Email marketing is still one of the most effective marketing techniques out there, even in the age of social media. You’re probably putting a good amount of money and effort into your email marketing to chase those leads.
Despite their efforts, marketers occasionally make mistakes in their work, especially when it comes to email. In fact, it’s been said that 52% of marketers make 2 to 5 email marketing mistakes per year (yes, we are definitely being counted in that group).
We know that no one is perfect, but we want to help marketers learn from their mistakes.
It’s almost too easy to make some of these common mistakes in your emails. Here are the mistakes you’re probably still making in your email marketing, and how to address them:
1. Not Getting Personalization Right
Every good marketer knows that personalization is key when it comes to your emails. You want to show the reader you acknowledge them as a person. That’s why many companies use automation tools to do this. However, it’s so easy for you to get the tags wrong, and you send something like this:
Hello *|FNAME|*!
That’s obviously not going to make a good impression. That’s why it’s essential that you always, always check your tags in the automation tool before you start sending out any emails. If you do this, the likelihood of sending emails like this is much less.
2. Using An Outdated Email List
This is another common mistake, and it can hurt you more than you’d think. Are you sending emails out and finding that many get sent back as non-deliverable? There may be more emails in your contact list that are out of date, suspicious, or long abandoned. If you’re sending too many emails to addresses like this, you’ll increase your spam rate. When that happens, you’ll see that you’ll exceed the provider’s limits and potentially get blocked.
Luckily, it’s not too difficult to avoid this happening. “You should be using email validation services,” says Joel Anderson, a tech writer at Paper Fellows and Boom Essays. “This will analyze your contacts, deleting anything that’s suspicious or no longer working.” You can also go through your list yourself regularly, to clean it up.
We suggest that you regularly clean your email list.
3. Misleading Email Subscribers
This sounds malicious, but you could be doing this totally by accident. When you set up your email subscription form, you may be offering one thing, such as a free eBook, discount codes, or so on. However, when you send the email newsletters you’re sending totally different stuff instead. That hurts your brand, and you’re likely to see people unsubscribe as they didn’t get what they expected.
Make sure that you’re sending what you promised when the subscribers signed up. Always be honest, and remember the golden rule: Promise less, give more. That improves trust and shows that you are who you say you are.
4. Not Sending Emails Regularly
Some businesses only send emails when they have something to tell their customers about. “They think it’s a good idea, as they’re not constantly sending emails to their subscribers,” says Gemma Dalton, an editor from Ox Essays and Essay Services. “However, it has the opposite effect as they see this unexpected email, and regard it as spam.” That way, they’re more likely to click unsubscribe, hurting your bottom line.
Instead, it’s actually better to send regular emails, so your subscribers are used to seeing you in their inbox. Sending one or two emails a month is the optimal amount, so send emails out even when you don’t have a new product to show off.
5. Sending From ‘Do Not Reply’ Addresses
Many marketers are still sending their emails from accounts that don’t allow replies. That seems like a sensible move, but it’s actually really frustrating for customers. When they get emails from ‘do not reply’ accounts, they have no ability to give feedback. It shows that you don’t want to hear from them, even if you do.
You’ll want to start sending your email from an account that allows replies, so you stop giving this impression. If you aren’t able to manage replies to that inbox, you can add a ‘contact us’ button to emails that go to a landing page dedicated to queries.
These are some of the common mistakes that you’re still making with your email marketing. Make some small changes to the way you email your leads though, and you’ll see a huge improvement in engagement and sales.
Madeline Miller is a writer with Academized and Assignment Help, where she covers email marketing. She’s also a blogger for State Of Writing.
