{"id":8292,"date":"2019-08-27T15:10:46","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T15:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gosquared.com\/blog\/?p=8292"},"modified":"2022-02-24T14:20:42","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T14:20:42","slug":"uncanny-valley-email","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gosquared.com\/blog\/uncanny-valley-email","title":{"rendered":"The Uncanny Valley of email"},"content":{"rendered":"

GoSquared helps companies master their data to get closer to their customers and grow their business faster. We specialise in data-backed marketing and our suite of tools range from Analytics<\/a>, to Live Chat<\/a>, to Automation<\/a>. We\u2019d love to help you out. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"uncanny<\/p>\n

We can’t be the only ones who\u2019ve noticed an influx of automated plain-text emails from brands and businesses.<\/p>\n

The trend consists of little-to-no design (plain-text) and a very personal tone. Whilst we can appreciate the efficiency of a quick no-frills email – it feels strange somehow.<\/p>\n

We started discussing this back at the start of July.<\/p>\n

\"plain<\/p>\n

After sharing a few examples and chat ranging from \u201cshould we be doing this too?\u201d to \u201cit\u2019s just at the point where you question it\u201d and through to \u201cyou feel so conned, right?\u201d we checked out the original emails and sure enough they were all sent using an email marketing tool.<\/p>\n

A few weeks later we noticed one of these plain-text emails had an added signature. It seems we weren\u2019t the only ones confused as to whether these emails were legit or not.<\/p>\n

\"email<\/p>\n

This uncertainty of whether these are coming from an individual or an automated account is what makes these plain-text emails so frustrating.<\/p>\n

Mass email isn\u2019t personal<\/h3>\n

There\u2019s nothing authentic or human about mass email. But that doens’t mean there’s anything wrong with mass email in the right context and the right consideration (we’ll get into those later).<\/p>\n

Pretending that mass email is personal will start to undermine the hard work you’ve put in to make your brand feel authentic.<\/p>\n

Be honest about it. Be upfront about it. You aren\u2019t emailing me specifically so don\u2019t write in a way that\u2019s trying to come across as a one-to-one conversion.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not convinced you\u2019re emailing me directly, but I\u2019m confused enough to question if you are.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is not the way to start a relationship with a new customer.<\/p>\n

After this we started to compare this feeling to the Uncanny Valley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Uncanny Valley is what people call that unsettled feeling you get when you see a robot that looks very human-like, but not quite enough to be convincing. And that description fits these emails perfectly.<\/p>\n

Human-like, but not quite enough to be convincing<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Is this from a person? Is this automated? Am I meant to reply? Do I reply as if the recipient is a bot or a human? These emails sit awkwardly in a social space that you\u2019re not sure how to handle.<\/p>\n

Be careful about damaging existing relationships<\/h3>\n

\"damaging<\/p>\n

The unsettling feeling is even worse when you\u2019ve met the person sending the emails because that in-person social connection you felt you had disappears when it seems you\u2019re just another name on an impersonal mailing list.<\/p>\n

The act of questioning whether the email is sent directly to you, or to you amongst many others, is what spurs this reaction.<\/p>\n

How you manage this will depend on how your company works with customers or clients. The more personal a relationship the more damage your plain-text marketing emails could have. When someone has met you and exchanged emails they\u2019ll be able to tell quicker than most when it\u2019s a mass email disguised as personal.<\/p>\n

Not all plain-text emails are created equal<\/h3>\n

Sometimes they really are an efficient, surprising way to capture the readers attention and get communications out of the door without needing a designer and to fiddle about with templates.<\/p>\n

We’ve spoken about how they can be a useful part of a sales-funnel<\/a> before and stand by that. But without getting the tone and style right you might leave your recipients more confused and less engaged than they were before the email.<\/p>\n

Something like the below example from Hiten Shah gets it right. The tone is the same as he uses across all his content. It\u2019s clear these emails are going to thousands, but the plain design still does its job of making the reader look twice before skipping on or hitting delete.<\/p>\n

\"email<\/p>\n

So how can we be more transparent?<\/h2>\n

\"be<\/p>\n

It\u2019s impractical to suggest that every single customer, newsletter subscriber, and audience member should receive an entirely personalised email.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not going to suggest that you spend every waking hour writing truly personalised emails. But, we are going to give a few tips on how to use plain text emails in a way that feels authentic and trustworthy.<\/p>\n

Be honest and be clear<\/h3>\n

\"be<\/p>\n

We believe the best way forward is to make sure your recipient knows that this is a mass-email. like the above example you can still have a real person on the other end to get any replies, but make sure they know it\u2019s automated.<\/p>\n

You can write in a friendly and casual tone without being over-familiar. Keep your style consistent with the rest of your copy on your site instead of turning to how you might normally speak one to one. Friendly, colloquial language is great if that suits your business, but make sure it\u2019s clear that this isn\u2019t written for an individual, even if you are using mail merge to show their name at the top of the email.<\/p>\n

Keep it simple. Be clear when you’re sending a marketing email, and be clear when you’re sending a personal email. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It does have to be clear.<\/p>\n

That clarity is important to build trust and not have people questioning your brand’s authenticity. No one wants to feel like they\u2019ve been duped by a marketing bot.<\/p>\n

Think about your audience<\/h3>\n

\"think<\/p>\n

The tech-savvy amongst us were (fairly) quick to see that these were automated emails designed to look personal. But what if your mum received this? Your granddad? Or just anyone who is less familiar with marketing automation tools?<\/p>\n

How much time would they spend trying to remember where they know the sender from and writing out a polite reply?<\/p>\n

Would your audience react kindly to an automated marketing email, or are your services and products not suitable for that kind of communication?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t rely on the receiver thinking that it\u2019s a personalised email if your company prides itself on a personal touch. A customer who sees through this will likely have a more negative reaction than if they hadn’t received anything at all.<\/p>\n

Consider data protection regulations<\/h3>\n

\"think<\/p>\n

These rules will vary depending on the region you\u2019re in and where you\u2019re sending the emails to. It\u2019s worth checking what the regulations are regarding communications coming from a company. Not only do regualators care more about privacy and data protection<\/a>, but the public do too.<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of things to think about:<\/p>\n