Chapter 1 Overview of EDM

1.1 Introduction

EDM, short for Electronic Direct Mail, refers to a strategy that utilizes email as a digital medium to send customized messages to target audiences for specific marketing purposes. As a crucial component of digital marketing, EDM plays a pivotal role in facilitating communication between enterprises and their customers. EDM comes in various forms, including promotional emails, newsletters, product recommendations, event invitations, and after-sales services. Compared to traditional marketing methods, EDM boasts advantages such as broad coverage, low cost, strong customizability, and trackable data, making it an increasingly popular choice among enterprises for customer acquisition, relationship maintenance, and sales enhancement.

The success of EDM hinges on multiple factors. Firstly, selecting the appropriate target audience is paramount. Enterprises rely on data analysis and user personas to identify the most receptive audience for such emails, ensuring effective message dissemination. Secondly, email content must be concise, attention-grabbing, and include clear calls-to-action (CTAs) to guide users towards desired actions. Personalized content tailored to users' historical behaviors and interests is equally important, as it significantly enhances user engagement and conversion rates. Furthermore, choosing the right sending time is crucial for maximizing open and click-through rates, necessitating enterprises to optimize their sending strategies based on target audience behavior patterns.

EDM's widespread adoption is primarily attributed to its cost-effectiveness. Compared to other marketing channels, EDM boasts lower production and distribution costs while offering global reach, significantly expanding enterprises' market penetration. Additionally, EDM offers precise targeting capabilities, allowing enterprises to leverage detailed user data to lock in potential customers and enhance marketing outcomes. Its measurable performance makes EDM a transparent and controllable marketing tool. With professional email marketing tools, enterprises can track and analyze data such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates for each email, enabling prompt adjustments and optimizations to marketing strategies.

Despite its numerous advantages, EDM faces challenges like user resistance to advertising emails, anti-spam mechanisms employed by email service providers, and the need for continuous content optimization to sustain user interest. Furthermore, with stricter privacy protection regulations, enterprises must exercise caution in acquiring and utilizing user data to ensure compliance.

However, EDM's future development necessitates attention to user privacy and data security. As global data privacy regulations tighten, enterprises engaging in email marketing must ensure compliant data usage and implement necessary measures to protect user privacy. Additionally, users' expectations for personalized content continue to rise, prompting enterprises to innovate in email content and marketing strategies to maintain user interest and engagement.

Qianji Investment Bank believes that EDM, as a mature and efficient digital marketing tool, will remain pivotal in enterprises' marketing strategies. With technological advancements, particularly in artificial intelligence and big data, EDM's personalization and automation will further enhance, necessitating proactive responses from enterprises to maximize email marketing effectiveness.

1.2 Development History

EDM, or Electronic Direct Mail, has evolved significantly over the years, shaped by technological advancements and shifting market demands. From its humble beginnings as simple email notifications to today's highly personalized and automated marketing tool, EDM has undergone remarkable transformations.

The history of email dates back to the early 1970s, with Ray Tomlinson sending the first email in 1971, marking the dawn of the digital communication era. However, true email marketing did not emerge immediately. It wasn't until the 1990s, when the internet gained popularity and email became a mainstream communication tool, that businesses began experimenting with this channel for marketing purposes. Early EDM forms consisted primarily of simple text-based emails informing customers about product updates or promotions, often sent in bulk without personalization or market segmentation considerations.

As technology progressed and the internet matured, email marketing became more sophisticated and effective by the early 2000s. Marketers recognized the importance of market segmentation and began leveraging user data for email personalization. Simultaneously, the advent of HTML emails enabled content beyond mere text, incorporating images, links, and rich formatting, significantly enhancing user experience. Companies began to view EDM as a vital marketing strategy, investing more resources in optimizing email content and sending strategies.

Entering the 2010s, EDM entered a new phase fueled by the rapid development of big data, artificial intelligence, and automation technologies. Marketers could now precisely target audiences by analyzing vast user data, leading to more efficient and intelligent EDM campaigns with personalized content and automated workflows. For instance, behavior tracking enables enterprises to trigger relevant marketing emails based on users' website activities, significantly boosting user engagement and conversion rates.

EDM's evolution has also been accompanied by stricter regulations. Amid growing global concern for data privacy, countries have enacted laws such as the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California's Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). These regulations require explicit user consent for email marketing and transparent data handling, prompting enterprises to prioritize compliance and adopt more cautious strategies for data collection and management.

In the 2020s, EDM has emerged as a vital communication tool between enterprises and customers, with technological advancements enhancing its personalization and intelligence. AI and machine learning technologies enable enterprises to uncover users' latent needs from vast data sets and boost user loyalty through targeted content delivery. Additionally, with the rise of multichannel marketing, integrating EDM with other digital marketing channels like social media and content marketing has become a trend, fostering a closed-loop omnichannel marketing ecosystem.

Qianji Investment Bank believes that EDM will continue to play a pivotal role in digital marketing as technology advances. Enterprises should explore new technological applications like natural language processing and real-time data analysis to further elevate EDM's personalization and marketing effectiveness. Amid stricter data privacy regulations, enterprises must ensure compliant email marketing practices to uphold user trust and maintain brand reputation.

1.3 Current Development Status

Email marketing (EDM) has undergone significant development and evolution in recent years, consistently proving its resilience as a potent marketing tool despite periodic declarations of its obsolescence. Neither the emergence of new social media platforms nor the rise of other digital channels has shaken EDM's core position in marketing strategies.

According to a global survey by HubSpot, there are currently 4 billion daily email users, providing a vast audience base for EDM. Additionally, 37% of brands are increasing their email marketing budgets, indicating their continued emphasis on this channel. With the proliferation of smartphones, most marketers have incorporated mobile-friendly emails into their strategies to ensure seamless user experiences across devices.

Segmented emails particularly excel in open and click-through rates. Data reveals that segmented emails achieve 30% higher open rates and 50% higher click-through rates than non-segmented ones, emphasizing the importance of personalized content. By segmenting audiences and offering tailored content, marketers can significantly enhance user engagement.

Regarding marketing frequency, most marketers send 2-3 emails daily, while 12% send one email weekly. Over the past 12 months, 77% of marketers have reported increased email engagement, suggesting email's enduring user stickiness despite new marketing channels.

EDM's strength lies in its return on investment (ROI). Quality assurance (QA), A/B testing, and spam testing can significantly boost email marketing ROI. According to Litmus, tested email campaigns can increase ROI by up to 28%, reinforcing EDM's position as an efficient marketing channel.

Specifically, marketers report average email open rates of 46-50% and click-through rates of 2.6-3%. Furthermore, emails with images enjoy nearly 10% higher open rates, underscoring visual content's appeal. Regarding email deliverability, data indicates that Google achieves an average delivery rate of 95%, followed by Microsoft at 91%, Yahoo at 81%, and AOL at 76%. Overall, the average email delivery rate stands at 85.7%, demonstrating that most emails successfully reach inboxes.

In conclusion, while EDM is no longer a sole or exclusive marketing channel, it remains a potent tool, particularly excelling in conversion rates. Qianji Investment Bank believes that with technological advancements and growing personalized demands, EDM will continue to play a pivotal role in the future. Enterprises should optimize their email strategies, particularly through segmentation and personalization, to maximize marketing effectiveness.

Chapter 2 EDM Cases

2.1 Successful Cases

Email marketing (EDM) has become an integral part of many enterprises' digital marketing strategies. Through personalized content and precise targeting, EDM effectively enhances customer engagement and conversion rates. The following successful EDM cases demonstrate its potency and offer valuable marketing insights for other enterprises.

Alibaba

Alibaba leverages its vast B2B platform data to send customized supplier recommendations via email to enterprise buyers. This strategy shines during large exhibitions. For frequent electronic component buyers, Alibaba sends relevant supplier booth information and special offers, significantly boosting email click-through rates by 30% and transaction rates by 12%. Alibaba's success stems from its deep data analytics capabilities, providing buyers with the most relevant information to enhance email effectiveness and conversion rates.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi employs email as a key tool in its fan marketing strategy. Before new product launches, Xiaomi sends exclusive previews and pre-order discounts to its 'Mi Fans' database. These emails detail product features and offer limited-time promo codes, piquing user interest and participation. Internal data shows that this strategy boosts Xiaomi's initial sales-out rates by 25% and email forwarding rates by three times the industry average, indicating compelling content that sparks sharing and amplifies marketing impact.

Ctrip

Ctrip implements highly personalized email marketing by analyzing users' search histories and travel preferences. For frequent searchers of Japanese hot springs, Ctrip sends off-season special deals, significantly raising email open rates to 45%, far above the travel industry average. Booking conversion rates also surge by 18%. Ctrip's success underscores the importance of personalized content and timing in enhancing email marketing effectiveness.

NetEase Cloud Music

NetEase Cloud Music weekly sends users 'Private FM' emails with personalized playlists based on their listening habits. Besides song recommendations, emails share fun data insights like users' most listened-to genres and listening times. This creative personalization reportedly lifts weekly user activity by 15% and paid conversion rates by 8%, showcasing how tailored music recommendations enhance user engagement and loyalty.

SF Express

SF Express emails corporate clients value-added services like regular logistics analysis reports. These reports detail shipment volumes, average transit times, and cost analyses, offering tailored logistics solutions based on clients' shipping patterns. This Value added service emails have helped SF Express increase the renewal rate for corporate customers 20%， At the same time, the unit price per customer has also increased 15%。 By providing valuable, needs-based content, SF Express fosters client loyalty and business growth.

Zhihu

Zhihu daily sends users 'Daily Picks' emails featuring high-quality Q&A content tailored to their interests. Emails also suggest related paid courses or e-books. This content-driven marketing boosts daily active users by 12% and knowledge-based payment conversion rates by 7%, demonstrating how consistent quality content paired with commercial recommendations enhances user activity and revenue.

Didi Chuxing

Didi sends 'Travel Reports' emails summarizing users' ride data, like total mileage and peak usage times. Based on user habits, emails recommend services like ride-sharing or express rides. This data-driven marketing significantly raises user stickiness, increasing weekly active users by 20%. Didi's success lies in personalized data presentations and recommendations that deepen user reliance and frequency.

WeChat Reading

WeChat Reading monthly emails users 'Reading Reports' detailing reading hours, completed books, and more. Based on reading preferences, emails suggest new books. This personalization enhances reading experiences, reportedly lifting average reading hours by 15% and paid membership conversion rates by 10%. By understanding reading habits and offering tailored advice, WeChat Reading boosts user engagement and paid subscriptions.

Meituan Takeout

After order completion, Meituan Takeout promptly emails 'Evaluation Reminders' encouraging users to rate restaurants and riders. Emails include quick rating options and detailed evaluation links. This timely feedback mechanism raises user evaluation rates by 40%, enhancing platform service quality and user interactivity.

Tencent Video

Tencent Video regularly emails members 'VIP Privileges' detailing monthly exclusive content and benefits. Emails also offer personalized viewing suggestions, reportedly lifting subscription renewal rates by 15%. By regularly reminding members of their privileges, Tencent Video strengthens loyalty and renewals.

Ant Fortune

Ant Fortune (formerly Yu'ebao) effectively enhances users' asset management capabilities by sending monthly financial management reports via email. These emails include users' earnings, financial product analysis, and personalized financial advice, helping users better understand and manage their portfolios. Furthermore, the emails recommend financial products based on users' risk preferences, making them both educational and marketing tools. This strategy reportedly increased users' average managed assets by 30% and product conversion rates by 10%. This success demonstrates that combining financial education with personalized marketing can significantly boost user engagement and loyalty.

Pinduoduo

Pinduoduo utilizes its "group buying" model to send users "one more needed" group purchase reminders via email. These emails contain product information, countdowns, and direct links to participate, aiming to create urgency. This urgency-driven marketing strategy increased email click-through rates by 40% and group buying success rates by 35%. Pinduoduo's success showcases how emails can motivate users to take action within a limited time, especially in social shopping scenarios, significantly enhancing engagement and conversion rates.

Bilibili

Bilibili successfully boosts user activity and viewing time by sending "Monthly Highlights" emails. These emails recommend high-quality videos based on users' viewing history and include updates from followed UP creators. This personalized content strategy reportedly increased users' average daily viewing time by 18% and activity by 15%. Bilibili's approach proves that using user data for personalized email recommendations can significantly enhance user stickiness and platform activity in content recommendation.

Dianping

Dianping effectively sends location-based and search history-tailored discount emails for nearby restaurants. For example, frequent sushi searchers receive coupons for new sushi restaurants nearby. This localized email marketing strategy increased coupon redemption rates by 40% according to internal data. Dianping's success demonstrates how personalized and relevant content pushes can enhance user engagement and conversion in localized marketing.

Vipshop

Vipshop successfully reactivated "sleeping users" (long-inactive customers) by sending "Exclusive Offers" emails with high-discount products and free shipping. The emails also evoke emotional resonance by recalling users' shopping history. This strategy reportedly reactivated 25% of sleeping users. Vipshop's case shows that email outreach can effectively reactivate users, especially when content resonates emotionally and with past purchasing behaviors.

New Oriental

New Oriental combines content marketing with soft selling by sending "Study Methods" series emails to potential students, significantly boosting results. Each email shares a practical study tip and recommends related courses. This strategy increased subscription rates by 30% and course conversion rates by 15%. New Oriental's success demonstrates that combining educational content with promotional offers enhances user interest and conversion rates while providing value.

Keep

Keep's fitness app enhances user activity by sending "Weekly Exercise Reports" summarizing data like calories burned and workout duration. The emails recommend new training plans based on user preferences. This data-driven email marketing increased users' weekly active days by 25%. Keep's case shows how personalized, data-driven email content strengthens user loyalty and platform usage frequency.

Netflix

Netflix sends "New Arrivals" emails recommending films and series based on users' viewing history, boosting viewing time. These emails include trailers and one-click play links for convenient viewing. This personalized recommendation increased viewing time by 10% and first-week viewership of new shows by 25%. Netflix's success demonstrates how user data-driven personalization enhances content consumption frequency and user satisfaction.

Duolingo

Duolingo increases user retention through "Learning Streak" reminder emails displaying consecutive learning days and offering "Streak Freeze" to maintain daily habits. This gamified email strategy reportedly increased retention rates by 20%. Duolingo's case proves gamification's effectiveness in enhancing user engagement, especially in education and learning contexts.

Starbucks

Starbucks boosts member visits by sending "Birthday Month" emails with free drinks and bonus stars. These beautifully designed, celebratory emails encourage members to visit during their birthday month. This emotional marketing strategy increased visits during birthday months by 40%. Starbucks' success shows how emotional marketing and rewards enhance brand loyalty and spending intentions.

Booking.com

Booking.com sends "Price Drop" alerts for previously viewed hotels, including direct booking links and countdown timers. This real-time pricing email increased conversion rates by 28%, leveraging users' price sensitivity to prompt action.

Grammarly

Grammarly summarizes users' writing data in weekly writing reports, including vocabulary use and common errors. The emails offer improvement tips and trial access to premium features, converting 15% more free users to paid subscribers. This personalized content positively impacts user loyalty.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn sends "Career Opportunities" emails, recommending jobs based on users' backgrounds and skills. These emails include resume improvement tips and industry insights, increasing resume updates by 40% and job applications by 25%, fostering career progress.

Fitbit

Fitbit weekly sends health reports summarizing exercise data, sleep quality, and setting weekly goals. These emails recommend health articles, enhancing device usage by 25% and promoting long-term health management.

Etsy

Etsy sends "Market Trends" emails to sellers, analyzing popular categories and search keywords. These emails include success stories, motivating sellers and increasing activity by 20% and new listings by 15%, boosting platform merchandise and transactions.

UberEats

UberEats weekly sends "Weekend Foodie" emails recommending nearby restaurants based on ordering history. The emails include limited-time coupons and popular dish photos, boosting weekend orders by 30%, leveraging weekend spending habits.

Airbnb

Airbnb sends "Revenue Optimization" emails to hosts, offering pricing suggestions and booking rate improvement tips. These data-driven emails compare performance with similar listings, increasing hosts' average earnings by 15% and platform activity.

Canva

Canva sends "Design Inspiration" emails showcasing popular templates and trends, providing tips and tutorials. These creative emails increase average design sessions by 30% and paid conversions by 10%, showcasing content-rich emails' creative boost.

Coursera

Coursera sends "Learning Progress" emails summarizing course completion and recommending follow-up courses. This learning tracking increased course completion rates by 15%, encouraging continuous learning and engagement.

Spotify

Spotify annually sends "Year in Music" emails summarizing users' listening data. These beautifully designed emails facilitate social sharing, boosting engagement by 40% and social shares by 200%, enhancing platform loyalty and interactivity.

These cases showcase EDM's successful applications across sectors. Companies continuously explore and optimize email marketing strategies, leveraging precise data analysis for customized content or innovative designs for enhanced user experiences. As technologies advance and consumer needs evolve, businesses must continuously improve and innovate EDM strategies to maintain competitive advantages and maximize marketing effectiveness.

2.2 Failure Cases

EDM, a common digital marketing tool, has undergone significant technological advancements and market demand changes. Despite its widespread use and effectiveness, many enterprises still encounter failures. These cases offer valuable lessons, reminding businesses to balance technology application with user experience to avoid negative impacts. The following analyzes renowned EDM failures, revealing strategic, execution, and user management issues.

Ctrip

In 2016, Ctrip suffered due to aggressive email marketing. The company sent customized travel product promotions based on browsing and search history. However, imprecise algorithms led to irrelevant recommendations, even after bookings. Users complained of continued promotions despite unsubscribing, damaging Ctrip's reputation and leading to social media backlash.

Sina Weibo

From 2014 to 2015, Sina Weibo sent numerous emails, including "XX followed you" and "New private message." This strategy annoyed users, especially those not actively using Weibo, receiving spam-like ads disguised as notifications. This short-term gain harmed long-term user experience and brand image, prompting Weibo to adjust its strategy.

Uber

In 2014, Uber's aggressive email marketing in New York backfired. The company sent promotional emails to potential users' addresses, many without consent. Recipients viewed them as spam, leading to complaints and negative media coverage. Uber apologized and revised its strategy, damaging its New York reputation and expansion prospects.

Target

In 2012, Target's email marketing caused a privacy controversy. Using advanced analytics, Target predicted pregnancies and sent targeted baby product promotions. When a father discovered his teenage daughter received such emails, he complained. Later, he realized she was indeed pregnant, but Target's invasion of privacy sparked nationwide outrage and legal action, forcing Target to apologize and reassess its data usage.

Qianji Investment Bank believes these failures highlight the importance of balancing user privacy and experience in EDM strategies. Failing to consider user needs and feedback can undermine even advanced technologies and analytics.

Chapter 3: Free Email Services and Providers

3.1 Free Email Services

In today's digital age, email is essential for communication. Various free email services cater to diverse needs, offering basic functionalities and additional features like spam filtering, privacy protection, and seamless integration. The table below lists common free email services and their key features to aid users in selecting suitable options.

Figure: Introduction to Some Free Email Services

Source: Zichanxinxiwang, Qianji Investment Bank

In summary, these free email services cater to diverse needs, from basic messaging to advanced privacy protection. When selecting a service, users should consider storage capacity, feature integration, and privacy protection based on their usage habits and security requirements. Understanding these features empowers users to leverage email effectively for work and personal efficiency.

3.2 Major Service Providers

With the continuous development of digital marketing, Email Direct Marketing (EDM) has become an important channel for businesses to communicate with customers and promote products. Many foreign EDM service providers offer a rich range of features to meet the marketing needs of businesses of different sizes. Below is a brief introduction to several major EDM service providers and their characteristics.

Brevo (formerly Sendblue)

Brevo is a comprehensive email marketing solution suitable for businesses of various sizes. It not only provides email marketing services but also supports SMS bulk sending, email automation, CRM, and marketing automation. Known for its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface, Brevo supports various marketing automation needs, helping businesses efficiently manage and execute marketing campaigns.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is one of the most popular email marketing software globally, renowned for its user-friendly interface and rich template tools. Users can flexibly create marketing emails that align with their brand image. Additionally, Mailchimp offers powerful data analysis capabilities to help users optimize their marketing strategies. However, due to network and data privacy security restrictions, using Mailchimp in China may pose certain challenges.

Constant Contact

Constant Contact is a seasoned player in the email marketing tool market, offering a wide range of email marketing templates and lightweight marketing automation tools, particularly suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. With its user-friendly interface, simple operation, and no limit on the number of emails sent, it is ideal for businesses looking to quickly deploy email marketing campaigns. Thanks to its strong user support and ease of use, Constant Contact has a broad user base among SMEs.

AWeber

AWeber is a long-established email marketing service provider specializing in providing professional email creation tools and automated marketing services. AWeber's strength lies in its powerful data analysis capabilities, providing in-depth marketing reports to help users optimize their email strategies and enhance marketing effectiveness. For businesses seeking professionalism and data-driven decision-making, AWeber is an ideal choice.

Zoho Campaigns

Zoho Campaigns is an email marketing software designed specifically for market demands, offering free, standard, and professional versions suitable for businesses of various sizes. Zoho Campaigns boasts a rich feature set, including email marketing automation, A/B testing, and segmentation management. With flexible version options and no limit on the number of emails sent, Zoho Campaigns meets the diverse needs of various businesses.

Mailgun

Mailgun is an advanced EDM service provider specializing in email routing, real-time verification, and comprehensive analysis. It provides powerful email automation, analysis, and real-time monitoring capabilities, making it ideal for businesses requiring increased email sending volumes. Mailgun's strength lies in its efficient email delivery performance, significantly improving inbox placement rates and ensuring marketing messages reach target audiences.

MailerLite

MailerLite offers up to 12,000 free emails per month and supports up to 1,000 subscribers. The platform provides automated marketing features, detailed performance analytics, and social media integration, suitable for various marketing needs. Known for its simplicity and cost-effectiveness, MailerLite is a top choice for many SMEs conducting email marketing.

The above-mentioned foreign EDM service providers each have unique features, catering to the diverse needs of different businesses. From startups to large multinational companies, businesses can select suitable EDM tools based on their size and marketing objectives. Whether pursuing comprehensive features with Brevo or focusing on data analysis with AWeber, these tools help optimize email marketing strategies and enhance marketing effectiveness. As digital marketing evolves, selecting the right EDM service provider offers businesses strong support in fierce market competition.

Chapter 4 Efficient Usage

4.1 Avoiding Spam

In Email Direct Marketing (EDM), avoiding emails being classified as spam is crucial. Spam not only reduces email delivery rates but can also negatively impact brand reputation. To ensure marketing emails reach inboxes instead of spam folders, businesses must adopt a series of measures. Drawing on core information from references, here are effective strategies for avoiding spam in EDM.

Firstly, understanding the definition of spam is key. According to Netease's definition, spam typically lacks fixed characteristics such as company names, brand names, signatures, company URLs, or fixed links, and often has varying content per email. Another hallmark is mass sending. Therefore, avoiding sending the same content to numerous customers in bulk is essential. To enhance content diversity, businesses can use AI and RPA technologies to dynamically generate and vary email content, reducing the risk of being identified as bulk spam by filters.

Secondly, based on years of service experience, Qianji Consulting emphasizes the importance of understanding spam identification mechanisms. Email service providers often use content filtering, sender reputation assessment, and behavioral analysis to detect spam. In content filtering, email subjects, bodies, and attachments are crucial focus areas. Businesses should ensure content is formal and relevant, avoiding keywords or phrases that may trigger spam filters. In sender reputation assessment, businesses should use reputable sender email addresses and maintain good sending records. Behavioral analysis focuses on user interactions; enhancing content appeal to boost clicks and opens improves overall engagement rates.

Additionally, providing clear unsubscribe options and ensuring recipient consent are vital to avoiding spam labels. Users who cannot easily find unsubscribe links may mark emails as spam, affecting future delivery rates. Therefore, clearly listing unsubscribe links and respecting user choices by promptly processing unsubscribe requests is essential.

To further boost delivery rates, businesses should use trusted email servers and domains, enhancing email immunity and reducing spam filter risks. Trusted servers improve sender reputation and increase delivery success.

Finally, avoid sending emails to specific domain suffixes, like '.gov.cn' for government agencies, which have stricter spam filters. Such emails may lead to higher rejection and complaint rates, impacting overall marketing effectiveness. Qianji Investment Bank believes avoiding EDM spam requires businesses to consider multiple aspects, from understanding spam definitions to optimizing content and sender reputation, and providing user-friendly unsubscribe options. Following these strategies significantly boosts delivery rates and user engagement, ensuring successful email marketing campaigns.

4.2 Efficient Email Sending

In email marketing, efficient sending not only improves delivery rates but also reduces spam flagging, enhancing overall marketing effectiveness. To help marketers achieve this, here are key strategies combining core information and data from references.

Firstly, personalized and tailored email content is vital. Using recipients' names and providing relevant information based on their interests and needs enhances credibility and attention. Tailored content is more engaging and less likely to be flagged as spam.

Secondly, avoiding spam keywords ensures smooth delivery. Words like 'free,' 'earn money,' and 'discount' trigger filters; thus, they should be avoided. Also, limit excessive capital letters, exclamation marks, or links to prevent spam appearances.

Good sending frequency and user interaction are key. Excessive emails risk being marked as spam, affecting delivery. Encourage recipient engagement, such as replies, clicks, or subscriptions, to boost open and click rates, strengthening connections.

Monitoring and evaluating email performance optimizes sending strategies. By tracking delivery, open, click, and unsubscribe rates, marketers identify and address filtering issues. Analytics tools and reports from email marketing platforms provide insights for optimization.

Double opt-in ensures recipient consent, reducing unintended subscriptions and complaints, enhancing legitimacy and trust. Avoiding excessive attachments or large images also improves delivery rates. Since attachments and large content resemble spam or viruses, upload content to cloud storage and provide links in emails to reduce sizes and filtering risks.

Timely responding to complaints is crucial. Addressing them promptly avoids further complaints or account blocks, demonstrating customer focus and preserving brand image.

Tools like OpenAI ChatGPT for Gmail optimize content, avoiding spam flags. They auto-adjust content, providing real-time suggestions and feedback to enhance credibility and delivery rates. These tools streamline sending efficiency.

Extra measures include suggesting whitelisting sender accounts or domains and regularly changing templates with at least 5% differentiation. Sending from multiple domains and avoiding bulk sends further boost delivery and reduce complaints.

These strategies significantly enhance delivery rates and overall marketing effectiveness, ensuring messages are conveyed effectively and elicit desired responses.

4.3 Email Content

In Email Direct Marketing (EDM), designing and crafting email content is crucial for improving open and click-through rates. Here are important considerations for writing and designing EDM content.

Firstly, limit subject lines to 18 characters, avoiding symbols like '–', '!', or '…', which may cause display issues on different devices and clients, affecting user experience. For well-known brands, include the company name, e.g., 'NIKE Sports Fashion,' to boost recognition and attractiveness.

For text content and layout, keep it concise and focused on the core message. This enhances readability and click-through rates. Avoid sensitive or promotional words like 'free,' 'discount,' or 'special offer' to prevent spam filters. Use images for these words to reduce filtering risks.

Limit images to 8 per email, with each under 15KB. If the template is a single image, crop it into 2-3 smaller images with some text. This optimizes loading speed and visual appeal.

Limit links to 10 per email. If images share the same link, merge small images into one. Keep link lengths under 255 characters to avoid tracking issues or errors, impacting user experience and marketing effectiveness.

By following these design considerations, you can significantly improve EDM open and click-through rates while avoiding delivery failures due to content issues. These optimizations help your emails convey messages effectively and achieve marketing goals.

4.4 Precautions

Avoiding spam flags in Email Direct Marketing (EDM) is crucial. Here are key precautions to enhance email delivery and effectiveness.

Firstly, control sending frequency. Excessive emails risk being filtered as spam. Ideal frequency is 2-3 times weekly, or once daily at most. Avoid multiple emails from different accounts to the same recipient, as this may also trigger spam flags. Avoid subject lines with over 100% symbols.

Secondly, choose email openings carefully. Starting with 'Dear Sir' increases spam risk. While 'Dear' is generally acceptable, overly formal salutations like 'Sir Ian McKellen' trigger filters. Use friendlier salutations like 'Dear Gandalf' for safer delivery. Common spam trigger phrases like 'Do you want' or 'Do you have' should be avoided.

By following these precautions, you can reduce spam risks, enhancing EDM success. Ensure appropriate sending frequencies, choose suitable salutations, and avoid sensitive keywords. These measures help maintain audience connections, boosting open and engagement rates.

Chapter 5 Future Outlook

Despite challenges from social media and instant messaging, Email Direct Marketing (EDM) remains a crucial digital marketing tool. Looking ahead, EDM will continue to evolve, driven by technological advancements and changing user needs, presenting key trends.

First, personalization and customization will become the core driving forces of EDM. With the deepening application of big data and artificial intelligence technology, companies will be able to more accurately analyze user behavior and preferences, thereby customizing more personalized email content. This highly customized marketing strategy can not only increase user engagement but also enhance brand loyalty. Through automation tools, companies can adjust marketing content in real-time to ensure that every email accurately reflects users' needs and interests.

Second, automated marketing will continue to expand and deepen. Automation technology enables companies to trigger email sending through preset conditions and user behavior, achieving precise timing and content delivery. This not only greatly reduces the complexity of manual operations but also improves the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing activities. In the future, email automation will not be limited to simple time triggers but will also achieve more intelligent and personalized communication through more complex behavioral analysis.

Furthermore, with increasingly stringent privacy protection regulations, EDM will place greater emphasis on compliance. The protection of user data and respect for privacy rights will become non-negotiable responsibilities for companies. In the future, companies must handle user data more carefully and strictly comply with relevant regulations such as GDPR during marketing activities. This will prompt companies to adopt more transparent and compliant strategies in data collection, management, and use, ensuring user trust and brand reputation.

Lastly, multi-channel integrated marketing will become a significant trend in the future development of EDM. With users' increasingly diverse behaviors across different platforms and devices, a single-channel marketing strategy can no longer meet market demands. Future EDM will integrate with other digital marketing methods such as social media, content marketing, and search engine optimization to form a seamlessly connected omnichannel marketing ecosystem. This integration will help companies better capture and analyze user behavior, enabling them to develop more comprehensive and effective marketing strategies.

Qianji Investment Bank believes that EDM will continue to evolve in the future, with personalization, automation, compliance, and multi-channel integration as its primary development directions. If companies can keep up with these trends and continuously innovate and optimize their marketing strategies, EDM will remain a crucial component of their digital marketing mix, helping them stand out in the highly competitive market.

Editor: Sun Guangjun

Cover: AI Generated

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