Mastering the message: a properly assembled e-mail message can be a valuable marketing tool

Let's put end to boring e-mails that get deleted as soon as they re opened, and stop all of the confusing messages conveyed through the virtual world. Let's promise to send only enticing messages that people enjoy seeing in their inboxes and are more than happy to share with others. Do they exist? Yes, of course. You've undoubtedly forwarded many of them yourself. But, these types of messages are rare--almost as rare as a bonafide Picasso at a Holiday Inn sale.

If you want people to actually read and act on your e-mail, you need to do three things:

1. Personalize your message to the recipient. A good e-mail distribution program allows you to send mass e-mails with each recipient's name in them. If you don't have such a program, a smaller number of personalized e-mails is far preferred to those addressed, "Hello everyone." When you're asking for people to do something for you--to act on what you are saying--you must make them feel that you care about them as individuals.

2. Be clear in your mind what it is you want the recipients of your e-mail to do.

3. Make it easy for your readers to act.

You might think all of this is obvious, but try to recall how many confusing e-mails you have received. (Yes, I know you've never sent one in your entire life, so we'll consider only those you have received.)

To best explain how to compose a better e-mail blast, let's look to an example. Say you want to get the word out about an opening you're hosting. You've put together a theme exhibit called "Red, White and Blue" to coincide with Independence Day. It will consist of artwork comprised of those colors or patriotic themes. Pretty straightforward, huh? But sending an e-mail with just the facts is downright boring. The point is to make your recipients anxious to visit your gallery in the middle of the summer.

A professional e-mail that has a good shot of being kept and shared consists of four parts. For our purposes, we are going to focus on e-mails for general consumption, not for the media.

PART 1: THE MEDIA RELEASE

Although this section will be at the end of your e-mail message, you should compose it first because it answers the major questions: who, what, when where, why and how. It brings clarity to your message. Make it interesting, and tie it into something else that is timely or in the news. In our example, the tie would be the Fourth of July. Double check to make sure you answer all of the major questions your reader might ask. I recently received a media release that was very handsome, but I could not tell what city the gallery was in! That's too much work for any reader.

Why do you have to write a media release if your e-mail isn't going directly to the media? In short, media releases today are consumed by more than the traditional press. Thus, my preference is for the term media release over press release. You'll post it in your media room on your Web site where it can be read by everyday folks. It will also be read by--and this is key--bloggers. Bloggers can be an instrumental ally if your news is of interest to their readers.

PART 2: THE PITCH

What you always need most is a good pitch. Try not to make the news all about you (the gallery). If it's all about what the gallery is doing, recipients will have a hard time figuring out where they fit in. Try to use the word you often, as if you are speaking directly to the recipient.

Here's how you might pitch to your friends and patrons:

Dear Sandra,

We sincerely appreciate your patronage and hope you can don your favorite red-white-and-blue outfit for our parade of patriotic art. Most importantly, we hope you're intrigued enough to share this message with everyone you know. Here's what's happening:

We at Golden Fine Art are shooting off fireworks of our own this summer. If you thought you were seeing red, look again. It's not just red--but red, white and blue in our gallery. All of the details are below in a media release. In a nutshell, we've gone crazy with patriotism, and our gallery is bursting with art in the colors of the flag. Sousa will play in the background, and we don't want you to miss the opening reception on Friday June 28 from 5 to 8 p.m. It just wouldn't be a party without you. Please come.

The Ask is the most important part. You'll never get what you don't ask for. You should allude to it in your opening paragraph, but you should also conclude with something like this:

PART 3: THE ASK

If you have enjoyed our exhibitions in the past, would you care to help us out? We have made it super easy for you to share this information with your friends, add to a newsletter or post on a blog. Simply copy and paste the letter and media release below, and pass it on. We depend on patrons like you to help get the word out about our gallery. It means a great deal to us and especially to our artists.

Thank you, in advance, for your help in spreading the word about "Red, White, and Blue."

Most sincerely,

PART 4: THE COPY-PASTE PITCH