Jonathan YefetHave you ever thought about how the age, gender and the level of education of your email recipients affects your email marketing strategies and success? If you haven’t, shame on you! But if you have, pat yourself on the back! There are so many different factors that can affect you email marketing, and being neglectful of just one of them could really prevent you from achieving that high ROI you deserve (and have been striving for). That said, for those of you that are new to the email marketing game, and that are searching for a way to think about, understand and go about reaching your email audience through an email newsletter – this blog post is for you… But, it’s also for those email marketing vets out there, because it shares some unbelivable data that can ultimately shift the way you decide to reach your audience as well!
A new study by the folks at Fractl and Buzzstream surveyed about 1,200 people in the age range of 18 to 64. The study’s main goal: to learn about email preferences based on age, gender and and level of education. With this objective, they also hoped to find out whether “certain vocabulary and structure (should) be avoided” when constructing an email. Here are the study’s main takeaways:
1) Simple language rules!
Survey respondents of all education levels agreed that using an “advanced” vocabulary in an email is “slightly unacceptable.” Those with higher education levels cared less than those with lower ones, – and almost 20% of respondents at the highest education level declared that they found it “perfectly acceptable” for marketing emails to contain “advanced” and “widely unknown vocabulary.” But still, the takeaway is that simplicity rules!
2) Formalities rule! … for men
According to the study, when an email has a formal voice or tone, men respond well. As many as 50% more males in the study admitted to finding formal language persuasive, as compared to their female counterparts. Furthermore, 17% of men found formal emails to feel more authentic, as compared to only 10% of females that felt the same way.
3) Humor rules!
Though 15% more women than men admitted to enjoying humorous emails, both genders (more than 50% of each) agreed that humor is acceptable in an email. When it came to smiley faces, women in the study also favored it more than men, as 50% agreed that it’s acceptable compared to 43% of their male counterparts.
4) Slang drools! … Especially for young emailers
According to the study, about 40% of respondents aged 18-24 found “slang” (ttyl, btw, thx, etc) to be “Totally unacceptable.” Other age groups felt similarly about slang, but not as strongly as young adults. See infographic below for more details:
5) Informal rules! … Especially for females
Informal may not be the way to dress on a first date with a lady friend, but it certainly proves to be the best way to email with a lady friend. The study found that 45% more women than men find informal emails to be authentic. Both men and women in the study agreed that when sent an informal email, they are more likely to believe that the sender is “young,” “funny,” and “creative.”
In review: Use this knowledge wisely, and make your email marketing campaigns rule! … not drool!
To download the report, check out this link!
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