Format E-mail Correctly

E-mail plays important role when communicating with your customers. Be certain to make your messages, including newsletters, look neat.

Variable Width
A recent study conducted by EmailLabs revealed that people tend to read their e-mail within preview pane. Therefore, you should ensure that your message should look nice in that format. The same rule for web pages applies; your messages should fit within the preview pane without horizontal scrolling. Because the width of preview panes varies, your messages should be formatted accordingly. For simple text message, don't use hard carriage returns to wrap lines. Instead, make a paragraph consisting of one long line, so that the reader's e-mail client wraps the paragraph to fit within the preview pane. For HTML message, set the width with percentages rather than with pixels.

HTML or Simple Text
Today, almost no one uses e-mail clients which cannot display HTML formatted messages. You can send HTML messages, if you prefer; however, be aware that most people configure their e-mail clients not to display images. Also, keep in mind that the same HTML message might appear differently on different e-mail clients and web-based e-mail services, such as hotmail or Gmail. Be sure to check how your message looks on each of them.

Actually, the primary advantage of using HTML formatted messages is not the images, it's the ability to incorporate tables with clickable content and links within nice anchor text (not bare URL). Remember to use HTML messages to their full potential.

Character Encoding
English speaking webmasters tend to ignore character encoding; however, if you use characters outside of the ASCII character set, these letters could be interpreted as non-English characters. For example, right single quotation mark would become foreign character in non-English language environment, even though it still may look like an apostrophe in English environment. Assign proper character encoding to avoid displaying strange characters.

Good Customer Service Equals Good Communication

We've all had good and bad shopping experience, and if you'd like to explore the topic, Planetfeedback.com has the statistics on shopping experiences. Though it's not a research company, it can show you the kinds of feedback each company gets. For better or worse, consumers are talking about human relations, like customer service or staff attitude. If you communicate poorly with your customers, your business will be ruined. If you do a great job in customer relations, your business will rock'n roll.

Pay attention
You know Larry King, don't you? I know him, even though I don't have a TV. (Sorry, Larry.) He didn't become a great newscaster accidentally. There is a reason for his success. He pays attention to his guests. Ted Koppel told Time magazine years ago, "Larry listens to his guests. He pays attention to what they say. Too few interviewers do that." This is the key. If you want to make your customers happy, you must pay attention to what they say or what they want. Pointless reply e-mails do nothing but irritate your customers. But pointless messaging isn't the only e-mail mistake you can make.

Enthusiasm
Your enthusiasm also makes big difference. When you talk to a person face to face, you can pick up on many things other than just what is being said. That can't happen in e-mails, but you can still make difference.

Let's say you are looking for RAM for your computer. You send an e-mail message to two different companies to see if their RAM fits your computer. Here are their replies:

-Reply #1-
Thank you for your e-mail.
The RAM is compatible with your computer. If the RAM doesn't work, call 24/7 Tech support at 1-800-555-5555.

This reply isn't too bad, is it?

-Reply #2-
Thank you for your inquiry.
Yes, our RAM fits your computer. If you have any trouble installing it, don't hesitate to call our tech support at 1-800-555-5555. Our technicians are ready to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We will not leave you alone.

How about that? Which guy are you going to give your money to? Both want to give you the same deal, but the messages make you feel very different, don't they? If you can feel the difference, your customers can feel it too. The tone of voice can't be attached to your e-mails, but your enthusiasm can be sent.

Reply e-mails are a big part of customer service. You can make customers angry, or you can make them happy. Pay attention to what your customers want, and write e-mail messages with enthusiasm. The technology gave us a new way to communicate, but computers don't read your message. The human being reads your e-mail. You are still talking to REAL people. Whether they become angry or happy is a direct result of your willingness to take the time to communicate.

Say More Than "Thank You"

Most Websites are gathering e-mail addresses. When you submit your e-mail address, you will be redirected to a thank you page. There is nothing wrong with it, but that page can do more than saying "thank you."

The Result
A while ago, I added some affiliate links to my thank-you-for-subscribing page. Even though you can close the window or go back to the home page, 98.8% of viewers of that page have clicked one of the links listed. This is astonishing when compared to the click-though ratio of banner ads (other than Google AdSense) on my site, which is about 0.9%. And, 98% is not a stat of one lucky day. It's an average of one year.

They Will Listen
98% sounds unrealistic, but it makes sense. Visitors subscribe to your newsletter because they liked your site in some way. So, they will listen to you as they listen to their friends. When you recommend some places to go, most people will go.

Additionally, you will get better results if you link to a page with one product rather than linking to a page with a lot of products. People who have submitted to you an e-mail address are open minded. This is the time to tell them your recommendation (your favorite product), not to show them options (list of your products).

Note
However, do not use this technique on a thank-you-for-ORDERING page. If you send buyers to another Web page asking them to buy more things, visitors will feel you are trying to suck all the money they have. You may add links on this thank-you page, but be selective which pages you'll send buyers to. I am not saying up-selling won't work. Up-selling does work. You have to up-sell before receiving payments, not after you received payments. Chasers at McDonald's ask, "Would you like to have French fries with that?" when you order a burger, not after you have paid for your order, don't they?