8 Mistakes to Avoid in Email Marketing
We all know the importance of a good website these days; they allow prospective customers to encounter our brand, learn about our service, and take the first steps towards making a purchase. However, the customer experience is ruined if a website doesn’t have relevant content, responsive design, fast page loading speeds, and other critical features…the same is true for email marketing.
Yes, it’s great to have an email marketing campaign because we have an efficient route to potential customers. On the other hand, you aren’t going to see the results you desire if your email marketing campaign isn’t effective. In fact, you’ll waste hours and hours refining a campaign that isn’t proven.
With this in mind, we’ve compiled some of the biggest mistakes we tend to see with email marketing. If you can avoid these mistakes, you’re instantly more likely to succeed.
#1: Putting Efficiency Over Effectiveness
Too often, marketers concentrate so much on being fast that they forget whether or not the process actually works.
Rather than launching and allowing the results to come in, they’re focusing all their attention on efficiency. In our opinion, you need to validate that a process works before focusing on getting it done quickly, and this is why effectiveness comes first.
At first, it may be a slower and more complex process but we think it’s better than trying to make something more efficient that hasn’t yet been proven. The important part is that we’re learning as we go. In marketing, this principle is very relevant to email marketing. It carries across all marketing, like producing relevant content for a specific audience, introducing responsive design, and more.
#2: Too Much Selling
Why are you emailing customers? Are you trying to get more traffic to your website, or do you want to generate sales? Either way, one of the most important factors that is often forgotten is the relationship you have with consumers. If every single email aims to sell, the consumer will feel as though you’re only after their money and this is detrimental to your goals. It’s fair to expect some sales-like emails from companies, but they also expect genuinely useful content at the same time.
Let’s say you run a shoe shop; this could begin with a regular newsletter. For example, the first could have an article on how to look after shoes and extend their life. Suddenly, the consumer will feel happy that they signed up because you’re providing value. As you provide tips, the customer is engaged and is then more likely to pay attention to your sales emails. Open rates increase, and this hopefully has a direct impact on conversion rates.
#3: Forgetting the Terms of Service
If you plan on purchasing mailing lists, please steer clear of Constant Contact, Mailchimp, and other platforms that provide such services. Why? Because using purchased mailing lists is against their terms of service. More often than not, the platforms will recognize the issue and could either close your account or blacklist your whole domain.
Before using a platform, read the terms of service and don’t take any risks. For some, they’re trying to get away from spammy email sends which is why they require sign-up forms in order to build a list. We know that there are a million other things you would rather be doing than reading through a terms of service, but it could save your email campaign and your business’ reputation.
#4: No Optimization for Mobile Devices
Earlier, we mentioned the importance of responsive design and this goes for catering to the mobile audience in general. Each year, more and more consumers are using mobile phones, tablets, and other devices to open emails. For some, they check emails on the commute into work. For others, they look as soon as their eyes are open in bed. If you aren’t optimizing your email campaigns for this significant audience, you’re going to miss out.
If you aren’t sure whether or not an email works, why not send yourself a test copy and open it on your phone? As well as overall presentation, you should look for the following:
- Flow
- Font
- Graphics (images, videos, etc.)
- Clear layout
- Length
With this last point, no email should have the reader scrolling for a number of minutes. With the very best emails, they’re short and sweet. They are painless, display images and videos clearly, and look attractive on all devices. Although this additional formatting might require some extra time and effort, it will certainly be worth it, and your open rates and conversion rates should prove this.
#5: Forgetting Analytics
In 2019, it’s almost criminal to forget analytics. How can you assess the success of a given campaign when you aren’t looking at the statistics? How do you know where to improve when you aren’t checking the open rates, click-through rates, conversion percentages, and other data points?
While some email marketing tools have their own analytics sections, others integrate with Google Analytics, so there’s no excuse. It is slightly overwhelming at first when you’ve got lots of numbers and percentages looking back at you, but you’ll soon learn which pertain to the success of your campaign. For example, we recommend focusing on:
- Open rates
- Click-through rates
- New subscribers
- Unsubscribe rates
The more you look at analytics and learn, the more opportunities you’ll have to improve your campaigns. You learn what works and what doesn’t as you make adjustments, and this allows you to speed past the competition.
#6: Ignoring CTAs
You won’t believe how many emails we’ve seen over the years that have completely neglected a call to action (CTA). What do you want readers to do? Do you want them to buy a product, click on a link, or even visit a social media platform? Whatever it may be, make it easy for the reader to do it with a CTA. As long as you aren’t going over the top and frustrating your subscribers, there’s nothing wrong with asking the reader to take action in some way.
#7: Too Much Generalization
These days, we have some amazing tools at the touch of our fingertips. Therefore, it’s unacceptable to send a general email to a huge audience. Instead, we recommend segmenting your audience and reaching out based on certain demographics and unique attributes. For example, you might consider age, gender, location, purchasing habits, and others.
For consumers, they’re tired of receiving generalized emails. Instead, they want services that personalize their offering, and you can be this service. As soon as you personalize, the consumer feels valued and as though they aren’t just another customer to keep your business going.
#8: Neglecting the Subject Line
What’s the first thing people see with your email? That’s right, the subject line. You could have the best email campaign in the world, but it still won’t get opened if you haven’t taken care of the subject line. We know that email campaigns have the potential to be successful, but this is only if you can navigate the difficult waters of open rates. Generally speaking, open rates sit close to 20% so your subject line is critical.
Here are some tips for a winning subject line:
- Keep it short
- Be clear and engaging
- Avoid the common spam trigger words
- Make it relevant to your audience
Additional Good Practices
There are eight common mistakes that you can avoid in order to improve your email marketing campaign. To finish, here’s a couple of good practices to employ for your business this year.
- Firstly, remember the GDPR changes that came into place in 2018. In one rule change, email marketing changed dramatically because you have to prove that each customer requested to receive emails. Although not applicable in the US, it is huge in Europe currently so it’s important to remember. Either way, it’s good practice to provide an opt-in feature in North America.
- Secondly, consider the timing of your email. In our experience, it’s best to experiment with your audience and look at the analytics. Which times get the best open rate? Although you might not think it important, the open rates can vary significantly based on time alone. While some companies benefit from being in the inbox when their audience wakes, others are better off with a mid-morning slot.
By avoiding these 8 mistakes, your email marketing campaigns will be set up for success.
Bonus! Marketing Tools:
2. Bilbi AI: Daily Marketing Campaign Insights
