Every email marketer’s worst nightmare
Thursday, February 18th, 2010 by ShilohMailing lists and segmentations can be an email marketer’s worst nightmare. One wrong click and you can accidentally send donation appeals to your supporters who made major gifts yesterday, or send your latest campaign on polar bears to people who have told you that they only care about 3-toed sloths.
If you’ve made a segmentation error in the past, you can take comfort in knowing that it happens to everyone. Take George Washington University, for example, who sent an erroneous “Welcome to GWU” email to 200 early decision applicants last week. Several hours later, the would-be students received the bad news.
Segmenting your users based on their communications preferences and recent interactions with your organization is worth the effort − supporters stay engaged and look forward to messages from you. The more fine-tuned your audience, though, the easier it is to make a segmentation mistake. There are a few safeguards email marketers can take to ensure your email is always delivered to its intended target:
- Use an email tool that automatically manages opt-outs and unsubscribes. That way human error won’t allow you to message people who have indicated they don’t want to hear from you.
- Spot check your segments. Once you’ve built your segment, make sure your list has the expected number of people on it and click in to a handful of records to verify that they should receive the email.
- For advanced segmentations, have another person double-check your logic. Depending on the email tool you use, constructing queries for list segments can get complex. Robust tools allow nesting arguments, and/or statements, and behavioral targeting of users. It never hurts to have another pair of eyes on your work.
A little prevention goes a long way in keeping your subscribers happy.
