That there are testing times ahead for everyone in email marketing is probably an understatement. ‘Probably’ is even a little doubtful as there’s no doubt we are all going to have to be at our sharpest in the weeks to come. At least it’ll be exciting. What we must not do is to abandon trusted methods in a frantic rush to increase returns. The situation doesn’t affect the trustworthiness of data.

The first hurdle to clear is email deliverability. If changes are started in a rush, there’s the risk of making matters worse. Go through the normal checklist of methods and content. The old truths remain, and the first requirement is to have a unified approach with a consistent presence throughout your business, whether online or not.

There might be a temptation to modify messages. For instance, should you be reassuring and exude confidence on your website, as, indeed, most companies seem to believe? You might not even mention Coronavirus. I’m fed up with it, and popups and banners with reassurances of everything going back to normal are all but invisible. Make your dependability clear in subtler ways. 

There’s the idea of putting some urgency in a marketing email by ramping up fear of missing out. After all, the emergency will cause shortages, right? Even if it is possible, don’t give into the temptation. Your customers will doubt you if it’s contrary to what most are saying. 

Coronavirus is of concern to many people, perhaps the majority, but using it merely as a meme to encourage those on your email marketing list to open an email betrays their trust. The Subject Line must relate to content. It’s about as true a truism as they get, and for a good reason.

You will want to tell the subscribers to your email marketing list that you are able to weather the storm. You’re taking their money. However, don’t waffle on in lots of words. You will have tested your image/copy ratio and found the optimum one. Stick with it.

The same goes for frequency, an easy subject to ignore when it comes to email deliverability. This might be because it is open to variation. If you have a campaign that lends itself to such tactics, you can up the rate for a short time, but that would be for specific purposes only. Got a backlog of stock that’s cluttering your shelves? It would be better to increase choice, either in the marketing email or as a click-through. Upping the frequency for no other reason than you want to sell is a risk. 

Frightened of an upsurge of unsubscribes? You probably are. However, the way to counter this is not to hide the unsubscribe button in small type in a coloured box in the bottom corner. You must continue to play fair. It’s brought you success so far.

You not only have sales to secure, but your reputation as well. Don’t abandon your principles. They have served you well over the years and now is, if anything, a time to reinforce them.