## Email’s Image Issues

How many of you eagerly check your email every 5 minutes waiting for the promotional emails of brands to reach your inbox. Show of hands. Anyone? How often do you say, “WOW, fantastic email generic brand ABC! I can’t wait to see more from you!” The sad truth is, while there are brands that can stun and surprise us with [awesome email marketing campaigns](http://www.messagesystems.com/blog/10-killer-tips-email-marketing-campaign/ "10 Killer Tips for an Effective Email Marketing Campaign"), it doesn’t really happen often enough.

Email has an image problem and it all has to do with brands sending us generic marketing emails with content that are not relevant to our interests. Experts in the email industry share their thoughts on what can make email better.

**[Making Email Delightful](http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/203346/making-email-delightful.html#axzz2XXAICK00 "Making Email Delightful")**

Email is suffering from an image crisis, where consumers feel that they have lost control over a permission-based channel. Mike May offers some suggestions to brands on making the email experience a delight for the consumers.

- Anticipation: Pre-empt customer requests for information and give it them before they ask for it.
- Selflessness: Find a way to make the subscriber’s day a bit better and reward them for being a reader.
- Surprise: Surprise your reader!
- Personality: Ensure that your messages convey personality.

Hey, as Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”

**[The Future Of Email Marketing, Social Media, And Other Interviews](http://www.christopherspenn.com/2013/06/the-future-of-email-marketing-social-media-and-other-interviews/ "The Future Of Email Marketing, Social Media, And Other Interviews")**

Our friend, Chris Penn, and VP of Marketing Technology at SHIFT Communications is interviewed by Salesforce.com Marketing Cloud, on email’s image issue, the role it plays in the marketing mix and its forseeable future. Chris has often wowed us with his depth of knowledge when it comes to marketing technology so be sure to watch the interviews!

**[Ten common email marketing gaps and errors](http://www.smartinsights.com/email-marketing/email-communications-strategy/ten-common-email-marketing-gaps-and-errors/ "Ten common email marketing gaps and errors")**

How well do you manage your email marketing? Independent email consultant, Tim Watson highlights 10 common mistakes. 5 & 9 in particular are definitely factors that lead to recipients [hitting the spam button](http://www.messagesystems.com/blog/weekly-digest-030/ "Weekly Email Marketing News Digest: Avoiding the Spam Button"), so avoid these mistakes!

- Mistake 1. Not setting long-term Email-specific goals.
- Mistake 2. Not investing in list growth.
- Mistake 3. Failing to track email signup sources.
- Mistake 4. Not using all customer touchpoints for signup.
- **Mistake 5. Lack of a clear email value proposition.**
- Mistake 6. Not investing time to setup triggered messaging.
- Mistake 7. Not Testing targeting.
- Mistake 8. Frequency of send not optimised.
- **Mistake 9. Offer unclear up front.**
- Mistake 10. Lack of measurement beyond the click.

**[Email Like A pro: 20 Killer Lifecycle Email Campaigns from 2013](http://blog.getvero.com/great-lifecycle-emails/ "Email Like A pro: 20 Killer Lifecycle Email Campaigns from 2013")**

Chris Hexton, from Vero provides 20 examples of great lifecycle emails. Here are some examples:

**The sense of urgency email**

**The up sell email**

**The education email**

[**\[Infographic\] Email Marketing Best Practices**](http://prestigemarketing.ca/blog/email-marketing-best-practices-infographic/ "[Infographic] Email Marketing Best Practices")

[
](http://prestigemarketing.ca/blog/email-marketing-best-practices-infographic)

_Want to make sure that your marketing emails are getting into your customer’s inbox? Check out our **[Email Marketing Best Practices 101 eBook](http://www.messagesystems.com/resources/digital-library/ebooks/email-best-practices-101?src=Blog&pc=BlogDL-eBookEmailBP "Email Marketing Best Practices eBook 101")**!_