Email marketing is one of the best marketing channels that you can use in your online marketing strategy. One of the biggest misunderstandings is that we assume because we are on email all day long (from our desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablets) this makes us professional email marketers.
All marketers make mistakes from time to time, the question is… are you a victim of any of these common mistakes in email marketing? If so, avoid them!
Common Mistakes in Email Marketing
Unsolicited messages
It’s always wise to be absolutely sure that you are sending messages to customers (prospects) who subscribed to receive such messages from you. If they didn’t receive the subscription request and confirmed the subscription, then you are sending SPAM. It doesn’t matter if you think the recipients will be interested in what you are about to tell them, don’t do it. It will negatively impact your reputation, the respectability and perception of your brand, the deliverability of future message and the effectiveness of the message itself.
Lack of list segmentation
Nowadays we have tons of customer information that can be used to dice and slice email lists and send out more targeted messages. One study found out that segmented email lists results in 14.4% higher open rate and 14.9% higher click rate than non-segmented email lists. Segmenting your email will allow you to send the right email to the right person, increasing your likelihood of a conversation. Marketers who ignore email segmentation may be losing a significant amount of money.
Too much or too little promotion
These are two extremes. There are those marketers who promote something to their lists every day and those who feel that they shouldn’t promote very often. There must be a balance. For those marketers who promote their products every day, they will eventually begin to see their open rate go down. Their customers will anticipate other promotions and so not bother to read their email.
Make sure that you include emails that have no promotion whatsoever so that your customers learn that you appreciate them and you are willing to offer any additional help.
Underestimating subject and sender
If you want to succeed in email marketing you must take the subject and the sender very seriously. These two elements are very vital in the recipient’s decision to read or not to read your email. First, they need to know you; secondly, you need to convey that the message is an interesting one. Never create a subject that is not consistent with the body of the message.
Infrequent testing
When it comes to email marketing, you won’t know if something is going to work, or how well it will work, unless you test it. Every email you send is an opportunity for you to learn more about the offers and messaging that succeed with your prospects. Keep your email programs healthy and growing by testing often.
Bottom line
Email can be a valuable marketing tool for driving traffic to your website, increasing leads and engaging your customers. For better returns, send out compelling, optimized emails.
