Email distribution: Typology of the most common email categories
Creating letters is a job that requires creativity, and there are no reinforced concrete principles for structuring content. There are examples of successful design decisions (for example, the writer and artist Austen Cleon uses handwritten texts in his messages, having the reader to himself). Based on them, recommendations and established models are then compiled.
Therefore, the development of the structure of the letter is a laborious exercise, over which not one, but a team of specialists are sweating. The thoughtful structure of the mailing list increases the readability of your letters and, as a result, attracts the reader and keeps his interest. To help you create an effective, structured newsletter and make it as painless as possible, we have prepared a list of the most common types of emails.
Andy Rennie CC / Flickr Photo
Aims and objectives: Sets the overall impression of your company and ensures the effectiveness of the mailing. The degree of efficiency affects the addressee’s increased interest and can both call him to action (follow the link, register, etc.), or throw aside your company “with a sidelong glance and the word impudent”.
')
Key features: According to Experian, the probability of opening a welcome letter is 4-5 times higher than in any other case. Target actions, which are usually of an introductory nature, are performed 5 times more often.
Familiarity and increase loyalty contribute to the so-called informational messages (informational letters). Useful materials, extensions, and content necessary for establishing or strengthening contact are the basis of their content. Do not confuse the message with digests (Digest), which have an externally similar format. Digest is a small review of recent information. With the original and informative digests at the same time perfectly handled by General Assembly.
Tips & Tricks:
1. A good welcome letter is required to contain a short guide to use and contact customer support.
2. Call to action correctly: in addressing the addressee, use verbs in the imperative mood (“Download”, “book”, etc.). If you feel that the message sounds somewhat arrogant, go to the trick and show the recipient the value of the letter. By using “hurry to purchase” (or, worse, “buy”) a phrase like “do not miss” instead of a beaten one, you show the subscriber the benefits that he can get from your letter.
3. Personalize: the ability to generate useful content for a specific mailing list or a specific group of people has a positive effect on the conversion level. This is stated by the Association of Direct Marketing, the research results of which state: the segmentation of the newsletter brings 58% of all marketers' profits.
An individual approach to the client is necessary both at the early and late stages of business development. Speech at all not about instructions of a name in heading of the letter - it already very few people will surprise. It's all about the ability to indulge the ever-expanding range of interests of your customers, and they can be very diverse. But you will not write the same letter to the new subscriber and regular customer. We will talk about the wonders of segmentation a bit later in the “mass mailing” section.
4. Reflect in the headlines the content of the letter: lack of communication and consistency of the call to action in the header and in the body of the letter usually leads to frustration and abandonment of the letter. Avoid vague wording and speak openly and concisely: be it the merits of products, new updates, etc. This rule applies to all types of letters, but to the greeting first.
Clarity, conciseness, personalization and communication of the topic and the title with the content should learn from Buzzfeed.
Goals and objectives: activate the subscriber and get acquainted with the principles of your service and its capabilities.
Key features: the activation phase - intermediate, between familiarization and retention of the subscriber. Onboarding letters are as important as welcome ones, because you introduce the client to the service and literally “lead him by the hand.” It is recommended to implement no more than one goal and a call to action respectively in the structure of letterboarding, so as not to seem intrusive.
Tips & Tricks:
1. Onboarding letters is one of the best opportunities to reveal the potential of your company or service to a client. In essence, you are arranging a “tour” for a potential client in your company through a chain of electronic messages (these are either calls to action or informational messages). You explain all the necessary points and nuances of work, answer in detail the questions that have arisen and promptly resolve problems, increasingly inclining the client to continue to perform targeted actions and close cooperation.
2. Respond to feedback: At this stage, it is critical to quickly and adequately respond to subscriber requests.
Goals and objectives: automated distribution of information to a large group of clients.
The main features: bulk letters are the most common type of letters, the typical content of which is notice of discounts, promotions, innovations, etc. Among a wide range of users, mass mailings have gained a negative reputation, because are usually mistaken for spam and safely deleted or ignored. But in the right hands with the help of this newsletter you can achieve good results.
Tips & Tricks:
Bulk email is primarily a tool for automating newsletters. The word “mass” took on a negative connotation when an inexperienced entrepreneur concluded that the more letters of this kind were sent, the more satisfied customers he would acquire. But mass mailing will have nothing to do with dubious offers, nonsense, and real spam if you follow the segmentation criteria. You can get acquainted with them here .
Aims and objectives: Triggers are divided into two subspecies: Transaction letters sent to the addressee in response to a targeted action performed by him (for example, an invoice for payment); Letters to return customers (notices of an abandoned basket, invitations, etc.). The priority task of the notification letters is to keep the client, bring it to the last stage and then return to the sales funnel (if necessary).
The main features are: triggers are sent with a certain frequency to a segmented (based on preferences) circle of subscribers. Triggers serve to maintain a conversation with a client, to establish a final trust relationship and to keep subscribers abreast of what is developing in your company.
Tips & Tricks:
1. There are a lot of types of transactional letters: from the same onboarding and welcome letters to reviews of new products, recommendations (attracting one client through a referral link provided to others), surveys and even personal messages with the offer of cooperation, assistance, etc. To learn how to freely operate with triggers We recommend that you carefully study this material .
2. Dispatch of triggers and automation of this process should be preceded by gathering information about users and what they do on the site. So you will know what and what client can offer. With this, Brain Pickings has no problems, the audience of which does not regret the time of reading giant (3 or more pages) letters.
3. Send triggers with a calculated frequency and mark those recipients to whom the notification has already been sent. This will avoid obsessions and misunderstandings. Some companies have managed to create really nice newsletters. RunKeeper achieved this through beautiful images and responsive design.
4. In one of the transactional letters, offer the client a bonus, a discount, make a concession if you feel that the loss of a client is more important for you than the loss of a small amount of money.
5. To send triggers, create a separate domain and send from it: this will separate mass and transactional emails and reveal the level of confidence in both mailings.
6. Test and control: various options for headings, topics and structures are directly related to readability, conversion level and other factors. A quick and effective test can be performed using this service .
7. Properly issue a link or unsubscribe button. This will cause you even more confidence, because usually these buttons are barely noticeable. The presence or absence of such a button will not affect profits, but it certainly will affect the attitude towards you and your company. You should not accompany the process of unsubscribing by entering your login and password - this will only cause irritation to the client, who may change his mind at the very last moment and return.
Whatever the countless means and resources of mailing list automation exist, the development of a mailing strategy invariably requires an individual approach. Studying the typology of letters will bring you closer to creating a successful mailing in just one small step, helping you to discover the strengths and weaknesses in the structure of your letters and messages of other companies.
But as in any strategy (maneuver, combat or marketing), the key factor determining the success of an entire campaign often becomes not a verified mechanism of action, but sharpness and observation.
What else can you read in our blog on the topic of improving mailings:
Therefore, the development of the structure of the letter is a laborious exercise, over which not one, but a team of specialists are sweating. The thoughtful structure of the mailing list increases the readability of your letters and, as a result, attracts the reader and keeps his interest. To help you create an effective, structured newsletter and make it as painless as possible, we have prepared a list of the most common types of emails.
Andy Rennie CC / Flickr Photo
Type number 1: Welcome message (Welcome e-mail)
Aims and objectives: Sets the overall impression of your company and ensures the effectiveness of the mailing. The degree of efficiency affects the addressee’s increased interest and can both call him to action (follow the link, register, etc.), or throw aside your company “with a sidelong glance and the word impudent”.
')
Key features: According to Experian, the probability of opening a welcome letter is 4-5 times higher than in any other case. Target actions, which are usually of an introductory nature, are performed 5 times more often.
Familiarity and increase loyalty contribute to the so-called informational messages (informational letters). Useful materials, extensions, and content necessary for establishing or strengthening contact are the basis of their content. Do not confuse the message with digests (Digest), which have an externally similar format. Digest is a small review of recent information. With the original and informative digests at the same time perfectly handled by General Assembly.
Tips & Tricks:
1. A good welcome letter is required to contain a short guide to use and contact customer support.
2. Call to action correctly: in addressing the addressee, use verbs in the imperative mood (“Download”, “book”, etc.). If you feel that the message sounds somewhat arrogant, go to the trick and show the recipient the value of the letter. By using “hurry to purchase” (or, worse, “buy”) a phrase like “do not miss” instead of a beaten one, you show the subscriber the benefits that he can get from your letter.
3. Personalize: the ability to generate useful content for a specific mailing list or a specific group of people has a positive effect on the conversion level. This is stated by the Association of Direct Marketing, the research results of which state: the segmentation of the newsletter brings 58% of all marketers' profits.
An individual approach to the client is necessary both at the early and late stages of business development. Speech at all not about instructions of a name in heading of the letter - it already very few people will surprise. It's all about the ability to indulge the ever-expanding range of interests of your customers, and they can be very diverse. But you will not write the same letter to the new subscriber and regular customer. We will talk about the wonders of segmentation a bit later in the “mass mailing” section.
4. Reflect in the headlines the content of the letter: lack of communication and consistency of the call to action in the header and in the body of the letter usually leads to frustration and abandonment of the letter. Avoid vague wording and speak openly and concisely: be it the merits of products, new updates, etc. This rule applies to all types of letters, but to the greeting first.
Clarity, conciseness, personalization and communication of the topic and the title with the content should learn from Buzzfeed.
Type 2: Letter Board
Goals and objectives: activate the subscriber and get acquainted with the principles of your service and its capabilities.
Key features: the activation phase - intermediate, between familiarization and retention of the subscriber. Onboarding letters are as important as welcome ones, because you introduce the client to the service and literally “lead him by the hand.” It is recommended to implement no more than one goal and a call to action respectively in the structure of letterboarding, so as not to seem intrusive.
Tips & Tricks:
1. Onboarding letters is one of the best opportunities to reveal the potential of your company or service to a client. In essence, you are arranging a “tour” for a potential client in your company through a chain of electronic messages (these are either calls to action or informational messages). You explain all the necessary points and nuances of work, answer in detail the questions that have arisen and promptly resolve problems, increasingly inclining the client to continue to perform targeted actions and close cooperation.
2. Respond to feedback: At this stage, it is critical to quickly and adequately respond to subscriber requests.
Type 3: Bulk Letters
Goals and objectives: automated distribution of information to a large group of clients.
The main features: bulk letters are the most common type of letters, the typical content of which is notice of discounts, promotions, innovations, etc. Among a wide range of users, mass mailings have gained a negative reputation, because are usually mistaken for spam and safely deleted or ignored. But in the right hands with the help of this newsletter you can achieve good results.
Tips & Tricks:
Bulk email is primarily a tool for automating newsletters. The word “mass” took on a negative connotation when an inexperienced entrepreneur concluded that the more letters of this kind were sent, the more satisfied customers he would acquire. But mass mailing will have nothing to do with dubious offers, nonsense, and real spam if you follow the segmentation criteria. You can get acquainted with them here .
Type 4: Transactional Letters / Notification Letters (Triggers)
Aims and objectives: Triggers are divided into two subspecies: Transaction letters sent to the addressee in response to a targeted action performed by him (for example, an invoice for payment); Letters to return customers (notices of an abandoned basket, invitations, etc.). The priority task of the notification letters is to keep the client, bring it to the last stage and then return to the sales funnel (if necessary).
The main features are: triggers are sent with a certain frequency to a segmented (based on preferences) circle of subscribers. Triggers serve to maintain a conversation with a client, to establish a final trust relationship and to keep subscribers abreast of what is developing in your company.
Tips & Tricks:
1. There are a lot of types of transactional letters: from the same onboarding and welcome letters to reviews of new products, recommendations (attracting one client through a referral link provided to others), surveys and even personal messages with the offer of cooperation, assistance, etc. To learn how to freely operate with triggers We recommend that you carefully study this material .
2. Dispatch of triggers and automation of this process should be preceded by gathering information about users and what they do on the site. So you will know what and what client can offer. With this, Brain Pickings has no problems, the audience of which does not regret the time of reading giant (3 or more pages) letters.
3. Send triggers with a calculated frequency and mark those recipients to whom the notification has already been sent. This will avoid obsessions and misunderstandings. Some companies have managed to create really nice newsletters. RunKeeper achieved this through beautiful images and responsive design.
4. In one of the transactional letters, offer the client a bonus, a discount, make a concession if you feel that the loss of a client is more important for you than the loss of a small amount of money.
5. To send triggers, create a separate domain and send from it: this will separate mass and transactional emails and reveal the level of confidence in both mailings.
6. Test and control: various options for headings, topics and structures are directly related to readability, conversion level and other factors. A quick and effective test can be performed using this service .
7. Properly issue a link or unsubscribe button. This will cause you even more confidence, because usually these buttons are barely noticeable. The presence or absence of such a button will not affect profits, but it certainly will affect the attitude towards you and your company. You should not accompany the process of unsubscribing by entering your login and password - this will only cause irritation to the client, who may change his mind at the very last moment and return.
Conclusion:
Whatever the countless means and resources of mailing list automation exist, the development of a mailing strategy invariably requires an individual approach. Studying the typology of letters will bring you closer to creating a successful mailing in just one small step, helping you to discover the strengths and weaknesses in the structure of your letters and messages of other companies.
But as in any strategy (maneuver, combat or marketing), the key factor determining the success of an entire campaign often becomes not a verified mechanism of action, but sharpness and observation.
What else can you read in our blog on the topic of improving mailings:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/314672/
All Articles