Shifts, among other factors, are driving how we connect with each other and the brands we support. What’s more, these innovations are changing the power of email, increasing the impact email marketers can make in the inbox.

Millennials are defined as those born between 1981 and 2000. Characterized as diverse, sceptical, altruistic, frugal, green, candid and adept at multitasking, Millennials are at the cutting edge of technology use.

Why should you care about Millenials? Because they look at us marketers with raised eyebrows. Millennials often confound marketers; they do not trust traditional marketing tactics, preferring to rely instead on friends, family or even strangers in the form of online reviews. What appeals to them is authenticity. They are not opposed to connecting with brands, but do so only when there is an exchange of value and, of course, when it is on their terms.

Pew suggests that 93 percent of this cohort spends regular and extended periods of time online. The Web has become their primary source of information, news, entertainment and a significant source of social interaction. Seventy-five percent of this group has a social media profile. In fact, they spend at least 50 percent more time social networking than any other major age group. Eighty-eight percent text regularly. Well over half, 55 percent, visited a social network at least once a day in 2010. More than 60 percent have a smartphone and only 41 percent have a landline telephone.

Marketing to Millennials is complex, but not impossible. Follow this guide:

• Act Fast:

If you have a Millennial’s attention, act on it quickly. This group tunes out traditional advertising and marketing. If they want something, they have instant ability through smartphones and the Web to get it.

• Ask the Right Questions:  

Millennials are less likely to answer personal questions about what they buy and why. Instead of asking which products are important to them, find out what is critical during the buying cycle.

• Build relationships:  

Millennials crave connection. It’s a good idea to avoid sending a promotion. Instead, send advice and relevant information.

sourced from Web Pro News

Using spammy phrases, like “Click here!” or “Once in a lifetime opportunity!”

Going crazy with exclamation points!!!!!!

USING ALL CAPS, WHICH IS LIKE YELLING IN EMAIL (especially in the subject)

Coloring their fonts bright red, or green

Coding sloppy HTML (usually from converting a Microsoft Word file to HTML)

Creating an HTML email that’s nothing but one big image, with little or no text (since spam filters can’t read images, they assume you’re a spammer that’s trying to trick ‘em).

Using the word “Test” in the subject line (agencies run into this all the time, when sending drafts to clients for approval)

Sending a test to multiple recipients within the same company (that company’s email firewall can only assume it’s a spam attack)

Designing HTML email in Microsoft Word, and exporting the code to HTML (that code is sloppy, and spam filters hate it)

I found these on MailChimp  – some very good guidelines.

Really consider getting a professional, whether us or somebody else…preferably us of course…to create a professional web presence and don’t throw your money down the drain.

It will be money well spent

During a recent password audit, it was found that an office worker was using the following password: 

“MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofyLondon”

When asked why she had such a long password, she said she was told that it had to be at least 8 characters long and include at least one capital.

5. Don’t let your email or phone rule you. Ever been having a conversation with someone, their cellphone rings and they just silence it without breaking contact with you. They don’t even check to see who it was. How’s that make you feel? Important? Valued? What about the opposite: You’re meeting someone in their office and the phone rings or an email arrives (bing!), and they interrupt the conversation to answer the phone or check that message. How’s that make you feel? Second-rate? Second-fiddle?

( insert taken from Geoffrey Web – 10 Rules of Tech-etiquette)

Call to action:

Questions to ask: Does my email ask the reader to do anything? If not, why am I sending it?

Oh. Call to action point   – so you purposefully send an email where no action is required and it is for information only, tell everyone that. “No action required. For information only.” That is as good a call to action as asking someone to actually do something.

Assume nothing:

You have to assume nothing. So let the reader know what thinking has gone on behind the scenes.

Does the reader need to know that the project won’t succeed if the Postal Service strikes or that everything depends on a tsunami not happening in the next 100 years or that if Greece declares bankruptcy the entire firm will implode?

Oh. In addition. When following up, don’t assume everyone remembers everything you’ve said up to this point (nor expect them to scan all the thread to catch up). If you’ve got any worries that an acronym, term, or reference is going to elicit a confused moment, just explain it.

Make sure you ask yourself:

Am I relying on what the audience knows or what I think they ought to know?

Am I omitting anything from the reader unintentionally?

If so, why do I want to surprise them later on?

Emails are not like birthday gifts. Surprises are not good. Avoid them.

For more reading – source:
http://brucemctague.com/email-protocol-avoiding-screwups

Think twice before replying to just say thank you.
Some people don’t want an email that says “thanks”. This takes additional energy to open the email and read it just to read what you already know. A new trend is to include a line that says NTN – No Thanks Needed.

Make the subject line useful. A good subject line provides a useful summary of the email’s content, preparing the reader quickly. Email inboxes are frequently swamped, so a good subject line helps the recipient determine the priority of your email. It also helps to prevent your email from being deleted before it has even been read. Since the subject is the first thing your recipient sees, keep it error free, concise, and avoid generic lines such as “Hi,” “What’s up,” or the recipient’s name (the latter may be blocked by anti-spam filters).

Sources:
http://www.emailmanagement.com.au

http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Email-Etiquette