

SECTION TWO: Turns to Avoid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Don’t spam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Words, phrases and other things to avoid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Why you shouldn’t send email “blasts”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

SECTION THREE: The Next Leg: Building Relationships, Improving Your Bottom Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

How to build relationships using email marketing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

How to use email to increase customer retention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

How to use email for referrals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

The Destination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

what’s on the route?


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hitting the road

what is email marketing?

In many ways, email marketing is a digital form of direct marketing—a way of reaching many current,

past, and potential customers at once. Rather than sending letters, catalogs or flyers, these messages

are sent to inboxes.

The primary advantage of email over direct mail is that you can track and measure your success. You can

see how many of your emails were delivered and opened, if links were clicked, and if anyone took action,

such as filling out a form or referring a friend.

types of email marketing

The format and approach you take with your email marketing will vary depending on your audience,

industry, and goals. Here are some of the more common types of email marketing:

product or catalog: These emails focus on specific products/services or a suite of them.

newsletters: Sent on a consistent schedule, newsletters can cover many areas. Emails for

OutboundEngine customers follow the newsletter format, and they contain helpful, industry-adjacent

information. Their goal is to keep you top of mind with your customers.

campaigns: This could include sales or time-sensitive information. Political campaigns and nonprofits

use these often for fundraising, voting and other events, like industry parties, that run for specific

periods of time.

nurturing: These are time-based emails that are sent to prospects or customers in a predetermined

sequence. Typically sent more frequently than other types of emails, they encourage the recipient to take

steps to move through a funnel or sales cycle.

transactional: These are automated, non-marketing emails crucial to a transaction or business

relationship, like puchase receipts, reminders, account updates, terms of service, etc.

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how is email marketing valuable?

Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective, high ROI channels you can capitalize on. Consider

that 91 percent of US email users check their inbox at least once a day. That’s approximately 350 million

people reading emails every day, which shows the huge potential email has to help your bottom line.

Here are a few additional stats to show the real value of email marketing:

Email ranked as the No. 1 channel for ROI out of nine marketing channels, beating out SEO, content

marketing, paid search, and direct marketing.

– ECONSULTANCY

Email marketing averages an ROI of $38 for every $1 spent.

– HUBSPOT

89 percent of marketers say that email serves as their primary channel of lead generation.

– MAILIGEN

Email is the preferred source of communication for 74 percent of consumers.

– SENDGRID

On average, companies attribute 22 percent of their total sales to email marketing.

– ECONSULTANCY

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The big question is, what advantages does email offer compared to other forms of marketing? With even

a small budget, email marketing can help you focus on your target audience, find new customers and

retain past customers. You can also test messaging, measure your results, and adjust as necessary—work

that is more challenging or expensive to do with other channels.

reach the right audience

The biggest advantage of email marketing may be that it allows you to communicate with your target

audience right where they are. People are liable to recycle direct mail flyers and glaze over ads in their

social feeds or in the sidebar of a website. However, a well-crafted and effective email is easier to pay

attention to and absorb.

tracking the success metrics

As a business owner, it’s helpful to know what you’re doing right and what needs to improve. By tracking

metrics like email clicks and conversations that start after they’re sent, you can see what is resonating

with your audience. With email marketing software, it becomes easy to gather such data by tracking open

and click-through rates and conversions. It’s much harder, if not impossible, to track a direct mail piece.

word of mouth

Word of mouth remains one the most powerfully effective marketing tools, and email marketing makes

it easier for people to refer you and your business. Recipients can forward emails to their friends and

families, especially when the content is relevant, interesting, and strong calls to action are used.

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7 BENEFITS OF EMAIL MARKETING7 BENEFITS OF EMAIL MARKETING

CONTINUED ON NEX T PAGE. . .


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a low-cost effort

Email marketing is one of the most affordable marketing tools and also often takes less time than

printed pieces. No paper, postage costs, and no mailing time! You can write, test, and send an email in

less time than it takes to have a proof reviewed for a flyer.

personalization

Depending on the service you use, email marketing allows you to personalize all communications. In

some cases, in addition to using someone’s name, you can also include their purchasing or behavior

history as well. Examples include whether someone took a quiz, answered a survey, or took some other

form of action.

impulse shopping (and forwarding)

Email marketing is incredibly useful for taking advantage of impulse shoppers. With a compelling call to

action incorporated into the emails, you can encourage impulse sales and boost contact. Think: a limited

time offer, or a holiday sale. It’s easy for recipients to respond to your message when they have a clear

ask and direction. Even better, they can take action wherever they are.

drives organic traffic

When you send emails, you remind your readers to go to your site and read more. People who have signed

up to receive your emails are more engaged with you already, so they are more inclined to like social posts

or forward your emails. The more shares your content has, the organic traffic will come your way.

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7 BENEFITS OF EMAIL MARKETING7 BENEFITS OF EMAIL MARKETING

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BEST PRACTICES

S E C T I O N O N E

the elements of an effective email

design best practices

scheduling details

how to build an email list

why you should take advantage of email automation

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In this section, we’ll talk about the practices you should follow in your

email marketing, including:


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Making your email stand out in an inbox is both a science and an art. To motivate people to open, read,

and act on your emails, you need to master three email elements: subject lines, content, and calls to

action (CTAs).

subject lines

You have three to four seconds to grab someone’s attention with your subject line. Seriously, that’s it!

That’s how long it takes for someone to decide whether or not they’ll open your email. How you write

your subject line is a major factor in someone making the decision to open. Here are a few guidelines to

help you write them effectively:

Be informative but brief so your audience can easily scan their inbox.

Communicate something important, valuable or timely to prompt your audience to open the email.

Fifty characters is generally a good rule of thumb to follow for subject line length.

Consider asking questions, indicating a numbered list, and personalizing your subject line.

Try to keep it specific, short and compelling.

Avoid using spam trigger words.

Pro tip: Make sure the subject line supports the email content.

Meaning, if you write a subject line that says, “15 Black Friday Deals You Won’t Believe,” and then in

the email body you ask people to follow your Facebook page to learn more, you will see a sharp drop in

subscribers and engagement. People do not like feeling tricked or bait-and-switched.

bad subject line example

AMAZING DEALS! Don’t Miss Out On This CRAZY Sale $$$!!! What Are You Waiting For? Click Now for

Free Stuff!

good subject line example

Our 10 Best Deals: Huge Savings on All Holiday Overstock

THE ELEMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE EMAIL


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As technology continues to evolve, so should your strategy when writing subject lines. What works one

year might not perform as well next year. Some research says subject line length is important, while

others insist it doesn’t matter. Some say you should avoid spam trigger words, but others say you can

use them cautiously if you already have a good email reputation. These are decisions to be made after

testing, experience, and careful consideration.

It’s good to understand the rules. However, since there’s not always a clear consensus, occasionally

stepping outside the lines may surprise you with a great open rate. Be careful when experimenting. It

can be a tough and slow recovery after your email reputation takes a hit.

What about preheaders? A preheader is the preview text that some email clients show before the email

is opened. Many email platforms allow you to customize this text; if you have the option, do it! Just make

sure it complements your subject line rather than repeating it.

content

If you’re not writing content that your audience cares about, you won’t hold their attention. Email

content should be directly tied to the subject line and written in a short, consistent way that makes your

message easy to digest.

Good content should focus on your customers. Find out what problems they have and write about them.

Learn about their habits and hobbies and pair your expertise with content that will strike a chord with

them. Make sure what you write is serving their interests, not your own agenda.

Here are a few content tips:

Share information that’s not specifically about your business, but topically adjacent. For

example, a real estate agent could send emails about home improvement updates that add value to

a home. A loan officer could share resources on preventing identity theft or maintaining good credit.

Maintain a regular cadence of emails. Sending six emails a week will overwhelm your contacts and

will burn you out, too. Sending an email four times a year isn’t enough to stay top of mind either.

Show restraint in your desire to sell or pitch to your email lists. Rather, showcase your expertise

on interesting topics and brand yourself professionally. Your audience should know what you do, but

there’s no need to constantly remind them.


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calls to action (ctas)

The emails you send to your customers have two goals: the first is to keep you top of mind, and the

second is to help you get more business. Calls to action help you do the latter by driving recipients to

take the next step. They can be as simple and clear as “Get a Demo,” “Sign Up” or “Schedule a Call.”

As you’re writing your content, always think about what you want your reader to do. Each email should

have a goal. For instance, your newsletter might include the first paragraph or two of a blog post you’ve

written, and the CTA is a link that encourages people to “read more” on your site. If you’re running a

contest, your CTA may tell people to “visit my Facebook page to enter.” Whatever goal you choose, make

sure your readers can take an action to help you achieve it.

Keep in mind that emails are not typically about making an immediate sale, but keeping an open

dialogue with your contacts. At OutboundEngine, our customers’ email newsletters include calls to

action like “Refer a friend,” “Get in touch” and “Share this email” so that those who are ready to call

upon you for your services have an easy way to do so.

It’s important to note that these CTAs are not the point of each email. They’re an element that is always

there so recipients always know how to get in touch when they’re ready.

When creating your CTA, ask yourself:

What do you want the email recipient to do?

Are you making your call to action clear enough that a person quickly scanning your email will

understand what action they’re supposed to take?

What’s in it for them?


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define strategy

Give your newsletters a purpose by defining your strengths and using them to your advantage.

Make a list of things that you’re an expert in, professionally and personally.

Ask yourself what you want your subscribers to know you for.

Focus on the topics that satisfy both categories above.

build personas

Figure out what characteristics make up your subscriber base and create content for them.

Estimate your subscriber demographics—age, location, interests, etc.

Make a list of things that get them excited (including posts or newsletters that have been successful

in the past).

Compile a list of your customers’ activities and hobbies.

identify problems

People know you for your profession. Give them a reason to stay in touch with you for your expertise and

advice.

Make a list of questions that you’re asked most often (they may or may not relate directly to your

profession).

From those questions, make a list of answers.

Take their problems and break up the answers into different newsletter ideas.

Organize these ideas in a calendar so you have newsletters for the whole year.

create solutions

Use your expertise and your customers’ problems to create newsletters that hit the sweet spot. In short,

be their go-to resource.

Start answering those questions and problems in your email newsletters.

Make them readable, understandable, actionable and shareable.

assess content

Before sending an email, double-check your template.

Is the email all about you or your business? (Most of the time, it shouldn’t be.)

Does it help solve a problem or entertain your customers?

Is this what you want to be known for?

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5-STEP CHECKLIST TO WRIT ING GOOD CONTENT5-STEP CHECKLIST TO WRIT ING GOOD CONTENT


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design best practices

Your content may be great, but if the design makes it too difficult for readers to act on the CTA, no one

will respond the way you want them to. Email clients have different requirements than web browsers, so

HTML emails need to be designed and coded according to a variety of standards. Here are a few best

practices to ensure that your campaign looks great for each and every one of your recipients.

make it mobile friendly

You can expect roughly half of your recipients to open on a mobile device, so optimization for mobile is

crucial. There are three strategies for mobile friendly email: scalable, fluid, and responsive design.

scalable design: Works well on both desktop and mobile without relying on code to make

adjustments. This is usually the easiest strategy to implement. It includes large, touch-screen friendly

calls to action, text that’s readable on all screen sizes and a simple layout that works on all devices

(usually a single column).

fluid design: Uses sizes based on percentages to make tables and images adjust to the viewer’s

screen size. This approach works better for text-heavy emails.

responsive design: Uses CSS media queries to adjust layout, as well as the size of images, text, and

buttons. You can even swap content completely depending on whether the viewer is reading on desktop

or mobile. This approach provides the most flexibility but also requires the most technical knowledge.

include a text-only version

Your email service provider should provide the functionality to include a separate text-only version,

which will be automatically sent to recipients who can’t view HTML emails. You can also give your

recipients the option to see your email in a web browser in case they can’t or don’t want to view your

message in their email client.


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favor a clean, simple design

Single-column layouts help reduce visual confusion and make it obvious what the reader should look at

in what order. They also look better on smaller screens.

make it functional

Keep your main body content area under 600 pixels wide, and stick to web-safe fonts. Avoid JavaScript,

attachments and background images.

be specific

Font families, image sizes, table and cell sizes, and colors (including background colors) need to be

specified. If you don’t, the recipient’s email client will choose for you—and you may not like the result.

make it effective

When you use images, focus on those that are relevant and attractive. Keep your branding front and

center, and make sure your headline–your main point–doesn’t require recipients to have to scroll down

to see it.

test, then test again

Try out your email in as many email clients, browsers and operating systems as possible, including

mobile. This means clicking links and combing for errors many times over. You can also purchase a

subscription to a service such as Litmus that will show you previews from every email client at once.

try a button

Buttons are a great way to highlight your most important calls to action. Use color wisely so your button

stands out, but doesn’t disrupt the design. Again, keep in mind that since many email clients block

images, if your CTA is only available embedded in an image, your recipients may not see it. Make sure

your CTA is visible to everyone by using a CSS button instead of an image-based button.

It’s hard to overstate how critical mobile is.

The numbers vary, but most stats show about half of all emails are opened on a mobile device. And this

percentage is only expected to grow. Make sure you’re ready for a mobile world as more and more people

will read your messages on their phone.


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SCHEDULING DETAILS:WHEN TO SCHEDULE AND SEND

be consistent

First of all, you need a consistent schedule. This is where you need to be brutally honest with yourself for

the sake of your business’s success. Evaluate your priorities and obligations to determine what you can

reasonably commit to. The optimal frequency to contact your customers is one to four times a month.

You can test a higher send frequency, but be conscious of your open and unsubscribe rates. When your

engagement starts to decline, it’s time to re-evaluate your approach. You want to find a balance between

staying top of mind and not annoying your recipients.

Whatever frequency you decide, be consistent so your contacts know what to expect.

effective send times and days

When should I send my emails? This is one of the most frequently asked questions and also one of the

most debated. Ask ten people what the most effective send times and days are, and it’s possible to get

ten different answers. Even trusted sources have differing opinions on the topic based on their original

research and data sets:

Yesware says early mornings before 7 a.m. or evenings after 8 p.m. is best, no matter the day of the week.

Kissmetrics says early mornings and weekends, but they point out that those days and times are

also the most likely to get you unsubscribes and bounces.

Experian’s benchmark study says that between 4pm and 8pm. is optimal.

Wordstream thinks that Thursday from 8 to 9am is best.

Hubspot says that Tuesdays at 11am will get the highest response.

Needless to say, there are many answers to this question. If you’re looking for a fairly safe bet, try

Wednesday afternoons around 2pm. Keep in mind that every person, recipient, and email list is unique

depending on their personal and professional schedules. Test various days and times to find what works

best for your audience.


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how to build an email list

Before you can market to someone using email, you have to have a list of contacts. Building an email list

can seem challenging at first, but don’t let the task intimidate you. Once you start, it will become second

nature. Here are a few tips to get you started and to improve your current efforts.

send to people who have opted in

You should send emails only to people who have opted in to receive communication from you. This

means they’ve signed up deliberately and know what they’re agreeing to. We do not recommend buying

lists or using lead generation services due to the CAN-SPAM Act (more on this later).

past and prospective clients

If you already have a contact database, great! That’s your starting point. If not, compile the emails of your

past customers, prospects and anyone else you would regularly communicate with, like friends, family

and professional contacts. Again, make sure you have an existing relationship for best results.

lists, quizzes and surveys

These types of content are popular for gathering email addresses because they are quick and interactive.

There are several ways you can do this on your own. Create a list of your favorite industry-specific or

motivational podcasts and share it. Send out a survey asking people what kind of content they’d like

to see you write about or questions they want answered. Make sure that you’re giving your audience a

genuine incentive just like you would with other email-gathering options. Don’t snag someone’s email

address and then spam them with sales pitches. That’s just bad marketing.


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your websiteThis is key. Make sure you’re using high-visibility and high-traffic pages to ask people to opt-in for your

emails. Forms should be straightforward so people know what they’re signing up for.

Limit sidebars and avoid long scrolls and other distractions that draw attention away from your form.

Experiment with calls to action to see which increase your conversion rate. Also make sure, no matter

what form you use, that a visitor can still navigate your site easily.

popups

Mentioning popups and popovers is usually met with skepticism and eye rolls, but hear us out! There are

plenty of examples out there showing impressive email list growth results from popups.

The key to popup success is that it has to be something worth interrupting a visitor. For example, a

related piece of content to the page they are on or a special discount on your product.


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maximize your social media

You should have a presence on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and maybe other platforms depending

on what audience you’re targeting. Keep in mind that while you might prefer one social network, that

doesn’t mean all of your clients share your preferences. Build profiles on as many platforms as you can

keep up-to-date and post often on the ones where your audience spends the most time. Use those

channels to encourage people to opt in to your email marketing campaigns, and tell them what they will

gain by doing so.

Add your social media accounts to your email signature and make sure your email address and website

are prominent on all of your social media accounts. This will allow you to maximize your reach with your

customers in as many places as possible.

Pro tip: Did you know you can easily export contacts from any email and most social media platforms?

Chances are you’ve been building a contact list without even knowing it.

linkedin

Your LinkedIn connections are a goldmine of email addresses for your database. Even if you have these

contacts in your database already, it’s always a good idea to export updated information in case people

have changed email addresses or jobs. LinkedIn is likely to offer more relevant contacts than other

social media networks because most of those people are connected with you professionally rather than

personally.

go paperless

Use email as your go-to correspondence. Not only is this method efficient and convenient and eco-

friendly but it also puts you in the position of collecting email addresses from the get-go.

embrace the clipboard

Make it a regular practice to have a clipboard or a tablet at networking events, trade shows or in the

waiting area of your office. This tried-and-true method is a great way to encourage people to join your

mailing list. Again, be sure to let them know exactly what they stand to gain, whether you’re offering

market tips, contests, discounts or just a way to stay in touch.


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lean on your family & friends

By including friends and family in your email marketing efforts, you are providing content for them to share

when they think of someone who would benefit from your services or want to brag about their friend’s

business. You will soon see the power of word-of-mouth.

become an internet educator

Don’t underestimate the power of your industry knowledge. Host webinars, publish content to LinkedIn,

and hold live Q&As on Facebook or Instagram Live. This is an excellent way to put forth valuable

information, build relationships and, you guessed it, expand your email contact list!

use the power of the ask

Take the time to go through your contacts. If you are missing an email address, call, text, Facebook, and

find it. Let your clients know you’re sending out a newsletter, and explain how it will benefit them.


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When someone uses the phrase “email automation,” this generally refers to sending out relevant emails on

a timeline of your choosing and scheduling them in advance so you don’t have to remember to hit “send.”

Examples include welcome emails that are automatically generated and sent to anyone who signs

up for your newsletter, a thank you email after a business transaction or a renewal reminder. Another

example could include regular newsletters. While you may write and create these newsletters in advance,

automation allows you to schedule and send them whenever you choose.

Email automation builds customer relationships by combining the power of customer data, great content,

and software. It allows you to have continued presence in your clients’ and prospects’ inboxes without

having to do all of the work yourself (or at least being able to schedule it for a time that is more convenient

for you).

When you’ve set up an automated email campaign, you don’t think about when you should send the

next email because you’ve already scheduled it, giving you more time to focus on other aspects of your

business.

WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EMAIL AUTOMATION


TURNS TO AVOID

S E C T I O N T W O

don’t spam

words, phrases and other things to avoid

why you shouldn’t send email “blasts”

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In Section 1 we covered best practices.

This section tells you what you don’t want to do.


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don’t spam

Spam is junk mail–unsolicited, unwanted and often a scam. That’s why email providers work hard to

keep those annoying emails out of your inbox. But as any experienced email marketer knows, being

reported as spam is both worrisome and avoidable.

If you remember only one thing, make it that you should email only people you personally know or who

have opted in to receive your communications. We don’t recommend buying lists; there are laws in place

to protect people from receiving certain types of unsolicited communications.

spam reports

A spam report is when someone reports an email that you sent to them as spam. While many think this

just gets an email moved to the spam folder, it actually has a greater impact than that. After enough

complaints, most major email services will punish the IP address sending those emails by sending them

to the spam folder or even outright blocking them. This has a direct impact on your ability to reach

everyone on your list, not just the person who reported you as spam.

can-spam act

This 2003 federal law outlines the rules of commercial emailing. This law sets up the requirements all

email marketers must follow and establishes the consequences for not following the law.


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if you’re sending emails for commercial use, you have to:

Include an unsubscribe method.

Actually unsubscribe someone when they request it, and do so in a timely manner.

Include a physical address.

Refrain from using deceptive “from” names or subject lines.

While not explicitly banned, sending to people who have not opted in is discouraged.

remember two things:

You don’t have to be a spammer to be reported for spamming.

If you send email newsletters long enough, deliverability problems are likely to pop up occasionally.

As long as you’re staying CAN-SPAM compliant and legitimately obtaining email addresses from your

actual customers and not purchased lists, you’ll have no trouble keeping this number low.


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There are common characters, phrases, and practices that will likely trigger spam filters and thus

prevent you from getting into inboxes. Some estimates claim that spam filters may block 10 to 20

percent of emails from your subscribers’ inboxes.

We previously mentioned in the subject lines section that you can experiment cautiously with some of

these words. Research suggests that spam filters may be more aware of context than they have in the

past. Be sure you measure your campaigns so you can adjust future emails if these words negatively

impact your results. This is an ever-evolving field, and since email service providers don’t make this

information public, there’s no way to know for sure what will hurt you.

spam filters may be triggered if:

An email uses all caps, extra punctuation (like ?! or !!) or special characters.

There’s not a text-only version available.

There is extra code, such as code pulled from Microsoft Word or codes from other tools like Google

Analytics.

Your recipients have marked you as spam too often. This could work against you with future emails.

There are too many images or one large image with little or no text. There should be a balance

between images and text.

your email will likely go to the spam folder if:

The first eight characters of your email address are digits.

To/from contains: sales@, success@, mail@, profits@, friend@ or public@.

Your email subject line contains: advertisement, $, ! or free.

Your email body text contains: anything to do with money, like cash, free or money back.

WORDS, PHRASES AND OTHER THINGS TO AVOID


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A “blast” is an email that is all about that company, most, if not all, of the time. In other words, a

constant sales pitch. Most customers will tune out this message, assuming they bother to open your

email at all. These will likely get sent to spam as well.

Think of email marketing as a conversation. An email blast is a monologue, not a conversation. You want

to talk with your customers, not at them, and you want to invite feedback. When someone takes the time

to respond to your newsletter, takes action on something you sent, or even unsubscribes, listen to your

customers’ feedback and adjust your marketing accordingly.

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T SEND EMAIL “BLASTS”


THE NEXT LEG

S E C T I O N T H R E E

how to build relationships using email marketing

how to use email to increase customer retention

how to use email for referrals

1

2

3

In this final section, we talk about building relationships, referrals and

improving your bottom line.

DESTINATION - 10 MILES


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There are many email marketing strategies, whether your audience is consumers or other businesses. At

OutboundEngine, we focus on B2C, and we advocate a strategy of helping, not selling, to your customers.

Many of our clients work in industries with long sales cycles, or seasonal cycles, such as real estate agents

and health insurance brokers, respectively. Bombarding your clients with messages about buying new

homes or switching insurance—especially if they’ve recently completed these actions with you—becomes

annoying, repetitive, and could trigger unsubscribes.

In industries with these unique sales cycles, the majority of your clients aren’t likely to be in the market

for your services at any given time, so using email marketing to keep in touch and help them until they’re

ready to do business again is a smart move. You build trust with them by providing helpful information.

For instance, a real estate agent might send an email about conducting a home energy audit to save on

utilities. A tour guide company could share information on the most affordable months to travel.

Similarly, if your sales cycle falls in neither of these categories, but you have steep competition, such as a

hairstylist or a massage therapist, these emails can set you apart from the competition between visits.

This approach keeps your name and business in front of clients in a non-obtrusive way. And when that

person is ready to do business again or their friend is asking for a referral, your name is top of mind.

here are a few tips for nurturing relationships with email:

make it personal: With email marketing, personalization is extremely helpful. This can include

personalized salutations or specific client information within the body. It’s also important to make sure

the message applies to the client’s situation. For instance, don’t send a renewal notice to a customer

who just renewed their service.

communicate with them, not at them: Even if you’re sending an email to a large audience, it can

be written like you’re talking to a single person. Use a conversational tone in your writing. Customers

want to feel like you’re talking with them instead of pitching to them.

HOW TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS USING EMAIL MARKETING


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be welcoming: You wouldn’t simply walk up to someone and ask them for business without saying

hello. Make your emails inviting. If you treat your customers like they’re just another name on an email

list, then the emails you send will be received as such.

keep it brief: Why send a lengthy newsletter when a few paragraphs and sentences will do? There will

be some emails that are longer than others, but make sure the length is appropriate to the message. If

they’re longer, make it easy for readers to find what they want and get to the point.

provide value: When someone signs up to get your emails, they want you to communicate something

of value. Make the email worth their time. You already know your customers, and you should know their

interests and needs. Your emails should reflect this rather than being simply self-promotional.

be consistent, not annoying: Finding the right cadence for your emails is definitely important. You

want to keep your brand in front of your audience. Just don’t overdo it and cross from consistent into

annoying.

The whole idea behind building relationships through email is that the payoff doesn’t have to be right

then and there. Sending an email doesn’t necessarily result in instant business. And that’s fine! These

effective communication practices help you build these relationships over time, increasing loyalty and

nurturing prospects to become even more valuable over time. More importantly, they’ll become voluntary

marketers, singing your praises and recommending you to others.


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Your clients are your most valuable assets, but many business owners do a poor job of customer

retention, specifically through email marketing. They rely too much on waiting for the phone to ring or

focus on one event or strategy—like a holiday card—to keep those relationships alive. That’s where email

marketing can help.

here are three ways that email marketing can improve customer retention:

keeping you top of mind: Regular emails are key to maintaining your name and brand recognition

with clients. The next time a customer is looking to do business, you don’t want them struggling

to remember your name or trying to remember where they put your card and then turning to the

competition.

maintaining a conversation, year round: Email marketing that’s timely and relevant to seasonal

trends can be an ideal friendly check-in. Maybe it’s summer and you create a checklist for planning a

road trip or put together a quick guide on the best wine bars in your area. As long as it’s helpful and not

all about you, you’re good to go! The more you can converse with your client base instead of marketing to

them, the more they’re going to appreciate hearing from you.

put a friendly face on your business: Whether you’re a dog groomer, lawyer, or plumber, it may be

some time before your client needs to contact you again. In the meantime, doesn’t it make sense to be

a professional, trusted resource to your clients? Think of it as a way to make your customers continually

happy to have done business with you.

HOW TO USE EMAIL TO INCREASE CUSTOMER RETENTION


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Email marketing is often underused for referrals. While you might be spending marketing dollars buying

new lead lists, sending out direct mail pieces, or even handing out branded products at local events,

you’re also sitting on a treasure trove of referral gold: your existing customers.

Email is a direct line of communication to your existing customers and potential prospects. Not everyone

is looking to buy from you right this instant, but when they are, whoever is top of mind is most likely

going to get a phone call. That’s why email is so powerful. Stay in front of the people who will send you

referrals and they’ll help your business grow.

We advocate the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of the time, provide helpful information to build trust. With the

other 20 percent, you can directly ask for referrals or take another action that benefits you. One way to

do that is running a referral contest.

Don’t abuse this option, but definitely reward customers who send you referrals. You could offer

something small like a $20 gift card for every referral sent your way. Or you could turn it into a contest.

Buy something everyone wants, like an Apple Watch or a new smart speaker. Run a referral email contest

one to four times a year and every referral someone sends you earns them an entry into the drawing.

HOW TO USE EMAILFOR REFERRALS

Email marketing is an extremely useful, efficient and low-cost tool to help you promote

your business. By helping and not selling to your customers, you become a trusted

resource. Eventually, you can call on this trust to occasionally ask for something that

helps your business, like referrals. You will also maintain brand awareness, increase

customer retention and keep your business moving in the right direction.

1301 South Mopac Expressway, Ste 100 | Austin, TX [email protected] | www.outboundengine.com

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EMAIL MARKETING ROADMAP

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