Not having their permission

The most important point first, not having permission. Suite26 is based on permission marketing. This means a recipient must have opted-in to receive emails from you or given you their permission directly, because they are interested in what you have to offer.

Purchasing a data list is definitely a no go area. If a recipient hasn’t given you their direct permission to contact them, they shouldn’t be emailed.  It is more beneficial to contact those people that do want to hear from you, than those that don’t and could report you as a spammer.  Plus those data lists are never as accurate as the vendors will have you believe.

Assuming your customers remember who you are

It’s easy to assume that your customers will remember who you are. However, your customers could be receiving plenty emails from several companies like yours, and so, we recommend that you include a sentence at the top of your emails reminding them who you are and why they are receiving the email from you.

This will immediately help hem indentify you and therefore, your customers may be more inclined to read your email, click the links and respond to your message or offer.

Incorrect links and spelling errors

We would always recommend including links in your email as they ultimately provide a way of tracking the success of your emails, using the click through stats. However, it’s important to use relevant links that the recipient will be interested in viewing and directs them straight to that webpage. Don’t just assume that the reader will navigate their own way to the relevant page from your site’s homepage.

It is very easy to make a spelling mistake in your email, or even type the wrong word completely and not notice it yourself. Always get a second pair of eyes to look over your email.  If possible ask a colleague or friend to read through your campaign and test your links before you send.

1. Give a Reason to Click
As always, there has to be something in it for your readers.  Make sure that your CTA leads to something that is useful, desirable and worthwhile. Also, make it known that by clicking on the CTA your reader will be getting something in return, some info or an offer perhaps.  You want to entice the reader into responding to your CTA.

2. The CTA shouldn't be a Mystery
By simply saying "Click Here," you risk leaving your reader wondering what happens next.  You need to explain what the benefit is to completing the call to action.  If the CTA is vague, readers will be less likely to click.  Instead try phrases like "Click here to read the full story" or "Visit this page for more information on this offer."  All it requires is a simple one-liner that highlights what will happen after the click takes place.

3. Create a Sense of Urgency
CTA's should generate a “must respond now” outcome otherwise campaign responses will be lower.  If there's no reason to act now, readers are likely to put it off, which can lead to forgetting about it altogether.  If I get an email offering DVD box-sets on sale for the next 2 weeks, I may delay responding until a later date, maybe I don't have time to go through the shopping cart that day.  But if the CTA says a sale ends 6pm today, or there's limited stock, or only the first 100 customers to respond qualify, I'm sure to click straight away.

4. Don't be Tight with Your Links
You only want to have one main CTA, but that doesn't restrict you from linking to your CTA in multiple places.  Spread the link throughout your email so that the main CTA is not the only route to the desired landing page.  If your CTA takes your reader to the main sale item, put that same link in several other places.  Hopefully the CTA will grab your reader's attention, but if not, give them several other places to find the link.

5. Make the Call to Action Stand Out
Be sure to place your CTA at the top of your email, above the fold.  Your reader should be able to see it in their email preview screen, before they even open the email.  If you place it towards the middle or bottom of the email, it can get lost by other content.  Make your CTA very noticeable either by bolding it, putting it into a graphic or by adding an arrow or symbol.  It needs to be eye catching and obvious (without being too large and not in sync with the rest of the email).

6. Use a Unique Click Phrase
You can be more creative than simply saying "Click Here."  Your readers aren't dummies, so you don't have to simplify your CTA to the standard and overused "click here" phrase.  Because this phrase is often used, it doesn't stand out like it used to.  Try other action phrases like "Download Now" or "View More."

Before you send your next campaign, take a look at the link between the length of the subject lines from previous email campaigns and the number of unique opens and total clicks they received.

You should also carefully consider that subject line word choice, word order and recipient awareness are also vital factors in receiving more deliveries and opens.

We recommend that you stick to these points when writing your next subject lines:

1) Keep the subject line as short as possible
2) Avoid using ‘Spammy’ words such as; Urgent, Free, Buy Now and symbols like !!, ££, **
3) Only use longer subject lines when there is considerable reason to do so
4) Whenever you’re unsure, always test your emails.

The first is a Not Opened report which allows you to view and export the recipients that did not open your email campaign. The second is Opened But Not Clicked report which allows you to view and export recipients which opened your campaign but did not click on any links, allowing you to follow up further if you wish.

Both of these new reports can be accessed from the Delivery Overview report. You'll find them listed in the More Reports section underneath all of the usual statistics.

From this feedback we would like to announce two small new features which may be useful in some circumstances.

Disable WYSIWYG Editor:

Some users design their e-mail templates in their favourite design program (Dreamweaver etc) and host the images for their mailer on their own servers.  In these cases it may be desirable to bypass the built-in WYSIWYG editor functionality. 

To turn off the WYSIWYG you will need to click on the Options tab, then Preferences and tick the Disable WYSIWYG Editor checkbox. With the editor disabled you will simply be provided with a standard text box to paste your HTML code into.

Disable Link Tracking:

Suite26 has always had the ability to turn tracking (opens & clicks) off on a per e-mail basis (available from the Send Campaign wizard), but it is now possible to disable tracking for a specific link within a campaign.

You may want to do this if you have a link which you wish to insert personalised information into (such as a membership number or e-mail address).  To disable tracking for a specific link you will need to switch the WYSIWYG editor into HTML code view and edit the link to add so that it contains rel="s26-no-track" - your link should look like this:

<a rel="s26-no-track" href="http://www.mylinkhere.com/mylink.html">

If you require any help with these new features or need further information, please e-mail support@26.co.uk and we will be happy to assist.