Several times per week, usually multiple times per day, I get an email newsletter from an artist that I’ve never heard of or with whom I have interacted once or twice. Nearly every time, the artist has placed every person’s email in the To: field or the CC: field.
Let me tell you something. Every time you dump 127 emails in the To: field, someone hurts a baby bunny.
image by memory of you (no bunnies harmed here)
Okay, no one hurts a baby bunny, but seriously, those long chains of emails are just annoying, and you don’t want to annoy people who might buy your art, right?
Other artist newsletter no-nos.
1. Adding everyone you know to your email list. Make it easy for people to opt-in to your newsletter, and give them a compelling reason to do so. Then you’ll get the right people.
2. Not personalizing your emails (Hi Cory…). You can do this with a free service like Mailchimp.com. Learn more about how to start a successful email list.
3. Titles that suck. I get a lot of email. Why would I want to read something that says “Jane Doe Newsletter January 2011?” What is the newsletter about? Why is it relevant to me?
4. A blank email with a ‘Here’s my newsletter’ and a link. Get real. Use an email management service to build pretty full-HTML emails. Again, Mailchimp is free if you have less than 1,000 people on your list.
5. No unsubscribe button. Don’t take it personally, but I can only read so many newsletters. I want the chance to opt out. More than that, it’s the LAW. If you send unsolicited mass emails and don’t have an unsubscribe option, you can be fined.
So, sit down and put a little bit of thought into your email newsletters. Think of the bunnies!
I use mailchimp and I highly recommend them. They have lots of information about how to create a successful ad campaign and they do it in a fun way. I’ve never had any issue with the service and never been unable to find the answer to a question.
Please do it for the bunnies.
It is frustrating to get emails from people without being asked for permission first.
I chalk this up to knot knowing the best practices.
Maybe we should set up a special list for people who add without permission. 😉
The Artist Wall of Shame list – and to get off of it, you have to demonstrate that you have changed.
We love bunnies at our house! Thanks for the information on Mailchimp, Cory. Going to check it out.
I have been trying out mailchimp but something I discovered to my horror (when someone unsubscribed and gave the reason as spam) was that anytime you have an interaction with someone on paypal (whether they buy from you or you buy from them apparently) they get added to your mailing list. I was delighted to discover I had over 40 subscribers all of a sudden and then gutted to find out that was why – they didn’t opt in and given that you aren’t allowed to add folk to your list without their permission it seems a bit sneaky for mailchimp/paypal to do this without your knowledge. Now I don’t know who is a real subscriber and who isn’t and I’m actually scared to send out another newsletter!
Don’t know if this was ever addressed for you, but I got curious and found the following information on Mailchimp’s web site. Hopefully it helps you and others with this issue.
http://kb.mailchimp.com/integrations/other-integrations/integrate-paypal-with-mailchimp