You can’t have an email marketing strategy without core principles.
Your core principles help you form tactics.
Then you analyze your tactics to build your strategy.
And you’re about to read my 10 commandments of email marketing, based on 100,000,000+ emails sent and 1,000+ split tests.
#1 is the most important:
- Use Email as an Eliminator
Email marketing is an elimination tool.
I’m not trying to make everyone happy with my emails.
I send emails to eliminate nonbelievers so I can get to my core audience.
I’m trying to polarize my readers so I know who really cares about my message.
That’s why I…
- Send More emails, Not Less (also known as “The 500,000 Email Rule”)
Everyone on my list receives emails every 2 days.
Sometimes I toss an extra one in the mix.
Why?
Because I want my audience to say:
- I like this guy; or
- I hate this guy
If someone’s willing to stay on my list and engage, then they’re a fan.
I’m fine with everyone else unsubscribing because they’re not the right fit.
- Set Expectations and Stick to Them
My welcome email tells new subscribers to expect messages every 2 days.
This way they can opt out on the spot if they don’t want that kind of volume.
And I stay consistent so people get used to reading my emails.
You can email every day if you set the right expectations upfront.
- When in Doubt, Just send the Damn Email
There will come a time where you think “maybe I shouldn’t send this email.”
Just send it.
Unless you’re doing something really dumb, a single email won’t hurt you.
People forget your blunders fast, and you will learn from them.
Speaking of lessons…
- Learn to Love Your Metrics
One of the best things about email is that we have metrics.
We can analyze opens, clicks, replies, hate mail, sales, etc.
Study your results so you can double down on what works and drop what’s failing.
You need more than numbers to analyze your success with email, but they’re a great start.
- Make Each Email About One Thing
Make each email about one thing.
Give people one call to action.
Or tell them one story.
Or give them one link to click.
People crave simplicity, so focus on one thing at a time.
Clutter means confusion so you get tuned out.
- Write Each Email for One Person
Do not write for an audience.
Imagine you are talking one-to-one with your ideal customer.
Yes, imagine you are engaging with a real, live human being.
If you have trouble with that, pretend you’re giving a friend advice in a bar at 1:00 a.m. after you’ve had a few drinks.
That’s the best way to write.
- Focus on Infotainment
Informing is good.
Entertaining is better.
Infotaining is the highest level of email.
How do you write infotainment? tell stories that teach lessons.
- Write Once, Send Forever
If you write a great email, never stop using it.
99% of my emails are automated.
So all new subscribers read them.
Never let a good message go to waste by just sending just once.
- Clean Your List
Want a 3% open rate and a 0.00001% click rate?
Then never remove people from your email list.
I’ve seen people wreck 100,000+ person lists by not cleaning them up.
It will hurt to see your list shrink, but it’s the right thing to do for your long-term open rates and email deliverability.
Now tell me in the comments: what’s your #1 email marketing rule?