One of my email seminar students recently asked, "I feel like the only emails my company ever sends are sales messages—like we're always asking people to buy, buy, buy. Should we supplement these with other types of email? And if so, what?"

Don't feel bad. Lack of variety in email marketing is a common dilemma for marketers. Businesses newer to email marketing or with fewer resources tend to gravitate first and only to promotional messaging, but there is plenty more you can and should communicate to your list.

Here are just four of many greetings to include in your message stream.

1. Email Newsletter

Whether it's weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly (I don't recommend less often than monthly), your e-newsletter is a fantastic email catch-all for many different types of content and messaging.

Include articles, useful tips, recommendations, testimonials, event information—and, yes, product offers and specials, too. It's a newsletter after all, so be sure you're weaving together not only what's new with your business but also what's new in your industry.

If you have an above-average perspective on developing practices, breaking news or trends, and legislation or inventions in your market, share that helpful information in the form of feature articles.

2. Personal and Holiday Greetings

Are you acknowledging your email subscribers' birthdays and service anniversaries with a thank-you email? You should be. How about holidays? Are you sending Thanksgiving greetings, Happy Holidays messages, and other emails reflecting seasonal celebrations?

Those are some of the easiest messages to develop and deploy, and some of the most cherished by subscribers because they're intimate, appreciative, and timely. Integrating them into your message stream makes you or your brand more personable and more welcome in the inbox, and therefore thought of as a trusted friend rather than the "friend who calls only when she needs something."

3. Triggered Follow-Ups

Did you know triggered email can generate 10 times the revenue and more than 20 times the profit of broadcast campaigns? Yes, triggered email is incredibly powerful and relevant because it is targeted to subscribers based on recent actions, dates, or unique characteristics.

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Variety Is the Spice of Inbox Life: Four Nonpromotional Email Message Types

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Karen Talavera

Karen Talavera is the founder of Synchronicity Marketing, a company specializing in digital marketing training, coaching, and education.