What email errors can you avoid today to get better results? We’ve rounded up the eight most common, and easily fixable, mistakes in email marketing.
Mistake #1: Poor Segmentation
Content relevancy is the number one issue for the email marketer. Without segmentation, you have no real relevancy. The best way to avoid this is to ask new subscribers about their interests up front when they sign up. If you already have unqualified data on your list then send out a survey or start reacting to data on which links they’ve clicked and which they’ve ignored.
Mistake #2: Obvious Lack of Permission
Companies still try to get around the permission issues in search of new customers; the solution to this one is easy, people are a lot more likely to like you if they know why you’re contacting them.
Mistake #3: Frequency Decisions Made for the Wrong Reason
The customer’s biggest bugbear and something marketers are in a constant battle with. It’s important to think about how frequently you’d like to receive the same message. The more technical approach to avoiding this mistake would be to conduct A/B split testing on your signup page for a short duration of time allowing you to get a reliable sample. Let half of your new subscribers pick frequency specific options, whilst the rest see your current signup options.
Mistake #4: No Real Interactivity
Social media isn’t the only marketing channel that can utilise interactivity, email was once the relationship-building medium, and it still can be. Be sure to provide your subscribers with the option to ask you questions about the information you’ve presented to them, whether that’s via a get-in-touch here button or simply a reply-to email address.
Mistake #5 Disregarding Your BlackBerry and Mobile Readers
Thank you iPhone and Android for your HTML abilities but Blackberry users are still unable to view large images in emails. It’s more important than ever to make your email mobile reader friendly, and remember smartphone penetration still rarely reaches over 50% in most countries.
Mistake #6: Repeating Ad Types
“Banner blindness”, as some people prefer to call it. To avoid repeating ad types it’s essential you mix up the ad spots available on your newsletter without losing its dependable feel. Use different ad types – from graphical ads to text lists, as variation can trigger the reader’s attention.
Mistake #7: Collecting Bad Response Rates
How else will you know where to make improvements? You need good analysis to determine the effectiveness of your email. Make sure you keep an eye on your email success rate when it comes to opens rates, click-through and conversions. Benchmark percentages are usually set specific to each company, based on the age and amount of data your messages are going to.
Mistake #8 Relying on Email Only
The simplest tactic of them all, it’s always worth noting that replying on just one medium of communication alone is never a good plan.
Harkable’s Top 3 Free Email Marketing Services Recommendations
- MailChimp helps you design email newsletters, share them on social networks, integrate with services you already use, and track your results. It’s like your own personal publishing platform.
- Campaign Monitor makes it easy to attract new subscribers, send them beautiful email newsletters and see stunning reports on the results.
- Dotmailer powerful email marketing made easy, with the most intuitive, easy to use email marketing platform you will find. Packed with ROI boosting features!