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A reader shared an interesting observation with me.

She told me she had “found out the hard way, that email marketing doesn’t work”.

She asked me for my thoughts. I said I’d share them here, as I’m sure some of you will find it useful.

Email marketing works

In fact, it works extremely well. It works predictably, too. Just ask any business owner who’s using it correctly. What doesn’t work is ineffective email marketing. That’s because ineffective email marketing can’t work.

Here are just a few, very common examples of how small business owners get email marketing wrong.

• A poorly written email won’t work. It will fail to motivate the reader to take action; to call you, email you, visit your website, whatever. And almost all small business marketing emails are DIY attempts, not professionally written.
• A professionally-written email, sent to the wrong people, won’t work. It will fail to reach those with a demand for your services.
• A great email, sent to the right people, with the wrong subject line, won’t work. No one will open it.

You get the idea. In short, before you reject any form of marketing as being ineffective, make sure you’re using it correctly.

Photo: Shutterstock.

You’re reading about a product or service.

It sounds amazing.

Then you spot it!

You spot the dreaded *asterisk. And your heart sinks.

You know you’re about to be disappointed. You’re about to discover the caveats, exclusions and conditions, which means that offer isn’t as good as they said it was.

They could have told you the truth without hiding it behind the asterisk. However, they deliberately chose not to. They intentionally concealed it from you. And in a split second, they’ve totally changed how you feel about them.

You wonder what else they’re hiding from you.

And if you only discover afterwards that you’ve been duped, you won’t be happy!

Eliminate the asterisk risk

If a business owner feels they need to hide something behind an asterisk, there are better alternatives.

The easiest is to make the product or service as good as you said. Thus removing the need for an asterisk. This will simultaneously pump more value into your offering, making it more attractive.

Another powerful alternative is this: State, in honest and clear language, exactly what you’re offering. And include whatever would have been behind the asterisk, explaining why it’s there.

For example, imagine it’s an introductory deal, offering your service at a reduced price for the first 3 months. Rather than quote the introductory price (and hide the fact it increases after 3 months, behind an asterisk), tell them. Let them know that you’re so confident they’ll love your service, you’re offering it at a super-low discount, so they can discover for themselves, why it’s outstanding value for money, at the regular price.

Social networks give the marketplace a powerful voice. That voice can either be used to tell everyone how great a vendor is, or how bad a vendor is. Thankfully, business owners get to choose the kind of experience that’s being shared.

That’s why the smartest brands aim for honesty and transparency at every opportunity. And why they refuse to hide the truth behind an asterisk.