There’s no shortage of experts claiming they know precisely what works in
business‐to‐business (B2B) e‐mail marketing. But I take what most of them say
with a grain of salt.
From long experience, we know that in traditional direct mail, there simply is no
“silver bullet”no magic rules that apply all of the time to virtually guarantee a
winner.
Logic follows that there are no silver bullets in any kind of marketing, including
TV commercials, print ads, and e‐mail marketing. But the gurus and experts keep
trying to formulate silver bullets—or at least, best practices—nonetheless.
First up is the question: when is the best day of the week to send a B2B e‐mail
marketing message? According to a new survey by eROI, Inc., high‐level execu
tives read most of their e‐mail messages on Mondays and Tuesdays. And the best
time to send messages on those days is during lunch hour.
Next up, subject lines: a study from e‐mail services provider Silverpop showed
that B2B e‐mail open rates are 20% when the subject line does not mention the
brand, company, or product, and 32% when the brand or company name
appears in the subject line.
That’s a 60% lift in open rates just from adding either the brand or the company
name to the subject line. But beware of using both: the study found that open
rates fall to only 24% when both the company name and the product name are in
the same subject line.
The debate about which is better—text or HTML e‐mailrages on in business
to‐consumer marketing. But overwhelmingly, the vast majority of B2B e‐mail
marketers send HTML messages which, one would suppose, means HTML
works best. Or does it?
“The majority of e‐mail campaigns for our B2B clients are HTML,” says freelance
copywriter Alan Sharpe. “This is partly because of aesthetics and the need to pro
ject and protect the brand, and partly because we can only measure open rates
when we design in HTML.”
But other marketers are defying the best practice of using HTML for B2B e‐mail
marketing with good results. “For most of the B2B clients I have worked with
recently, plain text formatted effectivelyhas worked better than
HTML,” says copywriter Steve Slaunwhite. “I suspect this is because of the many
issues that plague HTML, such as deliverability and blocked images.”
Adds Steve: “I think plain text works better in e‐mail because it looks like perso
nal communications. Think about it. When you send me an e‐mail, do you dress
it up with fancy formatting and graphics? Or do you just write a simple e‐mail?
Software copywriter Ed Gandia also finds that text can outperform HTML in B2B
e‐mail marketing. “When a conversational tone and approach would work
better, text seems to be outpulling HTML,” says Ed. “Also, since most B2B
marketers use HTML, text e‐mails are different, stand out, and therefore get
more attention and higher click‐through rates.
So, if it’s not true that HTML is universally better than text for B2B e‐mail mar
keting, are there any legitimate B2B e‐mail marketing best practices rules
that stand up in the real world, and that you ignore at your peril?
I can only think of three. First, the most important part of the e‐mail marketing
message is the “from” line. If the e‐mail is from a source the reader knows, such
as a trusted vendor or an online newsletter he subscribes to, he’s more likely to
open it.
The second most important part of the message is the subject line. Even though
the subject line is only 40 characters or so of text, tests conclusively prove that
a simple change in subject line can increase click‐through rates by 25% to 50% or
more.
Third, in writing B2B e‐mail or any other marketing materials, avoid the common
copywriting mistake of focusing on the product instead of the prospect a sin
committed perhaps more frequently in B2B than B2C.
Many B2B e‐mails I see start with the product. But the reader, your prospect,
doesn’t care about you, your company, your product, or your technology. The
reader cares, first and foremost, about himself his needs, fears, concerns,
problems, challenges, and desires.
The more you answer the primary question readers ask when they see your
e‐mail—“What’s in it for me?”
the greater your click‐through and conversion rates will be.
business‐to‐business (B2B) e‐mail marketing. But I take what most of them say
with a grain of salt.
From long experience, we know that in traditional direct mail, there simply is no
“silver bullet”no magic rules that apply all of the time to virtually guarantee a
winner.
Logic follows that there are no silver bullets in any kind of marketing, including
TV commercials, print ads, and e‐mail marketing. But the gurus and experts keep
trying to formulate silver bullets—or at least, best practices—nonetheless.
First up is the question: when is the best day of the week to send a B2B e‐mail
marketing message? According to a new survey by eROI, Inc., high‐level execu
tives read most of their e‐mail messages on Mondays and Tuesdays. And the best
time to send messages on those days is during lunch hour.
Next up, subject lines: a study from e‐mail services provider Silverpop showed
that B2B e‐mail open rates are 20% when the subject line does not mention the
brand, company, or product, and 32% when the brand or company name
appears in the subject line.
That’s a 60% lift in open rates just from adding either the brand or the company
name to the subject line. But beware of using both: the study found that open
rates fall to only 24% when both the company name and the product name are in
the same subject line.
The debate about which is better—text or HTML e‐mailrages on in business
to‐consumer marketing. But overwhelmingly, the vast majority of B2B e‐mail
marketers send HTML messages which, one would suppose, means HTML
works best. Or does it?
“The majority of e‐mail campaigns for our B2B clients are HTML,” says freelance
copywriter Alan Sharpe. “This is partly because of aesthetics and the need to pro
ject and protect the brand, and partly because we can only measure open rates
when we design in HTML.”
But other marketers are defying the best practice of using HTML for B2B e‐mail
marketing with good results. “For most of the B2B clients I have worked with
recently, plain text formatted effectivelyhas worked better than
HTML,” says copywriter Steve Slaunwhite. “I suspect this is because of the many
issues that plague HTML, such as deliverability and blocked images.”
Adds Steve: “I think plain text works better in e‐mail because it looks like perso
nal communications. Think about it. When you send me an e‐mail, do you dress
it up with fancy formatting and graphics? Or do you just write a simple e‐mail?
Software copywriter Ed Gandia also finds that text can outperform HTML in B2B
e‐mail marketing. “When a conversational tone and approach would work
better, text seems to be outpulling HTML,” says Ed. “Also, since most B2B
marketers use HTML, text e‐mails are different, stand out, and therefore get
more attention and higher click‐through rates.
So, if it’s not true that HTML is universally better than text for B2B e‐mail mar
keting, are there any legitimate B2B e‐mail marketing best practices rules
that stand up in the real world, and that you ignore at your peril?
I can only think of three. First, the most important part of the e‐mail marketing
message is the “from” line. If the e‐mail is from a source the reader knows, such
as a trusted vendor or an online newsletter he subscribes to, he’s more likely to
open it.
The second most important part of the message is the subject line. Even though
the subject line is only 40 characters or so of text, tests conclusively prove that
a simple change in subject line can increase click‐through rates by 25% to 50% or
more.
Third, in writing B2B e‐mail or any other marketing materials, avoid the common
copywriting mistake of focusing on the product instead of the prospect a sin
committed perhaps more frequently in B2B than B2C.
Many B2B e‐mails I see start with the product. But the reader, your prospect,
doesn’t care about you, your company, your product, or your technology. The
reader cares, first and foremost, about himself his needs, fears, concerns,
problems, challenges, and desires.
The more you answer the primary question readers ask when they see your
e‐mail—“What’s in it for me?”
the greater your click‐through and conversion rates will be.
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