5 Tips For Less Annoying E-mail Marketing

by | Marketing, Professional Services Marketing

Does this ever happen to you?

I receive 3 or 4 e-mail “offers” a week that make me think “why in the world are you sending this to me?”.

These messages are what I call semi-personalized (they use my name and maybe my business name) but I don’t know who they are. It’s as if a total stranger walked up to you on the street, called you by name, and started telling you about the wonderful things they have to solve your particular problem.

Now I don’t know about you, but when I get one of these offers, a lot of thoughts run through my head. None of them related to buying.

“Who the heck is this?”, “Why are you sending this to me?”, “Why do you think I need that?”. Those are the thoughts that I have. If I remember the sender at all, I’ve attached the “spammer” label to them, whether the message is technically spam or not.

So how can you make sure that your e-mail marketing messages are not creating these type of reactions? Here are a few tips:

  1. Always invite people to join your list. Just because we belong to the same Chamber and my e-mail address is in the directory does not mean you have my permission to add me to your mailing list.
  2. Communicate on a regular basis. It doesn’t matter how friendly your e-mail message is, if I only hear from you every 3 or 4 months and it’s only to sell me your “limited time special”, well that’s not friendly – it’s fake. Your prospect's B.S. filter is stronger and more efficient than any spam filter.
  3. Be relevant. Talk to me about something that I am actually interested in. This is easier to do if you are inviting prospects who meet your Ideal Customer Profile to join your list.
  4. Make it clear who you are. People build relationships with other people. Don’t make me guess who you are.
  5. Don’t make every conversation a sales pitch. Related to #2 above, balance your communications between information and sales offers. How many people do you hang around with who try to sell you something every time you talk? Exactly, I avoid them too.

Being the person that helps and gives good advice is always more profitable than being the one who annoys.

Bill Brelsford

Bill Brelsford

B2B Marketing Copywriter & Consultant

Hi, I’m Bill Brelsford, author of “The Boutique Advantage: How Small Firms Win Big With Better Messaging.”

I’ve worked in professional services since 1990 – first as a CPA, then as a custom software developer, and since 2006 as a marketing consultant specializing in direct marketing and sales enablement copywriting for professional services.

My career path gives me unique insight into B2B sales. I understand what CFOs question (from my accounting background), how complex projects are sold (from software development), and what content actually moves deals forward (from 19+ years helping professional services firms close premium clients).

My copywriting and consulting focuses exclusively on what I call the Core4 Outcomes: increasing authority, generating leads, driving sales, and improving client retention.

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