Note to Mailers: Email is NOT just an electronic version of Direct Mail

I recently received an email invite from an organization I will not name, which really blew me away because I figured they of all people would know better.  The sender was, after all, one of the top direct mailers in the country.

Not only was the email unsolicited (and therefore Spam, in my book) but it also had ALL the recipients’ email addresses listed in the “TO” field.  It wasn’t even the more common (though still wrong) ”BCC-blast.”  Each and every email address was displayed in its full glory, just Spam-bait waiting to be gobbled up by evil unscrupulous marketers.  Incidentally, the copy left much to be desired as well.

I receive this kind of stuff pretty often, and when I feel it’s worth the time, I make an effort to write back and point out things that can be improved on.  (In this case, I pointed out their “TO”-field crime, and sent them the Email Checklist for Newbies). But this case stood out in my mind, because - as I mentioned earlier - the senders really should have known better.  I actually receive their direct mail, and it’s awesome. So why the poor practice when it came to email?

Maybe it was a job left to a secretary or assistant, who really didn’t know any better. Or maybe they just didn’t realize the glaring differences between email and direct mail.

Email is NOT just direct mail sent electronically. It’s a whole other creature with a life of its own, which demands a completely different, (and unfortunately, much more complicated) approach.    

Loren Mcdonald of MediaPost’s Email Insider has an excellent article explaining the differences between email and direct mail.  I’ve listed some of the most notable points below, but you can read the full article here.  

• Permission: This is perhaps the number-one difference between email and direct mail. While not all email is permission-based and not all direct mail is unsolicited, email’s opt-in focus is clearly a fundamental driver of the channel’s high return on investment.
• Unsubscribes/Spam complaints: Email provides recipients with an instant out, either through the unsubscribe or the spam complaint. Both can sting, but you can turn them into positives by tracking and learning from them.
• Frequency: In direct mail, if you mail too much, your ROI simply declines. In email, send too often and your spam complaints will jump, possibly getting your emails blocked or filtered.
• ISPs: Many emailers bemoan ISPs that block their email or filter it to junk folders. However, play by the rules and follow best practices and you’ll achieve high delivery rates and better ROI than your competitors.