
We’ve noticed some email marketing trends emerging in reaction to Covid-19. Some emails getting it right and some others not so much. The implication for businesses differs: for some to communicate is valid and relevant and for others, communicating about Covid-19 just adds to the noise.
Rule of thumb, you should be communicating if:
- You’re cancelling or postponing an event
- You’re changing your policies with regards to visitors or shoppers
- You have a system outage
- You’re cancelling flights/hotels/appointments
- You’re a healthcare provider
- People are looking to you for thought leadership
- You’re offering a genuine solution that helps (for example online learning, apps that help with communication, collaboration, wellness)
Key take away:
Pause, reflect, don’t click “send” unless it’s 100% necessary. Don’t send email for the sake of sending email.
Email tone - be a human being.
Avoid over-used language which is starting to come across as fake sympathy: “Out of an abundance of caution,” “Unprecedented times,” “We’re in this together.”
Email content - take care of relationships with your customers
Unless your product or solution is directly related to helping people now (medical or otherwise) move away from emails that are all about new client acquisition.
Remember to check and adjust the content of your email automations too.
Planning - agility is key
You can comment days, maybe a week in advance. Afford yourself the ability to quickly change plans if there’s a better option. You may switch your communications to visuals that are more relevant to lockdown and being cognisant that many people aren’t in social situations right now.
Keep your brand sentiment positive
Hop on over here and see some of the better examples of Covid-19-related emails:
https://reallygoodemails.com/categories/emergency/
https://reallygoodemails.com/blog/how-to-be-a-human-marketer-in-a-pandemic-like-covid19/
Links for further reading:
Read this FAQ page over on Linked in from Skylar Holobach, Senior Manager, Salesforce Privacy & Abuse https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/email-time-covid-19-faq-page-skyler-holobach/?trackingId=I2XrLdJ7YaI1m5X5%2Blc56A%3D%3D
Check out Litmus’s webinar on emailing in a crisis: https://litmus.com/blog/best-practices-for-email-marketing-during-a-crisis-webinar-recording-qa
On Spamtacular: https://www.spamtacular.com/2020/03/16/policy-practicum-covid-19/

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