Over the last few weeks our email inboxes have been filling up with Covid-19 email communication from many of our favorite businesses and organizations, and even those we haven’t heard from in years. Due to the pure volume of emails and wanting our messages to reach our audience, it’s important to know how exactly to navigate the email marketing landscape during these challenging times. 

I’ve worked on email marketing campaigns for several years now across a variety of industries and while many of the typical best practices remain constant, there are several tips to consider while navigating email communication during this "new normal."

1. First and foremost, make sure email is the right medium for the message you’re conveying. Some messaging may be better suited to a different communication channel, such as a post to your social media profiles. Every message or update doesn’t need to be delivered via email, so make sure you’re using the appropriate channels when updating individuals.

2. Before sending out emails make sure your email address database is up to date. Validating subscribers, updating information and removing inactive subscribers to keep your database current will ensure the correct people are receiving your message and will help with open and click through rates.

3. Speaking of open rates and click through rates, now is also the perfect time to experiment with the days and times you’re sending emails. With many more people working from home their new routines can change the way they’re interacting with email communication. I’ve noticed with Life Happens’ email communication that we’re seeing an increase in engagement metrics during late afternoon, as opposed to seeing stronger results during the early morning just a couple months ago. This can also be a great time to test out different segments of your list, as one message may not need to be communicated to your entire email list.

4. Keep it clean, clear and branded. We all may be adjusting the way we communicate via email but it’s important to continue to keep up your brand standards and make sure your designs and messaging are clear, concise and digestible. This includes your subject lines, body copy, imagery and calls-to-action (CTA).

5. Make sure you have the right tone. This has always been important in email marketing and communication but now more than ever it’s important to be aware of the message you’re conveying. You want to make sure your messaging is current, appropriate and doesn’t come off as tone-deaf in any way given the current landscape. It’s important to keep up your brand voice, but make sure to find the tone that will best fit with your subscribers’ needs.

6. Keep it positive and professional. Throughout the day there are so many opportunities for your subscribers to be on the receiving end of negative, scary and stressful news. It’s important to be the bright light keeping them positive during these times with your email messaging. Even if you yourself are feeling stressed, people want hope right now and conveying a positive tone in your email messaging will not only help them, but will likely make you feel better as well.

7. Make sure your information is timely and useful. Now more than ever it’s important that your email communication is timely, and the messaging will be useful to your subscribers. Now is not the time for unnecessary communication or filler emails, and you especially want to steer away from anything that may seem too salesy. Focusing on what consumers may perceive as useless information, or that they’re feeling overly sold, may leave a bad taste in their mouth during these times.

8. Don’t overwhelm your list. While it’s important to keep up communication and share relevant information, you want to make sure you’re not overloading their inbox with too many emails. Your subscribers are already receiving an abundance of emails from a variety of sources and sending too many emails will certainly lead to a decrease in engagement. If you have a lot of information to convey, you can always opt for a newsletter style email as opposed to multiple emails.

9. Get feedback from your subscribers. Now is the perfect time to find out just what type of communication and messaging your subscribers want to see. This can be as simple as sending out a quick email asking for feedback or engaging with those on your email list you have a great professional relationship with. Getting this type of feedback can help you adjust and utilize the right information for your emails.

10. And finally, your subscribers want to hear from you! They may not want to hear from you in the same ways or with the same messaging as before, but they still depend on you to relay the information they’ve subscribed to see. You may need to make adjustments, but once you find the right way to communicate for yourself or your company, your subscribers will be sure to appreciate what you’re sharing with them.