Newswise — Engineers and technical professionals overwhelmingly find value in work-related emails and e-newsletters from publications and vendors, according to new research from IEEE GlobalSpec Media Solutions and Trew Marketing, “Smart Marketing for Engineers.”

The survey of technical professionals of all ages and from all regions in the world uncovered a number of compelling findings that should prompt you to pump up your email marketing:

Eighty-seven percent of engineers subscribe to at least two e-newsletters.

Nearly 50 percent subscribe to four or more. Engineers in the EU subscribe to more e-newsletters than any other region, with 35 percent subscribing to six or more publications.

This means that engineers in every region of the world are regularly turning to e-newsletters as a resource for information on products, technologies, and vendors, as well as for industry news. It also means engineers are checking out the content from a variety of vendors. Your e-newsletter has to stand out from competitors by offering valuable, targeted content.

Engineers aren’t deleting your emails.

When they receive e-newsletters in their inbox, nearly 50 percent of engineers scan subject lines that intrigue them and delete the rest. Thirty-eight percent of engineers open most or all e-newsletters to scan for content or read every one. Very few engineers delete most e-newsletters automatically or filter them.

These results underscore the importance of your subject line. While by its nature very short, the subject line must be written with as much or more care than the rest of your e-newsletter. The most effective subject lines offer a compelling reason to open the email, such as important news, a new and relevant white paper, or a time-sensitive invitation.

Put effort into enticing as much of your audience as possible to interact with your email content. A subject line such as: “White Paper: Five Reasons Why Hydraulic Pumps Fail” promises important information to a targeted audience and will likely result in higher open rates.  “Registration Closes Friday for Webinar on Solar Cells” creates a sense of urgency.

Virtually all engineers find e-newsletters valuable.

Only five percent of engineers say that e-newsletters are not very valuable when seeking information on the latest engineering technologies, industry trends and products. The takeaway here is that if you want to connect with engineers during their buying process, meet them in their inbox using targeted, relevant emails. What about the five percent that don’t find e-newsletters valuable? We don’t understand them either. Maybe they’ve only experienced e-newsletters that haven’t been targeted to their information needs.

No matter how good an email marketer you are, at some point you’ll bump up against the limit of your effectiveness if you only send an e-newsletter to your own internal lists.

You can pump up your email marketing efforts and reach a broader yet still targeted audience by advertising in industry e-newsletters. Appearing in a third-party e-newsletter offers a number of advantages:

  • Your company can be associated with another respected and relevant brand in the industry that your audience relies on.
  • You can connect with hard-to-reach audiences in different markets and geographies.
  • Your media partner will handle all list management, email production, sending and tracking.
  • You can benefit from your media partner’s advice about placement, frequency, messaging, and also receive comprehensive reports about the performance of your advertisement.

For a deeper dive into the most effective ways to target highly technical audiences—not only through email, but also other digital channels—download your complimentary copy of the latest research from  IEEE GlobalSpec Media Solutions and Trew Marketing: “Smart Marketing for Engineers.”