Does an email campaign replace a print campaign?
No, in the direct marketing world, reaching out to your customers and prospects as often as possible is the goal. Emails are cost effective and can be used to supplement a print campaign—before, after, or both—to boost response rates of print campaign. At MCH we call this the one-two punch.

What is the most important element in an email campaign?
Relevancy. Your offer has to be legitimate and relevant to the group you are targeting. Your subject line has to be forthright and provide a reasonable idea of the email’s topic—anything less than that can be considered fraudulent.

Why is “above the scroll” important?
Many end users view email with the Preview Pane function enabled. The most important elements of your message should be viewable in the preview pane.

Why is branding important?
If you are fortunate enough to have a recognizable product or brand name, the open rate for your email campaign will increase. People tend to open emails from people or organizations they trust.

Can I use images in my email campaign?
Yes, the HTML version of your email can contain images. If there is a balance between HTML and text in your message, it will increase the deliverability rate. Be aware, however, that many ISPs block images. Therefore, it’s important that your message is clear when viewed without the images. It’s a mistake to send an email that contains all of its information in an image; its much more likely to be a “junk” folder.

Are there different reasons an email can’t be delivered?
Yes. In email marketing, a hard bounce means that the email inbox no longer exists. A soft bounce means that the ISP is temporarily unable to deliver an email. A soft bounce could occur when the recipient’s inbox is full. A blocked email means the ISP is refusing to accept email from a specific sender.

Can I use uppercase letters to call attention to a special point?
Yes, but use caution. Uppercase type can make the reader feel as if you are yelling at him. Also, too much uppercase type can trigger spam filters.

Are there particular words that can trigger spam filters?
Yes, words like Free, Hello, Call Now, No Fee often raise a red flag, especially when used in the subject line.

Why should I ask my customers to add our email to their address book?
When someone adds you to his or her address book, you are considered a safe sender and the person is agreeing to receive promotional emails from you. This will allow your future messages to go the recipient’s inbox rather than being sent to a “junk” folder.

Does MCH use a spam filter testing resource?
Yes, at your request, MCH will send your email through a spam filtering application to test its deliverability. You will be able to adjust your message and/or content based on the results of the test.

Where can I find information about the CAN-SPAM Act?
You can find information about the CAN-SPAM Act here.

What are the rules governing opt-out requests?
Companies must stop sending emails to the requestor’s email address within 10 business days. You must continue to process opt-out requests for 30 days after you send your commercial email. MCH immediately captures opt-out requests from your deployment and suppresses them from future campaigns.

Can I re-email to an address that has previously opted out?
The simple answer is “No”. Under the CAN-SPAM regulations, you must honor all opt-out messages, regardless of the service provider used to deploy an email campaign. Once an opt-out, always an opt-out.

Why is it important to include my name and my company’s address?
Including your organization’s postal mailing address in your email is a requirement under the CAN-SPAM Act. Including a personal name or signature block increases the chances of your message getting through a spam filter.

What is a permission pass email?
A permission pass email is an email sent to recipients to confirm that they want to receive your offers. For opt-in, only those who respond and confirm are kept on the subscribed list. Recipients who do not answer or whose addresses bounce are considered to have opted-out and are deleted from the list. For opt-out, messages are sent to the recipients notifying them that a marketer intends to send them future commercial messages. Any recipients who opt-out are then removed from the list and the remainder are retained.

What are test addresses?
Just like using a seed address to monitor your print campaigns, you should have several test email accounts to test deliverability. Providers such as Yahoo and Gmail are free and allow you to have more than one email address. In addition to ensuring deliverability, these test addresses allow you to see what your message looks like when rendered by the various email viewers.