Email marketing can be a tricky thing to get a handle on. Of course the main goal of an email marketing campaign is, well, marketing your business. But there is also the relationship aspect that many marketers overlook.
All in all, there is a lot to wrap your head around. So, in an effort to make things a bit easier for you, I've made a list of five big mistakes that can send you directly to email marketing purgatory.
Avoid these pitfalls and you'll find the world of email marketing a bit easier to navigate.
Sin No. 1: !!!****BADSUBJECTLINES****!!!
One of the easiest mistakes to make is also one of the easiest to correct, and it has everything to do with the first thing people see - your subject line.
I can't stress to you how important the subject line of your email is. As the first thing, the subject line predicts whether or not someone will open the email. Subject lines that are too long, unclear or too spammy are immediately discarded. Same goes for emails with suspicious "from" lines.
Keep your subject lines short, to the point and professional sounding - and for god's sake, stay away from unnecessary punctuation and capital letters.
Sin No. 2: A Weak Call To Action
Isn't the point of sending a marketing email to prompt a response from the people who are getting the emails? Of course it is.
Whether you want someone to purchase a product, attend a conference or download an ebook, your call to action has to be the meat of your email marketing newsletter. If the goal of your email is to have people sign up for your email newsletter, make sure the signup form is front and center. Don't mince words or beat around the bush. If you want a reaction, keep your call to action above the fold - put it in the spotlight.
Sin No. 3: Sending Too Often
This is an easy trap to fall into, and honestly, it's understandable. You have a new product or a new instructional video, and you want your customers to see it right away. But sending emails too frequently can be viewed as spamming, which, at the very least, will have people looking for the "unsubscribe" link. It's for that very reason that you have to be careful to avoid it. Pick a sending schedule and stick with it.
Sin No. 4: Check Your Work
If you want your business to be taken seriously, then you have to present yourself as a professional. Imagine opening a a marketing email only to find that the links don't work. Not very confidence inspiring is it?
Before you hit that send button, make sure that everything in your email is spelled correctly, that all the links work, and the pictures load.
Sin No. 5: Lack Of Testing
There are so many different ways that people can check their email these days, it would be crazy not to test your email on every platform, program and mobile device available to you before sending. Different webmail platforms and email programs open emails differently and it would be a shame to find out after you have sent out your email that it looks great on your Gmail account, but not on your friend's Hotmail account. Not to mention how it may look on mobile devices like iPhones and Blackberrys.
Make sure that your hard work doesn't go to waste - test before you send.
An article from
Filed Under:
Content Marketing