Novamedia blog

One of our services is email marketing. It's really effective for many of our clients and brings some good and measurable results to them as part of their overall marketing mix.

There are various things that make up a good email campaign. In this article I am concentrating on just one of those aspects – the 'from name'.

It's not rocket science this one is it? If you want people to open up the email you are sending them then make sure that they recognise who it has come from.  If they all know who you are personally then you could use just use your name but if there are some who may not know you or recognise your name immediately in an email then don't risk it. Use you company name and possibly your own name as well to make it more personal.

For example, if you received an email from 'John Smith' (OK I know, it's not very imaginative) you may consign it to the deleted folder right away. However, if it was from 'Apple Store – John Smith' then you may well remember John from the Apple Store and open his email. Even if you don't know John, you might still open it seeing as it come from the Apple Store and then you might well click through to their website and buy a couple of pounds of Cox's Orange Pippins (or whatever apples take your fancy).

In many cases, it may just be pertinent to use the company name and this is probably the most common form of from name that we use. Allied to a good subject line this is probably the most effective way of getting people to open your email. Recipients will recognise the company name and, if it a name they trust they are far more likely to open the email.

It could also be argued that people receive so much crap in their inboxes these days that a simple company name, uncomplicated by extra stuff such as the sender's name, will stand out and be easily recognised amongst the rest of the garbage in a person's inbox.

Also bear in mind that the way people have their email software set up, the whole of the from name might not be visible – the end may be cut off. So a short, pithy from name is also preferable from this point of view.