How to Deliver Trusted Content in Email

By AdStation | March 17th, 2016 | Categories: Email Marketing
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People, generally speaking, are a trusting group. And as consumers, they want to trust that what advertisers are giving them is of some worth. When they begin to think otherwise is when the tides turn, and your emails are no longer welcome in their inboxes and begin to feel more like spam.

How does one avoid becoming email spam?

Email spam can be defined in various ways and is also known as junk mail or unsolicited bulk email (UBE). Spam can be described more classically as a message containing disguised links that lead to phishing sites, or nearly identical bulk messages sent to numerous recipients via email.  Today’s consumers also describe spam as unwanted or unexpected emails, and/or emails from a ‘signup’ that they are no longer interested in.

Most spam ends up in the Junk folder of your Inbox because there are pre-established filters within your email provider and/or you have set filter levels. Either way, most spam goes unseen in the classic definition of the word. But in the more modern definition of unwanted or unexpected emails, most of those will get to your inbox where you then the mark can read them or mark them as spam.

As a company, how do you avoid becoming the spam in the inbox?  By providing good, trusted content you will reduce your bounce rates and the likelihood your readers will unsubscribe. What is trusted content?

Trusted content is anything that a subscriber is interested in. Trusted content varies based on the message your company means to convey. Consumers gauge their level of trust for your emails in a few ways. Using the information the consumer has given you on the front end of the relationship will strengthen it in the long run.  For instance, if I have opted-in to receive your emails, I am more likely to have a pre-determined interest in your product or offer. If you purchased my email address from an outside agency and are sending me information on topics that I have no interest in, it is highly likely I will mark you as spam.

Trusted content also comes in the form of consistency.  Sending consistent emails, and going even further to tell your consumers when that will be, allows a heads up. For instance, a guilty pleasure I had (before they took him away) was Matt Bellassai’s ‘Wine About It’.  It was a weekly vlog, and I knew almost to the minute when it would hit. I waited for it. I anticipated it. And when it was over, I wanted the next one. This was all done through Buzzfeed, which would send the link to his newest video along with other related stories in hopes I would also read those. They had me from hello. I trusted their content because they were, from the outset, giving me something I had asked for.

Avoid the spam box by delivering trusted content in a relevant format.  Schedule your emails to send in regular intervals and create anticipation. Keep your audience engaged based on what you already know they want.