The Challenge of Managing Email
Is email a part of your business? Many pundits believe that email is becoming less important as other communication methods like social media and texting become more popular; while this may be true, email will still be an effective marketing tool for the foreseeable future. Effective email management is still a crucial element of your overall strategy.
According to the Radicati group, worldwide users send more than 191 billion
email messages every day
With email volume like this, it is easy to be overwhelmed. Part of using email
effectively is sorting through the noise to find the information you actually
need to act on. Conversely, you also must ensure that your email messages are
not lost in the chatter of your recipient's inbox.
The Challenge of Managing Email
Email management is divided into two categories; managing inbound email and
managing outbound email.
Inbound email is the easiest to manage. Simple, automated filters do a passable
job of eliminating spam and junk email. Once the filters have done their job,
your staff should be able to handle the task of managing inbound email easily.
Outbound email is trickier to manage, and will require more effort.
Making Outbound Email Work for You
You cannot control what happens to your email messages once they leave your
hands. If you want to give your message the best chance of being seen by your
intended recipient, you must address these three areas:
1. Recipient
Who is your email addressed to? Did the recipient ask to receive an email from
you? Your email has the best chance of being noticed when you send a message in
response to a request. A subject line like "Here Is the Information You
Requested" is much better than an impersonal subject line that leaves the
content ambiguous.
2. Message
What does your email say? A poorly written email delivers a negative message to
your recipient. Sending email costs very little; since you are saving money on
sending the email, take the time to edit and rewrite your message until it is
perfect.
3. Design
What does your email look like? Does it look good on a mobile device? If your
users receive a message with strange fonts and ugly colors, they are likely to
reach for the delete button. Mobile platforms are becoming more and more
important; be sure to test your messages on these smaller screens to ensure that
all of your users get a well-crafted message.
Email may not be the king of electronic communications forever, but for the time
being it remains an important medium for marketing. Careful email management
makes your communication more effective.