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Email Overload Problem

By Beth Riefe posted 06-17-2015 04:03 PM

  

How many of you cringe at the idea of looking at your email inbox after being away for a couple days? The idea of coming back to hundreds of emails is horrifying. The worst part is over half of the emails are “junk.” Let’s face it, we live in a culture with an email overload problem and as association professionals, we need to be strategic in what we are sending our members. Studies have shown that 69% of U.S. email users unsubscribe from a business or non-profit email because the organization sends too many emails.  It’s all too easy to unsubscribe or click that lovely trashcan icon when you see something in your inbox you do not care about. Even if individuals have agreed to receive your emails, they can unsubscribe at any time if they feel they are being bombarded with emails.

I love this article by Lisa Campo from HighRoad Solutions. She reinforces the idea that email is not your only option. Here are some BAD reasons she gives to send an email:

  • My CEO/executive director/manager/boss/other important person thinks we should send an email.
  • We always send emails. (Note: false. The internet has not existed forever.)
  • We haven't sent an email this week yet
  • It's the easiest way to reach people. (Note: probably false)
  • It's the cheapest way to reach people. (Note: nope, not true either.)
Try using other outlets to get your message out.  We rely on email so much that sometimes I think we forget there are other ways. Social media, websites and blogs are great tools to communicate with your members.  Instead of doing a weekly newsletter, try posting it to your blog or website and then post about it on social media outlets. If you provide good enough content (which you should be doing), members will come to you.

List segmentation is key.  I always ask myself before I send a mass email, is this information relevant to EVERYONE on my list? By segmenting your list and choosing clear, appropriate messages to each targeted group, individuals will start to find value in your emails. It also makes it easier to personalize emails.  I recently received a happy anniversary email from a grocery store co-op I support. They did a nice job of personalizing the email in a natural way. They used the “First Name” tag conversationally saying “Hi Beth.” (Note: Ever receive an email saying “Dear [$$FIRSTNAME$$],”? Yikes.) Anyways, the email from the grocery store made sense – it was my one-year anniversary. They mentioned a few owner benefits and that was it. I knew who it was coming from, it was short and to the point. No one wants to read long, wordy emails.

Try surveying your members to see what they want from your emails and reevaluate your system. Next time you are about to click send, take a step back and ask yourself, would I read this email?

 


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