Focus on email marketing: Mistakes to avoid

There are a number of pitfalls when it comes to email marketing; these should be avoided to ensure your campaigns are as successful. Once you push send on an email campaign there’s no way of bringing it back so make sure you get it right the first time, every time.

In this article we will:

1. Highlight common mistakes made by email marketeers
2. Explain how you can avoid them
3. Outline best practice in this area

What are the biggest email marketing mistakes?

Rush into choosing an email marketing company

Finding the right partner for your email marketing efforts is worth taking time to do. It’s not always a good choice to go with the cheapest option. A good company will give you sound advice and support when creating your email campaigns which is essential for novices. Check forums and do some research to find the most reputable company – you will be happy in the end.

Not including an unsubscribe link

There are mistakes that could cost you customers and there are mistakes that could get you in trouble with the law – this one is the latter. Not including an unsubscribe link in your marketing email is not only against the law, it will cause customers to lose confidence in you.

Emailing too frequently

There is certainly a limit when it comes to the amount of emails you can send without seriously annoying your customers. Even the most active of shoppers with your brand will be turned off if you bombard them with emails.

There is no strict guide as to exactly how many you should send – some companies comfortable send a daily email, some weekly – to determine your optimum you should test is over time and study your open rates.

Ignoring the mobile opportunity

A huge number of emails are now opened and read via mobile devices. If your emails are to be successful they should read well on any device – regardless of screen size. Responsive email templates are a good remedy to this problem or creating a separate mobile template which will be sent out also and served if needed.

Not measuring activity

Email marketing can be time and cost effective but if it is to be most powerful, you need to keep an eye on your analytics. If you are simply sending emails without looking at how many people are opening them or clicking though, you are missing a chance to create the best possible campaigns and increase your conversions.

Not creating personalised emails

The data created by emails and customer history is invaluable and should be used when creating marketing emails. By segmenting your email lists and creating a different email for different types of shoppers you are increasing your relevance which will help you to sell more. Customers will feel more appreciated if they know your emails are tailored to them.

Simply selling

If all of your emails are simply pushing products and offers at your customers they might start to lose interest. You can create added value in your emails by putting in editorial content such as new or advice which customers will find interesting. This will increase the chances that they will open your mail.

Don’t forget design

Make sure your emails look good and reflect your brand perfectly. With the many templates and design options out there you have no excuse for creating drab and badly designed emails – they simply won’t appeal to your customers. Create something attractive that they will look forward to opening.

Forgetting spam filters

Email services have been created with robust spam settings which might funnel your emails straight into your customers’ spam box  without them even seeing them. You should understand the basic guidelines to avoiding spam boxes and always test your emails before pushing send. Most email marketing companies offer a spam check.

Bad subject line

Subject lines are the way you will convince your customers to open an email in the first place – it is arguably the most important element of your email. Put some thought into what will get your customers’ attentions and try different methods to find the right combination.

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