Broadcast E-mail
TO O L S A ND B E S T P R ACT I CES
Is your e-mail communication successful?
• Why or why not?
• Have you even thought about it?
• What is your current process?
How e-mail appears to work
• Select
Recipients
• Compose
Message
• Send Message
Sender’s
Outbox
Recipient’s
Inbox
• Message
Delivered
• Message Read
How e-mail actually works
• Select
Recipients
• Compose
Message
• Send Message
Sender’s
Outbox
Sender’s Mail
Server/Provider
• Attachments
• E-mail
throttling
How e-mail actually works
•
•
•
•
Blacklist
E-mail throttling
Attachments
Spam check
Recipient’s
Mail Provider
Recipient’s
Inbox
• Spam check
• Virus check
• Message
Delivered
Tips to getting your messages delivered
• List hygiene
• Don’t ignore returned messages
• Remove bounces and invalid addresses
• Remove inactive accounts and unsubscribes
• Consistent delivery
• Sporadic delivery increases the chances of getting marked as spam
• Recipients will expect your messages
• E-mail throttling – check with your service provider
Getting your e-mail opened
• Why do people open an e-mail?
• It's from a person or organization that matters to them
• The content of the subject line is identifies something important
• How often is too often?
• Depends on the audience
• Weekly or monthly should be adequate
• Special items can be sent anytime but don’t over do it
Best practices for composing e-mail
• Use informative, short, recognizable subject lines
• More e-mail being read on smartphones with smaller screens
• Don't use ALL CAPS or “spammy” words in the
subject line
• Watch out for trigger words like: urgent, special, etc.
• Use images sparingly
• Most e-mail clients don’t display images by default
• Don’t rely on an image conveying your message
Best practices for composing e-mail
• Write for “scanability”
• Never Center or Right Justify text
• Bold selectively, never Underline text unless it’s a link
• Use bullet points
• Write short concise copy
• Half of all e-mail read on a mobile devices and smartphones
• Screen size of the device used by your recipient matters
Best practices for composing e-mail
• Include a Call to Action
• Instruction to provoke an immediate response
• Can be text or a button
• Use action words like:
• Call Now
• Find out more
• Download our newsletter
Best practices for composing e-mail
• Stick to basic, cross-platform fonts
• No more than two sizes
• Web fonts are not supported by all e-mail clients
• Avoid attachments
• Reduces the chance of getting caught in a filter
• Better to link to a file on your website
• Shortened URL links are not recommended
• Can be a Spam trap
• Better to use a link tool in your editor
Best practices for composing e-mail
• Create a footer to display complete contact
information including, “unsubscribe link”
• Test, test, test
• Check other e-mail clients than your primary
• Make sure that the links work correctly
• Double-check for spelling and grammar
Review of applications and services
• Using your e-mail client to create a broadcast
• Paste addresses in the Bcc field
• Don’t be tempted to attach file(s) because it’s easy
• This procedure can be susceptible to email throttling
• E-mail marketing services simplify entire process
• HTML editor and templates
• Manage your subscriber lists
• Reporting tools
Managing your list of addresses
• Best if done in one place
• Redundant lists cause problems in the future
• How will others in your office gain access if necessary
• Dealing with people who don’t have e-mail
• Do they receive all communication?
Highly rated e-mail services
• MailChimp
• Free for up to 2,000 addresses and 12,000 messages per month
• iContact
• Free for up to 500 addresses and 2,000 messages per month
• ActiveCampaign
• Free for up to 2,500 addresses
More Highly rated e-mail services
• Constant Contact
• Free 60 day trial, tiered pricing based on number of contacts
• Flocknote
• Designed for churches
• Text messaging and email
• Tiered pricing based on number of contacts
• Don’t forget to ask for non-profit discounts