Susan Payton: The Email Marketing Hunger Games – A Battle to the Inbox

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In the midst of the holiday season, email marketers are fighting a competitive battle against other promotional emails, the spam folder and the delete button – The Email Marketing Hunger Games.

In order to survive and make their way into the Inbox, email marketers must channel their inner Katnis Everdeen by using strategic tactics and playing to the desires of their customers – or else they risk getting lost in the spam folder and leaving the email marketing games early.

In the spirit of the newly released The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Campaigner has developed a few tips for email marketers to mirror Katniss and Peeta and emerge from the arena as a victor.

1. Channel Your Inner Katniss with Fail-Safe Precautions: With her life on the line, Katniss keeps a close eye on her surroundings. For marketers who have done the same and monitored the surroundings of their target audience, it’s clear that consumers are adapting to the mobile-centric world. So be sure to use mobile responsive design templates to make your content easy to read and interact with. Otherwise, similar to how the cannon blast signals a tributes demise, you’ll become a victim of the delete button and will leave the email marketing games early.
2. Your Email Marketing Mockingjay – Make an Impression: Similar to how Katniss puts on a façade to entice her sponsors, email marketers need to adopt a mix of eye-catching graphics and personalized content to make a lasting impression. To avoid the dreaded delete button and safely reach the Inbox, your emails need to be personalized and tailored to your audience’s desires. Take advantage of analytics tools and A/B testing capabilities. Be sure to test a variety of factors (i.e. subject lines, calls to actions, graphics, etc.) to determine which campaign aligns best with your customers’ preferences and will result in a victory for your brand.
3. Perform Like Peeta to Win Your Customers’ Hearts: While forced together by chance, Peeta eventually won over the heart of Katniss – similarly, email marketers need to up their charm and win over the hearts of ISPs in order to gain entrance into their customers elusive inbox. The key to this tricky romance is to avoid promotional topics in your subject lines and “from” sections – and never come across too needy. Timely and targeted emails will surely gain the trust and respect of an ISP, resulting in a second date with the inbox and breaking up with spam. Never give up if those tricky ISPs play hard to get at first – you didn’t see Peeta giving up, did you?
4. Tick Tock. Deception is Coming: Just as the Hunger Games arena is filled with competitors, obstacles and traps, customers are often sent confusing and useless offers during the holiday season. For example, some marketers may be inclined to try and beat the competition by claiming their deal is ending in 24 hours, when in reality, it’s available for a few days. If you choose to adopt a similar strategy, you’ll surely burn bridges with your customers. Nobody likes a President Snow always filling their inboxes with scare tactics – loyal customers will stay true to the companies that send honest promotions and realistic offers.

With these strategies in your back pocket, you’ll be sure to gain a competitive advantage over your competitors this season.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

Originally published at: Egg Marketing & Communications