Email can be a long and drawn out process if advertisers are carefully crafting and sending each message to specific segments of consumers. This is why many brands make use of trigger email in their marketing campaigns – it simplifies the whole process.

However, when marketers automate any part of their initiatives, they run the risk of alienating their customers. No one wants to receive messages that were blatantly automated as they generally seem to be less relevant. Unfortunately, this issue is all too common when it comes to triggered emails.

The key is to put systems in place to avoid annoying customers in the first place. Eventful, a company that helps customers find local concerts, shows and other entertainment, employed an automated system that helped lift engagement rates without losing subscribers.

When prospects subscribe, they fill out a profile that details where they live and the types of events they are interested in. When Eventful finds a match, the person is emailed automatically. However, the organization has systems in place to prevent customers from being spammed if they have broad tastes or live in a major city with events all the time.

"Subscribers scheduled to receive more than one alert on a given day will instead receive an email with the alerts consolidated into one message," MarketingSherpa notes.

"Eventful uses a distribution engine that monitors the number of Eventful emails subscribers receive through this program and others. Send times can be adjusted based on the number of emails a subscriber recently received, the company's marketing objectives or subscribers' behavioral patterns," the news source adds.

The results of Eventful's trigger email campaign speak for themselves. Of the 7.5 million automated alerts sent last year, the open rate was in the 40 percent range, while click-through hit 60 percent – significantly above the single-digit open and click rates observed in typical campaigns.

Marketers need to think from the perspective of a customer when creating promotional efforts. Whether it's an automated email campaign or a direct mail initiative, it's crucial advertisers don't pester or annoy prospects. There is a difference between staying in touch or encouraging readers to take action and spamming them.