Your company is marketing through repeated emails, yet you feel like you simply aren’t gaining any traction. What could the problem possibly be? Perhaps it isn’t being done correctly. If you find yourself asking questions like the following, you may be making some common email marketing mistakes:
- After the recipients opened our email, did they not like the content?
- Why do we have such a high unsubscribe rate?
- Are the emails not being opened by subscribers?
One crucial step businesses today must take is to identify their email marketing mistakes. You’re sure to derive positive results once you rectify the existing problems. Here, some of the most common email marketing mistakes will be looked at, as well as what your company can do to fix them.
Using Inferior Subject Lines
If you realize the emails you sent out aren’t being opened, what could the problem be? Here’s a little something to consider: Based on nothing more than the subject line, 47% of people who receive emails decide whether or not to open them. The subject line also helps determine whether or not people view an email as spam. How many people? A stunning 69% of recipients. The reason your recipients aren’t opening your emails could have everything to do with a hyped-up subject line. This is email marketing suicide.
When creating the subject line, consider these essential points:
- Keep it simple and crisp.
- Avoid the use of fluff words.
- Keep a professional subject line.
- Don’t use all caps – it looks like you’re yelling at your recipient.
- Personalize the subject line.
Not Sending a Welcome Email
If a person is intrigued by your website and decides to sign up for newsletters, specials, etc., what next? Don’t make the first thing they receive from you a newsletter. If you truly want them to open your email, make it a “Welcome Email.” They get opened far more frequently than regular emails. If you want to connect with your customers, this is the perfect opportunity.
As soon as your consumer signs up, they should receive a welcome email. Compared to regular marketing messages, there is a 320% better chance that revenue will be generated by a welcome email. What’s more, welcome emails have a 336% transaction rate increase and a 196% click rate over standard emails.
Overloading Subscriber Inbox with Too Many Emails
Every day, how many emails do you suppose the average American receives? Answer: Roughly 121! That means every year people receive approximately 44,165 emails. It’s no wonder people unsubscribe every day. The chances of your recipients unsubscribing are greater if you’re sending them too many emails. Allow your recipients to determine the frequency at which they will receive your emails. Their preferences can help you determine exactly what “too much” is – at least for that person.
Not Allowing Subscribers to Reply
Sending out a “do not reply” message is a huge mistake. No one wants to hear from an organization sending an email stating that. If your email piques a consumer’s interest in any way – good or bad – they must be able to respond/reply to it.
Overlooking Mobile Users
To check their emails today, roughly 77% of Americans are using their phones. So, don’t irritate potential consumers by sending out emails not optimized for mobile devices.
The Timing Is off
If you want to send an email, what’s the best time? Unfortunately, no hard and fast rules exist. It depends on the audience and your brand. To help you figure out the best email timing, consider the following:
- How can your product or service solve your audience’s problems?
- Identify the pain points of your recipient (problems faced by prospective or current customers).
- What is the career or job of the recipient?
- Where does the email recipient reside?
- Identify your audiences.
Not Including a CTA Button
No value is added to the life of your email recipients if it just says “hello.” A call-to-action button – CTA button – is crucial… but also consider the following:
- Make sure that action can be taken with just a few clicks.
- The CTA must attract the reader’s attention, so make it bold.
As important as a CTA button is, make sure you don’t put too many of them in one email. An email that is overcrowded with bold or colored CTAs will be distracting to the reader. They’ll be less likely to click on any of them than if you just had one or even two within the email. Placing one in the middle and one at the end will likely be sufficient. “Take desired action” is basically what your primary CTA is about. If the reader isn’t quite sure they’re ready to take that big leap, you use the secondary CTA to nurture them along.
Your Subscribers Aren’t Segmented
When it comes to preferences and tastes, there is significant variance among your subscribers. Don’t make the mistake of sending out one standard email to everyone. Based on unique preferences, segment your subscriber emails accordingly:
- Previous purchase history
- Language
- Interests
- Sales cycle
- Geographical details
- Location
- Age, etc.
What if your recipients believe they are receiving irrelevant emails? Research shows the following can be the result:
- 23% get marked as spam
- 60% get deleted
- 27% of people unsubscribe
Not Tracking the Campaign
How do you know if the marketing strategy you are currently using is going according to plan? Is it working? To determine this, one critical factor is your email marketing campaign response rate. To measure the effectiveness of your campaign, tracking software should be integrated into your email marketing campaign. With the right software, you’ll be able to figure out which messages prompt your consumers to take action. The rate of your conversions and your marketing strategy will be improved by having a tracking system in place.
Overcrowding Emails
Where email campaigns are concerned, this is one of the most common mistakes. Your emails may be crowded with too many announcements, too much product information, and too many details. Yes, you want to use fewer emails, so you maximize them. But in readers’ minds, too much information can leave a negative impression. Be concise. Stick to the point.
Forgetting about GDPR Considerations for European Recipients
The marketing world was entirely changed by GDPR laws that took effect in 2018. How do those matter when you use email marketing?
Has the recipient you’re sending an email to approved the receipt of marketing emails? You must be able to show proof of this if, and only if, the recipient lives in Europe. This does not apply in the United States. It depends on how globally you’re sending out your marketing emails and whether or not this will be important to you.
If you want to succeed with your email marketing tactics, turn to the experts for advice.
Avoid Email Marketing Mistakes by Consulting with the Experts
As important as marketing is to any company, the fewer mistakes, the better. With the right email marketing, your business can prosper. FMO Media can be of assistance with email marketing advice and offers services such as SEO, website design services, social media management, content creation, and others.
Our experts are eager to assist you. We can help you not only build a solid online presence but reach new audiences. We’re the perfect fit for any company in any industry. Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media sites. When you’re ready, contact us. Our email is hello@fmomedia.com or sales@fmomedia.com.
