04 Nov 7 Deadly Email Marketing Mistakes To Avoid
Are you making any of the seven deadly mistakes for email marketing? Email marketing is one of the best ways to keep your business at the forefront of your customers’ awareness, to get the word out about promotions and specials, and to continue forging the kind of relationship needed to build brand loyalty.
But, far from being foolproof, it’s easy to accidentally sabotage your efforts if you make any of these common email marketing mistakes.
Mistake #1: Using a List of Dubious Provenance
Scraping names from forums, email lists where you’re a recipient, or any other source where nobody intended to end up on your list is a huge no-no. Emailing people who haven’t given you permission is spamming. Anti-spam regulations levy a hefty penalty ($15,000 per complaint!) against businesses that use lists they didn’t cultivate properly.
Mistake #2: Mailing from Your Own Email Account
Email marketing services are designed to comply with anti-spam regulations, and will go a long way toward ensuring you avoid trouble. Use your regular email provider (gmail, yahoo, or even one hosted through your own website) for bulk emails, and you’re treading dangerous ground.
Mistake #3: Being Too Opaque
A legitimate email marketing campaign includes some pieces of information some businesses don’t want to provide, for various reasons. One of the most common is a postal address; this happens sometimes when a business is trying to give the impression it is bigger than it is, or that it’s got a physical presence in a certain location.
Mistake #4: Too Promotional
Many email marketers cram every message with “buy, buy, buy” and then wonder why their unsubscribe rate is so high. Readers want to read what interests them, what helps them – and sometimes, about what they can buy. A good rule of thumb is to have 75-80% informational content, and just 20-25% promotional.
Mistake #5: Subject Line Tricks
Getting recipients to open your email takes some finesse. Tricking them into opening by using misleading subject lines is counter-productive. Who wants to do business with someone who’s not trustworthy?
Mistake #6: Not Testing
If you’ve ever gotten an email that begins: Dear [Subscriber.FirstName], you know that’s not the way to build rapport. It’s an easy mistake to make, and an honest one – all in the attempt to make an email more personal by merging database properties. Always be sure to send a test email before sending to your list. That way, you’re likely to catch anything off-putting before it goes out.
Mistake #7: Not Doing It
You might be surprised how many businesses still aren’t developing their email marketing list – unless you’ve got one of those businesses. It can seem like a daunting task, when you’ve never gotten in the habit of asking customers for email addresses, and have never had an automated subscription form on your website. There’s no time like the present to get started, though, and the sooner you build your list, the sooner you’ll get all the benefits your email marketing competitors have been enjoying for years.
What email marketing mistakes have you overcome?