Small Business Marketing Advice: Spam Tactics That Kill Your Email Marketing

You may have come across the rumor that email marketing has died and is no longer a relevant marketing tool. It’s not dead, like everything else, it’s just become necessary to focus on smart email marketing.

We’re here to share some small business marketing advice, statisticsand research that will help you decide how to approach your next email marketing campaign. We’ll show you how antiquated email tactics get you spammed and modern approaches to email marketing will yield healthy returns.   

Our Small Business Marketing Advice on Email Marketing

Why Email Marketing Still Works

According to a recent Social Media Today article, “Mobile email opens have grown by 180% in the last three years.” Consumers are flocking to their email inboxes and using convenient email apps available to check their emails right from their cellphone. 

In Entrepreneur’s recent article, Statistics That Prove Email Marketing Isn’t Dead, we learn: 

• • Every dollar spent on email marketing offers a return of $44.
• • A nurtured lead increases sales 20% more than a cold lead.
• • 95% of people who sign up for a newsletter consider the email useful.
• • 91% of consumers check email at least once a day on their smartphones.

As a small business owner, you should really start a new (or enhance your current) email marketing campaign. Use your email newsletter to push new product announcements, coupons or fresh website content to an engaged audience. 

Spam Words and Phrases 101

If you’re serious about creating smart and valuable content for email delivery, you have to be aware of potential spam pitfalls that await you. o what exactly is spam? MailChimp shares the most relevant definition, “Spam is unsolicited, irrelevant email, sent in bulk to a list of people.”

Don’t be the company that has irrelevant content in a newsletter that your audience never even signed up for. This is the exact opposite of smart email marketing. When you’re writing the content for your email blasts, follow these easy to follow rules to avoid spam filters from both users and smart software.

Why Emails Get Spammed by Users

• • User Didn’t Subscribe

Don’t ever send an email to someone who didn’t sign up to receive information from your company. This is the surest way to get manually spammed.

• • Boring Subject Lines

If the subject of your email can’t compete with the other messages flooding your user’s inbox, it will be immediately trashed. If your subject line is really bad, your user might hit the spam button on you out of frustration.

• • Too Many Emails Sent

If you get in the habit of sending emails to your users too frequently, they’re going to get annoyed. Before sending an email, ask yourself, “Is this highly valuable information that will educate, entertain or inform my target audience?” Even better, allow your users to select how frequently they would like to hear from you.  

• • Emails Not Targeted

Clearly defining your target market will allow you to speak directly to them on a personal level. Resist the urge to group all of your consumers in the same category for one easy email blast. Try and segment them into smaller groups for more powerful, tailored responses.   

• • Content That Doesn’t Give Value

If you’re sending an email just for the sake of saying you’re sending an email, delete it now. Develop a comprehensive email marketing strategy and calendar that corresponds with special events, content or announcements. You’re not going to win your audience’s business with fluff.

• • Too Much Selling

No one likes being sold; they don’t appreciate the forceful hand of a selfish salesman. Give your audience special and valuable information that will help them professionally and/or personally. Allow 80% of your email content to be helping your users and only 20% of the content geared towards selling tactics.  

Why Emails Get Spammed by Filters

• • Unverified Domain 

Our top small business marketing adviceis to make sure that you’re sending your emails from an email address connected with a domain that you own. Some spam filters react harsher to free email accounts like @gmail, @yahoo, @aol, etc.

• • Not Using Recipient’s Name

Try to address your email to the recipient’s name rather than just their email address. Most email marketing platforms allow you to enter certain information about your subscribers to personalize your email campaigns.  

• • IP Addresses with Spamming History

If someone using the same IP address your using has spammed in the past, your account can be negatively impacted. Only use top-rated email marketing platforms that are dedicated to preventing spam sent from all of their users.   

• • Allow Users to Unsubscribe Easily

Give your users a clear and easy way to unsubscribe from your newsletter. If a person marks your email as spam, it will increase your odds of being flagged by an anti-spam filter in future emails.

Spam Words and Phrases 101

The long, long list of words and phrases that sound the spam alarms in filters is entirely too large to list out here. But we refer you to HubSpot’s blog that gives you the ultimate list of spam trigger words.

To give you an idea of spammy content, here is a small list of words and phrases to avoid:

• • As Seen On
• • Double Your Investment
• • While You Sleep
• • While You Work
• • Home Based
• • Work at Home
• • $$$
• • Cash Bonus
• • F R E E
• • Incredible Deal
• • Lowest Price
• • Money Back
• • One Hundred Percent Free / 100% Free
• • No Hidden Costs
• • Investment Decision
• • Your Income
• • Click Here/Below/To Remove
• • Increase Your Sales
• • More Internet Traffic
• • This Isn’t Spam
• • Important Information Regarding
• • No Purchase Necessary
• • You’re a Winner!
• • Cancel at Any Time
• • Get It Now
• • While Supplies Last

How to Write the Right Email

Nudgespot recently published a detailed article that can help you build content that is worth reading. Below we highlight some of the tips and advice offered in their blog, How to Improve Email Deliverability and Increase Email Open Rates.

• • Personalize your emails using liquid variables.
• • Avoid spammy words and messages in all caps.
• • Send a welcome email when a user signs up.
• • Mix up your text, HTML and images.
• • Don’t excessively use external links in email content.
• • A/B test your emails.

You’ll Do Just Fine, Follow This Small Business Marketing Advice

Our main small business marketing advice as it applies to sending email newsletters is to keep your content honest, valuable and straightforward. Build a very simple email marketing strategy to test the waters and avoid the pitfalls listed above. 

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