Emma Weir — June 27, 2017 — June 27, 2017
Everyone has a couple of bad habits, most of which are innocent however, as an Email Marketer there are some habits that can be detrimental to your campaign success and should be broken immediately. Take a look at our list to see if you’re prone to of any of them and, if so, how to rectify them…
Think about your own personal inbox. How many emails do you receive that are of absolutely no interest to you so you hit the junk button? How many emails don’t appear right on your mobile or tablet so you delete straight away? We’ve put together a list of common bad habits that are sometimes made by email marketers, why they are bad and how you can break the habit:
1. Sending unwelcome emails
It’s vital that you always acquire access to send emails to your audience first. Not only is it frustrating for the recipient but as part of the CAN SPAM Act, it can result in a large fine for your business or even a prison sentence. To break this habit do not use purchased data or third party lists, you should only be using the email addresses from people who have opted-in to receive your campaigns. In return you will see better engagement rates as these people actually want to know what you have to say.
2. Sending emails with bad content/unrelated content
We know, as a Marketer, you have a lot that you want to say and sometimes things can get a little disjointed. Just make sure your content stays relevant to your business and sticks to the subjects mentioned when enticing users to sign up to receive your campaigns. There’s no point in getting people to sign up to newsletters promoting cars when actually all your emails are going to be about fishing tackle! To break this habit stick to a devised plan of what you want to promote at certain times.
3. Sending badly designed emails
Poorly designed emails are a massive reason why users do not engage with them. First impressions count so even if your content is good, your designs might be your downfall. To break this habit ensure you are viewing your email in mobile AND desktop preview, then edit accordingly.
4. Not targeting/segmenting email lists (sending to entire list)
When you have something to shout about it can be tempting to send a campaign to your entire list. Batch and blast is a thing of the past – you should be segmenting your lists to target your audience better. In turn this will produce better engagement rates as recipients are receiving content relatable and valuable to them. To break this habit segment your lists by; age, gender, buying habits, personal interests or where they are in your lifecycle email marketing programme etc.
5. Not testing email campaigns before sending
Before any campaign is sent it’s imperative to carry out the necessary tests and checks. This includes making sure your email looks correct across multiple platforms, any spelling mistakes, images load properly, link errors, plus split and multivariate testing. For peace of mind it’s always handy to have someone else take a glance as a fresh pair of eyes may notice things you haven’t spotted! Although it may seem like a bit of a pain it will be 100% worth it in the long run to notice a mistake before your campaign is sent.
6. Sending emails at inappropriate times
This is more about common sense but still some companies insist on sending campaigns at inappropriate times. Even more so though, it’s important to think about your audience and their lifestyle. If you are B to B then daytime working hours are most logical to send you emails however B to C, you may want to wait until the evening to catch your audience when they are at home. To break this habit take the time to think about your target audience and when they are going to be most available to engage with your emails. Use reports and previous campaign results to monitor this and adjust timings accordingly.
7. Not looking at campaign reports/measuring campaigns
Last but not least, you must make sure you factor in the time to view campaign reports and measure their success. What’s the point in sending campaigns and not knowing if they did well or not? Doing this allows you to create more effective and better performing campaigns going forward as you can see what subjects, send times and content work well. To break the habit set aside some time after each campaign is sent. Even taking a quick look at reports can indicate if it was successful or not and give you a better insight into what to include within your email marketing campaigns going forward.
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