Lessons that Internet Marketers can Learn from Spammers

Spammers…Yes these are those unwanted creatures that drive us crazy by sending more messages than we can count. What can such people teach us? How to annoy people and let them un-friend and report us? Being the positive beings that we are, if we look closely, we can find some really good email marketing lessons that spammers can teach us. That is exactly how successful internet marketing experts are – always getting the best out of everything. So what are the lessons?

1. Be Clear About What You Want

Every email marketing campaign has a goal. Sending emails across millions of people does require effort and you definitely need to have a strong purpose to do something like this. What do you intend to gain from the campaign? Vague terms like ‘brand awareness’ do not have much value unless you have enough metrics to measure them. Look at a spam email. It clearly says what the senders want you to do and it says it loud and clear. No matter what emotional triggers they use, they almost compel you to perform the action. Isn’t it?

2. Maintain Your Database Well

Spammers don’t miss a chance when it comes to collecting our information. They collect all they can and use it for targeted email marketing for better results. Spammers have to work really hard to get user information because they cannot ask it directly from them. If you have a legal business and a real product to sell, you can definitely ask people to drop in their information for occasional emails and special offers etc. Once you have the right information, rather than sending the same email to everyone in your database, you can customise it and send relevant mail to the right people.

3. Stick to What’s Hot

Okay, you successfully send emails to relevant people. But if they don’t recognise you, what would make them open your email when they have their inboxes full of many others? Well, this is simple. Check the trending topics i.e. the topics people are searching the most on the Internet. You can use Alexa, Twitter Trends or Yahoo Trends etc for this purpose. Using a hot topic in your subject line will directly impact opening rates and click through rates of your email campaign. Not only that, writing what the audience wants to hear about also increases your brand value and they end up waiting for your next email. Isn’t that a situation you want to have?

4. Use What You Know

Nowhere else is your first name used more than a spam mail. If spammers can do it why can’t you? Stop writing mails that clearly show that they are sent to millions of users. Terms like “Dear Customer” and “Dear Valued Partner” are an instant turnoff. When you use their name, they know you are talking to them.

5. Write a Compelling Copy

It is the content of the mail that creates an impression in the mind of the receiver and inspires him to take action. Make sure you use the best of your copywriting skills to create a copy that inspires a call to action. The trick is to be nice, be thankful and be audience focused without sounding spam.
These days, lot of individual data is available. People are more open and more comfortable sharing their information with legitimate companies. Make sure you utilise the opportunity to reach out to these people and relate to them. Go ahead and use these golden lessons from spammers to get the best of online marketing.

About the author: Alyssa Clarke is a blogger who also happens to be a tech buff. She loves splurging on tech stuff.