We’ve all been on the tail-end of an email marketing mistake. Perhaps you opened up an email to find it addressed to “First Name.” Or you read a cool offer, just to click on the link and it sends you somewhere completely unrelated.
These mistakes can cost the company or person sending them some serious credibility points. To prevent this from happening to you, we’ve put together 5 costly email marketing mistakes to avoid at all costs:
1. No personalization
Personalization is important for successful email marketing campaigns. People like things to be customized for them. It makes an email stand out in the mass amounts of emails they receive on a daily basis.
Personalization can come in many forms. The most simple (but still important!) one being addressing the email using the person’s name. Some other examples are sending a birthday e-card, or sending a list of products you think they’d love based on what they’ve viewed.
2. Email is not from a real person
There is no good reason to be using a no-reply email address. It puts you at a higher risk for spam complaints and it makes the recipient feel like they aren’t important enough for you to hear what they have to say. Make sure when you send out that next email it is from an address that those who receive it can respond to if they’d like.
3. Deceitful subject line
“Claim your free iPhone!” as a subject line of an email may seem like a sure-fire way to get a lot of opens, but unless you plan on doling out a bunch of iPhones, this is not the route to go. Having a clear, accurate and short subject line where the reader can clearly understand what the email is about is the best way to engage with your audience.
A good way to see if your subject line passes the test: After you finish writing your email put yourself in the email recipient’s shoes. Is there any way that he/she may feel deceived after opening the email based on what was read on the subject? If so, rewrite to align more with them email content, and repeat!
No value provided
All emails you send to your database should offer something of value. It’s all about sending the appropriate email based on where they are in the customer lifecycle. If they are just starting to download some offers in the awareness stage, they most likely won’t respond to a “Request a Demo” email. Be smart about what you’re sending and with every email have the goal in mind to provide value for the recipient. Don’t get lost in a sea of emails that everyone receives, if you can send emails that help your database the opens and clicks will follow.
Also it is very important to double/triple check your emails to see that they are linking to the correct offer/page. Interest can quickly be lost from a potential customer if they think they’ll be directed somewhere they aren’t.
Sending too many emails (or not enough)
There is a fine line between sending not enough emails or sending too many and overwhelming your database. You can figure out your sweet spot by looking at what you’ve previously done and working from there. Open rates will help you figure out if your emails are being enjoyed, unsubscribes mean the opposite. Set up different frequencies and measure the results to see what works best for your audience.
Have any additional email marketing mistakes you’d like to share? Comment below!
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