Common Email Marketing Mistakes You Should Avoid

Email marketing, how hard can it be? You might be surprised to learn that there are actually many rules you need to follow if you want to succeed with your email campaigns. There are also common mistakes you need to avoid if you want people to open and act when they receive your emails.

In this article, we’re going to list some of the most common email marketing mistakes and how to avoid them if you want your email campaigns to be successful.

Not Using the Right Tools

Although most email marketing platforms are similar in what they offer users, it does not mean that one size fits all. What works for some might not work for others. Some email services, might not offer the functionality you need to create and run a successful campaign. Other reasons users choose one tool over another may be based on pricing or the quality of customer support. The best way to decide if the marketing tool you use is right for you is by reviewing its pros and cons and comparing it to other similar tools. If you need help finding the best email marketing tool, Piesync can help you find the one that fits your needs. 

Not Checking Analytics

Analytics are there to help you decipher how your customers engage with your campaigns and content. If the analytics say that people aren’t clicking on your links or even opening your campaigns then this usually indicates an issue. But it’s not all doom and gloom, analytics are also good for finding out what customers are engaging with so you can build better campaigns armed with techniques that are proven to be successful. 

Ignoring the Guidelines 

Many businesses get in trouble for violating the terms of use of their email platform provider or gloss over GDPR regulations. It’s important that you understand the T&C’s of the platform you are using and more importantly, GDPR regulations. We recommend you read over your provider’s T&C and read up on GDPR rules to make sure that your campaigns are within the guidelines. 

Sending Low-Quality Content 

A lot of email campaigns fail because of subpar content. From bad subject lines to forgetting to add a call to action, these simple mistakes can be costly to your goals. No matter the aim of your campaigns, content is how you sell your message to customers. A compelling campaign includes a catchy subject line that hooks the reader, if it doesn’t, then your email may fail at the first hurdle and end up in the trash folder.

The content should easily engage without overselling, include plenty of high-quality imagery and concisely well-written copy, subscribers often won’t engage with reams and reams of text in an email campaign.

Forgetting a call-to-action

If the user receives the email and there is nothing to act upon, they will likely close it and move on to the net one. Every email should include some kind of call to action. It also should be clear and highly visible. Your call to action should, like your email subject, hook the customer. The marketers often use a high contrast button that links to the landing or product page, a form, or other actionable pages on the website.

Spamming Your Subscribers 

It is true that if someone is in your email list then they expect to hear from you but to a point. In email marketing, there is a sweet spot between spamming your contacts and not being consistent enough. If you spam your contacts they will be likely to unsubscribe and if you don’t reach out enough, they are less likely to open your campaigns when they do arrive. A monthly or fortnightly email shot is a good way of keeping in touch with your contacts without sounding like you’re nagging them to engage with your business. 

Not Targeting or Personalizing Your Emails

Marketers often segment their contacts into categories of interest so that they know who to target with which content. Marketers also use personalization as a technique to attract customers and it works. Most customers will respond to an email that uses their name because they want to feel special and valued. So a little bit of extra time working on creating categories and personalization automating can go a long way to getting your campaigns opened. 

Not Sending At The Right Time

It is hard to know when to send your email campaigns and often you can estimate what works best for you based on your trusty analytics. Some companies send their campaigns out between 5 and 6 am to catch workers on their commute or just as they are arriving at work. The best practice is to play around with your timing and see what works. 

Not Optimizing for Mobile 

The majority of the world’s population uses their phones to check their emails. So if your newsletters are not optimized for mobile view, the likelihood of that person disengaging is high. This can be easily avoided by checking and ensuring that your emails are formatted to look good on mobile devices. Most email services allow you to preview the mobile view before you send your emails out. Another thing you can do is to send yourself a test email and then look at it on your phone to make sure it looks good and is well-formatted.

Once you familiarize yourself with these common email marketing mistakes you should be able to easily avoid them.