Marketing | Black Wolf Editorial

I subscribed to a range of blogs and newsletters from a variety of sources. Recently, because of the sheer number of subscriptions that I have, I've starting clearing out these emails using my smartphone. There has been a trend to my behavior, and it is formulaic.

For some emails, I just hit delete, never getting past the subject line. Other emails, I skim through to the end, and still hit delete. There are a few that I'll actually click the links and read more.

Everyone will have their own criteria for hitting the delete button, and it really can be as simple as a mood factor. However, there appears to be some things that I honestly believe are person-independent.

Maybe it's time to break this right down.

Recently, I decided to run a little experiment, and recorded the results. I recorded how I reacted to certain newsletters and blog subscriptions that were delivered to my inbox.

It might sound boring, but trust me, you might find it enlightening.

17 minutes to go through 66 emails. That's an average 15 seconds an email. Of those 66 emails, only 11 survived in my inbox to be looked at later. 3 were marked as share with others, and 2 were flagged to look at in more detail. But of 66 emails, only 1 was actually read while checking emails (off screen, of course). That's not good odds for the carefully constructed message that found its way into my inbox. However, what you might find surprising is that majority of the deleted emails found the trash because the distribution list provider sent the emails in a format that I couldn't read on my iPhone.

Take a look at the sped up footage. I'm willing to bet that you go through your emails just as fast, if not faster.

Category Archives: Marketing

When Newsletters and Blogs Find the Trash

15 Seconds an Email