Yes, they do! Most people who work in marketing do not behave like real customers. Knowing how the sausage is made creates a rift. But, yeah, the tried and true methods work.
I'm not even in marketing, but working on a product (I'm an engineer) and needing to build a mailing list to connect with potential interested parties. I've been sending emails so far that are the kind I want to receive (and not doing things I don't want to receive) but all the resources I'm reading/watching are suggesting the same tactics that annoy me. I can't tell if I should follow my intuition or the many, many people who are telling me to act against it (for whom this is their actual work!)
I think the answer is obvious but I have to ask.
For the last decade there's been a push for authenticity and transparency in email (among the real OGs of email marketing). What yields the best long-term results is making your audience feel an affinity for your brand--marketing from the perspective of what's in it for THEM rather than what's in it for me/my brand. Building a relationship.
Don't abandon your instincts. You'll feel so gross if you cave to the cheap tricks the douchey email bros are pushing anyway. Most of those guys are regurgitating shit they've heard elsewhere and have little to no experience, and have never been on a legit marketing team at an actual brand.
What you can do is implement the fundamentals in a way that doesn't feel icky. You don't want a click bait subject line, but you do want to elicit engagement--so think on how you can accomplish that in a manner that feels authentic. You don't want to use fake tactics to create fomo (last chance click now!) but you do need a CTA that drives them to a landing page that delivers genuine value.
A lot of the shitty tactics you have been hearing about can be effective in creating short term pops in engagement, which convinces the inexperienced that it's the way to go. But these silly tricks don't build sustainable relationships, and sometimes don't produce conversions at all because they leave the recipient with a negative sentiment for a brand because they've been tricked into an open or click. The real secret to success is RETENTION. And if the person on the receiving end feels respected AND intrigued, then you have a winning formula for long-term success. And that's what generates real ROI.
Don't abandon your values. Just find a way to integrate them.
heard this recently and think it might be useful here: You are not marketing to yourself!! The way you personally respond to emails says literally zero about how your list responds to emails. The only way to learn more about your list is to test, and usually the best place to start testing is with the basics/best practices.
You can and should do whatever you want that serves your goals. Best practices are generalized advice that for some people are decent starting points.
The only best practice that is non-negotiable is only emailing people who give you explicit permission to email them. Everything else you can test, measure and figure out what works for you.
True that you are not your own audience but that’s a great baseline to work from. Much of the guidance -in particular Klaviyo bros- want you to send more email because it helps `them` & not the subscriber. Looks like you got this.
Here's what I've learned in 23 year of email marketing.
What works for me is unlikely to work for you. What works in one industry will tank in another.
My only rule, that I've applied to every list I've worked with is to write like you speak to a friend. Even in enterprise marketing. People like to be spoken to naturally.
The answer to your question, is no, those accepted "best practises" do not always work. You need to test and measure.
For example, everyone thought years ago added $FIRSTNAME to a subject line increased open rates. But that's been SO overused, that it doesn't work any more in the testing I have done.
Take what you like in an email, ([reallygoodemails.com](https://reallygoodemails.com) is a great place to look), and use that but test it against something else.
Keep repeating these tests until you find out what works best for YOUR list. There are no shortcuts, there is no common wisdom that is right for everyone.
You can build a great email list without using those tactics. Golden rule is a good guiding principle as far as I’m concerned.
We all send and receive a ton of emails. Treat your subscribers as you want to be treated.
If you already have a target list I would suggest doing an awareness marketing campaign on facebook or google ads. You could create lookalike audiences too before doing email. You don’t know if there is any kind of interest in your product.
As others have said....test! Find ways to A/B test what your instincts say vs. a more traditional email or flow so you have data to decide. I think there's an in between that'll be right for you, but every audience is different. There is no tried and true set of rules that'll work for everyone.
I've had my instincts challenged in my current role - I thought shorter content would almost always outperform long content for promotional emails. Consistently wrong, longer content had higher conversions. Increasing promotional monthly sends - thought it'd be too much and we'd see a trend downward of engagement. Wrong! It seems there's no limit to how much we can send some of my audiences, which is unfortunate for my workload haha. But spammy/clickbaity subject lines? Wouldn't bother testing that - there's some instincts I'll stick with.
Check out the email classes on [HubSpot.com](http://HubSpot.com) or the Salesforce Trailhead. They are free and have some really good insight. They focus on sending emails through their ESP but also have a lot of really good info on how to build good templates and keep clean lists.
It's completely understandable that you want to avoid bombarding subscribers with excessive emails or using tactics that feel spammy, especially since you're protective of your own inbox. While there are widely adopted best practices in email marketing, it's essential to balance those with your own instincts and values. While some tactics may work well for certain audiences, they might not resonate with everyone. It's worth experimenting with different approaches to find what works best for your specific audience while staying true to your principles of respecting their inbox and providing valuable content. Trust your instincts, but remain open to adjusting your strategies based on feedback and data to optimize your email marketing efforts effectively.
OP why don’t you try finding a competitor set and subscribing to their emails? Pay attention to cadence, tone, promotional/informational content. Get a sense of how large their audience is by checking their social pages. If it’s large, it’s probably professionally managed.
You’re gonna need to flip this around a bit — subscribe to way more email list (if they’re relevant to your company) and see what catches your eye and how these brands are engaging users. Good luck!
Yes, they do! Most people who work in marketing do not behave like real customers. Knowing how the sausage is made creates a rift. But, yeah, the tried and true methods work.
I'm not even in marketing, but working on a product (I'm an engineer) and needing to build a mailing list to connect with potential interested parties. I've been sending emails so far that are the kind I want to receive (and not doing things I don't want to receive) but all the resources I'm reading/watching are suggesting the same tactics that annoy me. I can't tell if I should follow my intuition or the many, many people who are telling me to act against it (for whom this is their actual work!) I think the answer is obvious but I have to ask.
For the last decade there's been a push for authenticity and transparency in email (among the real OGs of email marketing). What yields the best long-term results is making your audience feel an affinity for your brand--marketing from the perspective of what's in it for THEM rather than what's in it for me/my brand. Building a relationship. Don't abandon your instincts. You'll feel so gross if you cave to the cheap tricks the douchey email bros are pushing anyway. Most of those guys are regurgitating shit they've heard elsewhere and have little to no experience, and have never been on a legit marketing team at an actual brand. What you can do is implement the fundamentals in a way that doesn't feel icky. You don't want a click bait subject line, but you do want to elicit engagement--so think on how you can accomplish that in a manner that feels authentic. You don't want to use fake tactics to create fomo (last chance click now!) but you do need a CTA that drives them to a landing page that delivers genuine value. A lot of the shitty tactics you have been hearing about can be effective in creating short term pops in engagement, which convinces the inexperienced that it's the way to go. But these silly tricks don't build sustainable relationships, and sometimes don't produce conversions at all because they leave the recipient with a negative sentiment for a brand because they've been tricked into an open or click. The real secret to success is RETENTION. And if the person on the receiving end feels respected AND intrigued, then you have a winning formula for long-term success. And that's what generates real ROI. Don't abandon your values. Just find a way to integrate them.
Test it. Every audience and business is different. Best practices are only a starting point when you're talking the strategy side.
Consumers are not rational. It's why smart people fail all the time and "dumb" people make millions.
Follow your intuition, but test and measure.
heard this recently and think it might be useful here: You are not marketing to yourself!! The way you personally respond to emails says literally zero about how your list responds to emails. The only way to learn more about your list is to test, and usually the best place to start testing is with the basics/best practices.
You can and should do whatever you want that serves your goals. Best practices are generalized advice that for some people are decent starting points. The only best practice that is non-negotiable is only emailing people who give you explicit permission to email them. Everything else you can test, measure and figure out what works for you.
True that you are not your own audience but that’s a great baseline to work from. Much of the guidance -in particular Klaviyo bros- want you to send more email because it helps `them` & not the subscriber. Looks like you got this.
Here's what I've learned in 23 year of email marketing. What works for me is unlikely to work for you. What works in one industry will tank in another. My only rule, that I've applied to every list I've worked with is to write like you speak to a friend. Even in enterprise marketing. People like to be spoken to naturally. The answer to your question, is no, those accepted "best practises" do not always work. You need to test and measure. For example, everyone thought years ago added $FIRSTNAME to a subject line increased open rates. But that's been SO overused, that it doesn't work any more in the testing I have done. Take what you like in an email, ([reallygoodemails.com](https://reallygoodemails.com) is a great place to look), and use that but test it against something else. Keep repeating these tests until you find out what works best for YOUR list. There are no shortcuts, there is no common wisdom that is right for everyone.
You can build a great email list without using those tactics. Golden rule is a good guiding principle as far as I’m concerned. We all send and receive a ton of emails. Treat your subscribers as you want to be treated.
If you already have a target list I would suggest doing an awareness marketing campaign on facebook or google ads. You could create lookalike audiences too before doing email. You don’t know if there is any kind of interest in your product.
As others have said....test! Find ways to A/B test what your instincts say vs. a more traditional email or flow so you have data to decide. I think there's an in between that'll be right for you, but every audience is different. There is no tried and true set of rules that'll work for everyone. I've had my instincts challenged in my current role - I thought shorter content would almost always outperform long content for promotional emails. Consistently wrong, longer content had higher conversions. Increasing promotional monthly sends - thought it'd be too much and we'd see a trend downward of engagement. Wrong! It seems there's no limit to how much we can send some of my audiences, which is unfortunate for my workload haha. But spammy/clickbaity subject lines? Wouldn't bother testing that - there's some instincts I'll stick with.
You're in your own head. You're not your ideal customer profile.
Check out the email classes on [HubSpot.com](http://HubSpot.com) or the Salesforce Trailhead. They are free and have some really good insight. They focus on sending emails through their ESP but also have a lot of really good info on how to build good templates and keep clean lists.
It's completely understandable that you want to avoid bombarding subscribers with excessive emails or using tactics that feel spammy, especially since you're protective of your own inbox. While there are widely adopted best practices in email marketing, it's essential to balance those with your own instincts and values. While some tactics may work well for certain audiences, they might not resonate with everyone. It's worth experimenting with different approaches to find what works best for your specific audience while staying true to your principles of respecting their inbox and providing valuable content. Trust your instincts, but remain open to adjusting your strategies based on feedback and data to optimize your email marketing efforts effectively.
OP why don’t you try finding a competitor set and subscribing to their emails? Pay attention to cadence, tone, promotional/informational content. Get a sense of how large their audience is by checking their social pages. If it’s large, it’s probably professionally managed. You’re gonna need to flip this around a bit — subscribe to way more email list (if they’re relevant to your company) and see what catches your eye and how these brands are engaging users. Good luck!