This is not another cold article on how to make money out of COVID-19 email marketing campaign. It is actually the opposite – this is a reminder and a warning to all of the business owners and email marketers – send your COVID-19 newsletter only if you have to! Inboxes are spammed with emails telling us how to wash our hands and what are the symptoms of Coronavirus!
If you are planning to send content that is not really necessary during those very difficult time, please think twice! Check this article to find out when you can and when you shouldn’t use your email communication channel to talk about the Coronavirus.
Do you really need to send that email?
Yes, do it if:
- You’ve something important to share, that is not an obvious fact.
- Your business was impacted by covid19 and you would like to tell your customers that the company has different working hours, the service is provided differently, or that the waiting time for the order will be extended.
- If you want to help out others – for example if you are in B2C market and looking to build a community where younger people help those in the higher risk groups with shopping, that is an awesome initiative!
- You would like to help other B2B companies in reducing their costs in those difficult times, by giving away extra discounts, extending free trials or even adding some extra features free of charge.
Please, don’t do it (or at least re-think it) if:
- You want to inform your recipients that you are fine and that COVID-19 did not impact your business. Just add that information to your next newsletter, it is not necessary to write a whole new campaign to let others know that coronavirus is not affecting your opening hours etc.
- You just want to tell others how should they behave during COVID-19 – if you are not an authority in this subject, just leave it to the experts.
- You would like to inform your subscribers that you are now working remotely – probably better to add this as a note on your social media accounts.
- Just because everyone else is doing it.
Additional information
Communicate with empathy
2020 has not been easy on us, so far. People around the world are leaving in the fear for themselves and their loved ones, hoping that this terrible virus will not take anyone from their relatives. Bare it in mind, when creating your copy for your next email campaign. That is why marketers have to be constantly on their feet and keep the communication full of empathy that is appropriate for the current situation.
Automated campaigns
Check the content of your pre-scheduled automated campaigns now, as you might have some that invite your customers to come into the store/restaurant etc. Or some that might encourage people to actually go out anywhere, instead of #stayinghome!
Cautious Emarketing
Make sure that you will decline any marketing that could be inappropriate for the time being. If you are scheduling/planning a campaign for industries like mass events, beauty, travel, hotel or restaurant, you should wait until the current situation will stabilize. Do not enhance people to take part in any activities that might be against the precautions requested by WHO.
Your list hygiene
I was battling myself when writing this article if I should actually mention email verification, as I really do not want this article to be a sales pitch in any shape or form. On the other hand, you might be sending really important content, that must reach those inboxes! There is also a chance that you didn’t use email marketing for a while now, or you will need to email all your contacts, that haven’t been contacted in a for some time. If that’s the case, then please make sure that you will verify your list, so you could reduce your bounce rate, and get those emails delivered. Clean your list, use Bouncer or any other tool that is available on the market, but don’t let some invalid email addresses to ruin your important email communication. If your list engagement rates are good, and you do take care of your reputation regularly, then there is not a high need for email verification. However, please let us know if you are struggling and might need some extra help or assistance.
Wrapping up
Let’s stay human and let’s keep our communication full of empathy! The first task for today after reading this article is to check your inbox, and see for yourself – how many unnecessary emails about COVID-19 did you find? If you are planning on sending a similar copy, please don’t. Let the important emails on this subject be more visible, and keep a high reputation of your company.
Izabela is a leading contributor to the Bouncer’s blog. She is inspired to help companies all around the world to get emails into their recipients’ inboxes
