Gmail has a new inbox and it may affect how your Emails get read even by your own opt in newsletter subscribers. So it is key that you take a look at your lists to see who your Gmail subscribers are (people who’s Emails end in gmail.com). And if you have a lot, follow my suggestions below to ensure your Emails go in the right tab for easy reading.
The change that I am talking about is Gmail’s new inbox tabs where Gmail automatically sorts Emails into tabs and separates Emails sent one-to-many (any Email you are not sending one at a time) they are put into either the updates or the promotion tabs instead of the primary tab. That enables the recipient of the emails
to only see Emails from their friends in the first Email General tab and puts everything else into the other tabs. In order for your Email to be in the first tab, you need to get your subscribers and clients to move your Emails into the first tab as soon as possible. Once they are moved one time, the rest of your communications to them will fall into the first tab instead of the updates and promotion tabs.
Although it’s still too early to tell what impact the new tabs will have on your email marketing, here are some steps you can take to make sure your Emails are well read by your Gmail subscribers.
1) The first thing you can do is to continue to send relevant, valuable content to your subscribers. This is content people will look for regardless of which tab Gmail sorts it into. If your content is worth following, your subscribers will move it to a tab that is best for them.
NOTE: From what we can tell so far, it does look like Constant Contact emails will show up in either the Promotions or Updates tab at this time.
2) Next, you may consider sending an email to your Gmail subscribers showing them how to move your emails from the promotion or update tabs to the Primary tab.
Here’s a sample email that you can modify to match the voice of your company or copy and paste (just be sure to make changes where appropriate) and then send it to your Gmail subscribers. It explains the recent changes to Gmail’s inbox and what your customers should do to move your emails into their Primary tab in order to be sure to see them monthly.
Here’s the sample email you can use:
*Change the bold sections appropriately for your situation before sending
Subject line: Did Gmail put this email where you want it?
[Dear customer/first name],
As you may know, Gmail recently rolled out a newly designed inbox. If you’ve been using the new design, you also know your emails are now being sorted into three tabs — Primary, Social, and Promotions — with two additional tabs, Updates and Forums, available from the Configure inbox section of your Gmail Settings.
You may also have noticed that [my/our] emails, maybe even this one, now appear in your Promotions or Updates tab. If you’d rather the emails [I/we] send end up in your Primary tab it’s simple to tell Gmail where these emails should go.
Here’s how:
*Drag and drop my email into your Primary tab and click “yes” when Gmail asks if you’d like future messages from this email address to go to your Primary tab.
That’s it!
[I/We] hope this information helps. If you have any additional questions please let [me/us] know.
Thanks!
[Your name/Business Name]
That should do the trick!
Now here’s how to create a list of your Gmail subscribers
Go to the Contacts section of your Constant Contact or your Email account. Search for email addresses ending in “gmail.com” and save the search results as a new list which you can label “Gmail Subscribers.” Then you’ll be able to send this email to just your Gmail subscribers while your subscribers using other Email services are not confused.
Aside from teaching your customers about Gmail’s new inbox, it has never been more important to offer relevant, helpful content that your customers feel is helpful and relevant to their lives. Do not just send out coupons and or specials since you customers are not always in the market for buying. You still want to keep in touch in between sales with advice and tips to make their lives better. So consider including the type of information that is helpful so that your customers and leads will be motivated into moving your monthly or bimonthly communications into their primary tab.
3) Remember that Gmail is also sorting social media in a tab, so be sure to share your newsletter on your social media using social share on top of your Email. It helps your Emails get read by non-subscribers and friends of your fans, as well as allowing them to share your newsletters with their friends using their social network. And make sure you have a “sign up for your newsletter” in your newsletters so anyone seeing it in a friend’s social newsfeed can sign up to get your tips and specials. And always remember to put your phone number so they can reach you for your services any way they like to communicate.
If you do get sorted into the promotion or update tabs, remember that readers will still be looking there when they want to purchase or if they are looking for an Email but it will not default to their primary tab unless you take some action.
Liz Harsch, has been helping small and medium sized businesses make the most of their marketing investments since 1988. Her company, Tailor-Made Advertising is an Authorized SCORE workshop presenter and an awarded Constant Contact Email Marketer and Authorized Local Expert presenting Workshops for Constant Contact, SCORE, SBDC, Metropolitan Water District, multiple Chambers of Commerce, The City of Los Angeles and other Organizations. For more information on how best to help your Emails get read and grow your list, contact us at tmade.mkt@verizon.net or call us at 310-791-6300. Let us know if you are interested in getting a FREE 60 Day trial of Constant Contact or if you are interested in a Webmatch Template to help your company be more successful with your EMail Marketing starting today.For more information about her company, visit tailormadeadvertsing.com.
