Email marketing is a direct and effective means of forging or cultivating a relationship with a customer, while simultaneously heralding the qualities of a company in a prodigious light. The format of an email is clean, bright and instantaneous, suspended upon a screen that creates an interface scenario, similar to the interaction experienced between people. This serves to mimic the steadfast loyalty that occurs within relationships, vital to the survival of any business.

Email marketing is also a cost effective way of distribution and is preferable to the concertinaed leaflet, pushed half-heartedly through a letterbox or shredded and scattered around the room by the family dog. The email is a more unobtrusive solution to marketing, softly stepping into an inbox folder, with a headline that halts skimming eyes rather than the dispassionate gaze that results from the bold invasion of indistinct flyers. Just as curiosity is maintained by snippets of information, the email’s elusive yet applicable headline will serve as a teaser that will initiate an insatiable curiosity. By enticing the customer through a digital door that will be unlocked in a click, the email’s interior will be decorated with eye-catching images, in keeping with a company’s tone and style that is key to granting the attention of the recipient. Uncompromised design that is lifted from the theme of a company’s existing website will ensure continuity, whilst reinforcing the essence of a brand. The information will be succinct in order to avoid a recipient from losing interest and exiting without a purchase.

It could be said that email marketing is a digital rework of the carrier pigeon, which was dispatched to specific locations, communicating information in a targeted manner with traceable results. Along with useful information the pigeon provided a frisson of anticipation, as the sight of the rolled paper attached purposefully to the pigeon’s leg drew nearer. This premise still exists with all forms of communication, as the prospect of new insight is coupled with the remedial effects of contact. Although the carrier pigeon was a revolutionary embodiment of effective correspondence; it is now a distant silhouette that flies way into the mists of time. However, the email has adopted some of the carrier pigeon’s unmistakeable charm as messages are personally gifted, with the attachment of a tailored message that perches itself at the top of an inbox.

The feedback that is available with the use of email marketing is also similar to that of a carrier pigeon, which would return without a message as confirmation of its delivery. Emails provide immediate feedback on a broadcast, as well as being able to target individuals on a global scale. The value of carrier pigeons was especially important in war, acting as a lifeline that transferred crucial updates. The famous French carrier pigeon Cher Ami is an example of the carrier pigeon’s resilience; awarded for its heroic bravery which was doubly impressive due to its serious injuries. Its name translates as ‘Dear friend’, which relates to the familiar opening line of many correspondences addressed to a comrade, as well as referring to the pigeons esteemed role as a dear friend who remained loyal throughout adversity. This demonstrates the valued position of communication, which is loaded with bridge building properties. It is therefore true to say that any communication between two parties, cements a bond. Email is no different; by communicating new offers and welcoming customers into the fold, a relationship takes root. It is true to say that people are more likely to respond to a familiar company who has kept in contact, just as if a familiar friend were to maintain contact, a trust would grow.

The vast distances pigeon carriers could fly, up to one thousand miles is exceeded by the world wide reach of the email, which does not rely upon the intended location remaining fixed. The private interaction that exists between a messenger and receiver seems to be an unrivalled approach, in terms of affectivity and impact. Although the carrier pigeon retains a romantic wistfulness, its return could not feasibly compete with email marketing, which delivers packaged beauty, appeal and machined efficiency.

We’ve written a lot about web copywriting here on the Green Notes blog over the last couple of years, mainly covering copy for search engine optimisation and the best way to write effective website content. One web copy theme that we’ve only briefly touched upon, despite it being part of all our lives on a daily basis, is copy for email marketing.

Email marketing copy is an incredibly wide-ranging concept, and like every other area of web copy the quality of everyday examples varies wildly from the sublime to the sub-ridiculous. Email marketing itself, when executed properly, remains a phenomenally effective advertising medium, however there’s a fine balance in getting it right and wrong. Take a look through your inbox and the email marketing flyers that you’ve received today - how many of them have you responded to so far? Chances are not many, if any at all.

We’ve been creating email marketing at Green Media for nearly ten years, and have seen the industry grow from simple plain text snippets into interactive visual showcase mailers that have more in common with high-end websites. The recipient type has evolved just as significantly, from lone network administrators receiving a few mails a day on behalf of their company, into super-demanding web users that mercilessly cull hundreds of emails from their inbox without as much as a second glance every single day.

Here are a few email marketing copy tips that we’ve found useful over the years, covering some of the issues that should always be prioritised in copywriting for this medium.

Imagine the recipient

Put yourself in the recipient’s shoes. If your data list is refined then you’ll have a pretty clear idea of who it is you’re marketing to, and the copy should be written accordingly. Selling Xbox360 games to teenagers clearly requires a different approach to marketing £100,000 Bentley cars to company directors in their 50’s.  Imagine the recipient. Imagine what they’re likely to respond to. Imagine what they’re likely to be turned off by. Once you’ve done your first mailing to any list, for any product, check out the click-through and response rates to see what worked and what didn’t.

Is the call-to-action sufficient?

The call-to-action (CTA) copy is effectively the most important part of any email marketing. Without a carefully crafted CTA the reader won’t follow-up on the message, and the whole exercise will be wasted.

Again, the requirements of a CTA naturally vary, depending on what you’re actually attempting to get the reader to do. If you’re offering a freebie that you know they’re interested in, then the CTA will need nothing more than a straight-forward line and link. If you’re presenting something completely new to the reader, or selling a high-value product, then the CTA will need to be suitably detailed.

Don’t accidentally disguise your email as spam

With so much unsolicited spam email these days it’s rare to find a company junk mail filter that isn’t anything less than rigorous. These filters are on the lookout for any number of indications that an email is spam, some of which can be found in the most innocent marketing mailers. Characters such as “£” and “!” are typical examples of spam triggers, along with terms like “Sale”, superlatives like “Best” and anything vaguely sensational. So, it’s important to avoid these in your email marketing copy - especially in subject lines - or face the prospect of your e-flyer heading straight into a virtual bin.

Get in touch with Green Media for more information on effective email marketing.

Take a look at our newly updated portfolio pages, featuring a selection of Green Media work completed during May. The update includes the new website for elite specialised security firm Bulwark Group, email marketing for Ferrari and a search optimised redesign for the HLA Services website.

Check out the updated Green Media portfolio, featuring a selection of April’s work - Beamish Hall’s fantastic new website, a typically stylish Liverpool Audi e-flyer and an exciting viral video for Northumbria Police. Take a look.

We’ve added a selection of email marketing examples for March on the Green Media portfolio, including our first e-flyer for exclusive super car marque Spyker, as well as a fantastic Audi cabriolet special event mailer.

See for yourself

It’s absolutely essential that your company marketing represents the very best that you have to offer if you’re going to get the results you need, particularly in today’s incredibly competitive business environment.

If your marketing isn’t projecting the very best indication of your products and services, you’re not only missing a huge opportunity to connect with people, you’re also potentially damaging your brand long-term.

We see examples of some truly dreadful company marketing on a daily basis, despite the ever-increasing demand for quality. Here are some of the most common;

- Bulk mailings sent from Microsoft Outlook or a similar email system

- Campaigns sent using basic DIY template programmes

- Marketing emails sent with attachments

Using these methods simply creates a negative effect and turns prospective customers away. This sort of approach gives a wholly unprofessional impression, which is precisely the opposite of what it should be doing. If you’re currently employing these methods, we’d like to talk to you.

Here at Green Media, we know what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for all. That’s why we approach every marketing job with fresh ideas. Like everything we do, there’s nothing off-the-shelf, and your campaign is created specifically for you, around your own requirements and expectations. Standing by this ethos, we’ve helped hundreds of companies in a diverse range of sectors successfully market themselves over the last decade. We’d like to add your company to the list.

Take a closer look at what Green Media has to offer.

We’re debuting our new supercar client Spyker’s email marketing this month, with a typically sophisticated e-flyer. As you’d expect from the ultra-exclusive Dutch marque, the flyer features a sublime style and inspirational imagery, along with a powerful yet understated call to action.

The Spyker “Six Senses” e-flyer will be part of March’s portfolio update at the end of the month, so come back shortly to see it for yourself.

The February portfolio update has been set live, featuring a selection of Green Media’s work during the month.

Email marketing examples include a flyer for the remarkable Bentley Continental Supersports, and an incredible sale mailout for Jardine Motors Group, featuring Ferrari, Maserati and Bentley models.

We’ve also launched three exciting new websites; interactive country of origin directory Made in Nations, business finance experts Dovetail Financial Solutions and specialist car brokerage Precious Metals.

Take a look.

Next month’s update will include an e-flyer for a very special new supercar marque - check back shortly to find out more.

The credit crunch has forced a widespread rethink in the way that companies advertise their products and services, and the change in approach is now being experienced across the board. As we’ve said for a while here on Green Notes - the customers are still out there, the marketing just needs to reflect the times to be effective.

The NFL Superbowl final, the American Football showpiece characterised by its incredible viewing figures and therefore marketing potential, is an accurate indicator of the advertising industry as a whole - and Sunday’s US broadcast underlined the marked shift in emphasis. A Hyundai offer of clean slate credit in the event of losing your job during a repayment period perhaps highlighted the new advertising landscape better than most.

Back here in the UK, the examples are numerous, if slightly less stark - a longstanding Virgin Media offer of three months cheap rate services has been hastily repackaged as “brightening the credit crunch”. Sainsburys supermarket has gone from overpromoting its premium “Taste the Difference” and “SO Organic” lines in favour of the budget “Basics” range. These examples, picked from many, again underline the way in which the biggest of corporate names are redirecting their focus.

From a marketing perspective, it’s a new challenge to appeal to customers and prospects with genuinely reduced buying power, but the key point remains the same - the customers are still around, they haven’t disappeared. It’s absolutely essential for advertising to keep pace with the changing demands of these customers to get results now.

We’ve facilitated such a shift with our own clients over the last few months, and found that a strategised change in copy tone and offer presentation really can reap rewards. Some of our email marketing during this period has achieved record responses, and the return on investment has continued to tell its own story.

So if you’re wondering how best to market your products and services during the downturn, get in touch, we’d be happy to show you what we can do for your business.

The first portfolio update of 2009 features email marketing campaigns for Bentley, Jaguar and Audi, along with a great redesign for Friendship Travel.  See for yourself.