Mothers are full of wisdom – usually the same wisdom – passed down by each generation. The beauty of this type of common sense tidbits is that they're universally applicable.
So, let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit what all of our mothers said to us, and learn some valuable lessons for your email marketing campaign.
1. Always say please and thank you
This is possibly the most basic rule we all grew up with: mind your manners, be polite and respectful. Our mothers taught us that regardless of the situation, we always need to tack on a please for any as, while offering our thanks after receiving what we wanted.
It isn't any different in the wild world of email marketing.
First, what our mothers taught us is that we need to respect people – and, in the case of email marketing, we need to always respect our customers. "Treat people as you'd like to be treated" sort of thing. If you're rude, dismissive or downright arrogant in your email, you'll be met with equal rudeness, usually in the form of a complaint or an unsubscribe.
Second, include a Please and Thank You in any call-to-action. Whether its Please add us to your address book, Please let us know what you think, or Thank you for your support, these simple words are more powerful than any coupon.
2. Make your bed and pick up your room. Everyday.
Didn't it seem as though you spent your entire childhood tidying your room? Then, it seemed absolutely silly to make your bed every morning because, well, you're going to get back into it later and you just wasted all that time that you could've spent playing with your friends.
Though it seemed like torture at the time, what our mothers were actually doing was instilling a sense of care and pride in our lives (while having a clean room).
For email marketing, tidying one's room isn't actually a literal activity, but an act of maintenance. So, how can we apply this annoying chore into email marketing?
Clean up your email lists regularly. If there's a lot of activity surrounding your email marketing campaign, say, a surge of opt-ins, then cleaning your list may actually become a daily ritual. See, you've worked so hard at creating a beautiful email that if you don't maintain it; you're throwing all of your effort down the drain.
3. Just because your friends are idiots and jump off a bridge, doesn't mean you have to.
Peer pressure is the bane of any mother. Kids do stupid things because their friends are doing it and they want to fit in. What our mothers were trying to tell us is that being yourself and standing up for who you are is sometimes more important than fitting in.
Whatever is the cool thing to do doesn't mean it's the right thing for you.
Cool new email gadgets and cool new email strategies are a dime a dozen, and just because everyone else is jumping on the bandwagon, doesn't mean you should. Take the time to figure out if the next big thing is a right fit for you, your marketing strategy and above all else, your email.
