This thing I have about emails …

By ShayneT  -  On 24 Oct, 2012 -  2 comments

I have this thing about email, well marketing emails in particular, that they always should be sent from someone — a real person.

Not just the ‘regards …’ in the email, but the from name and address.

You see all forms of marketing emails have a reason. In most cases it’s to get as many people as possible to read, and in some instances, act on what they’ve read.

When you think of yourself as a reciepient of emails, which one’s do you read? The emails from companies or the emails from real people?

Knowing that, the consensus has been for a long time to personalise the message – because that’s how you engage.

But it’s not as easy as that …

In the real world, when someone is attempting to be personal just because they have to, it’s pretty easy to spot. Whilst their words might be convincing, their body language will be off, they might make a slip up or two, or we get that gut feeling something’s just not right here.

The same rules apply to personalisation of a email messages. If you don’t go all in, it’s very quickly going to come across shallow.

To find out why, you need to look at the different process of a personal email to that of a promotional email.

When you write a personal email:

    • you draft it
    • you review it
    • you approve it
    • you sent it

Sure it might happen in 15 seconds but it’s the process and it’s 100% you.

When you create a marketing email:

    • a copywriter writes it
    • you review it
    • a copywriter changes it
    • you approve it

Whilst you might not have written all the words, your influence and your agreement to send makes you the owner. It might not be 100% you, but it’s as close as you can make it.

You hit send, it goes out with ‘company name’ in the from field and ‘support@whaterver.com’ as the email address.

The signal you’re sending immediately, before they’ve even read a word of your copy, is that this is a message you’re not willing to put your own name against.

Leaving the recipients wondering just how authentic you are about what your saying.

If I introduced myself to you and gave you my company name and email, and refused to give you my own name, what sort of conversation would we have? I’d imagine a pretty short one.

So consider how truly authentic you’re being with your emails — beyond the words. I bet, if do decide to put you name on it, even more personalisation will bubble to the surface, and that’s going to be good for opens and clicks.

Which is the whole point in the first place.