Email can be one of the most effective weapons in your online marketing arsenal, but it’s also one of the easiest things to get wrong. Avoid these 7 deadly sins and you won’t go far wrong.
Ignoring permissions
If you get anything right, make sure it’s permissions. Depending on where you’re operating, an open, transparent opt-in/opt-out system is a legal requirement.
Some businesses keep to the letter of the law, but are somewhat less whole-hearted about the spirit – this is unlikely to win you many friends.
Lack of segmentation
How many mailouts do you regularly delete from you inbox? Keeping the information relevant to the receiver is essential to maintaining a decent level of attention.
With effective segmentation you can make sure every email contains something of interest to everyone receiving it. Undifferentiated mass mailouts may save on production costs, but continued irrelevant emails are going to turn people off, meaning they miss the messages that are meant for them.
Disregarding mobiles
Smartphones are no longer a niche concern. Making sure your mailout works on all popular phone OSs is essential. If it doesn’t work on mobiles, it doesn’t work.
Not testing
If you don’t keep a close eye on response, open and click through rates, and adapt accordingly, you are at worst wasting resources, and at best not maximising them.
Email marketing should be a constant process of A/B testing.
Sending too frequently
Frequency is a big issue for any email marketer. The bottom line is that no one is going to kick up a fuss if you don’t send often, but barrage your mailing list with daily emails and you’re just going to make yourself an irritation. Err on the side of caution.
Not relationship building
Contrary to popular belief, relationship building isn’t the exclusive preserve of social media. Don’t just use your mailout as a brochure: offer free content and contests. Invite feedback and comments. Provide an incentive to continue reading your mailouts.
Relying on email alone
Email marketing can produce amazing results, but just like any other aspect of your marketing mix, it works best in conjunction with other channels. Think of it as a gateway to your website, your Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and any other properties you have.
Are you guilty of any of these email marketing sins? Do you have any others to add? Please leave your comments below.
Image Credit: James Cridland
Nice list, Thanks. On the subject of permissions, keeping ethical has its obvious benefits, but what I find annoying is the fact that the number of unsolicited E-mails seem to be rising every day. Do they work?
Hi Ray, thanks for commenting. I agree with you about unsolicited emails; I seem to get a lot more in my inbox than I used to. I don’t know about you, but personally I have never bought anything as a result of receiving an unsolicited email. In fact, it would make me more determined not to buy from that company in the future.
I think that is a very good point about disregarding mobiles. I have never thought about it, but it is very important that your email format is suitable for these devices too.
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Thank you Anna. A lot of hard work in crafting the right email marketing message can be easily wasted by not thinking about mobiles.