Emails are one of the most effective ways to reach customers and prospects. However, they can be a minefield when mistakes are made.
There are several common errors that make your emails go straight to spam folders. By avoiding these mistakes, you can increase your email marketing success.
Don’t Overdo It
In the world of digital marketing, email is one of the most effective channels for driving sales, acquiring new customers, and building brand loyalty. However, if your email campaigns aren’t targeted and created with care, they might just end up in the trash — or worse, a customer’s spam folder.
The first step in avoiding this common mistake is to make sure you have a clear set of goals and KPIs for your email campaigns. These should align with your business’s overall marketing strategy and include things like new product signups, more brand awareness, increased donations, and more.
You also want to be sure that you’re sending emails that are relevant and interesting to your subscribers. If you send out the same type of email with the same subject line and a similar format every time, your subscribers will get sick of it very quickly.
Another thing to avoid is sending emails that are overly complicated or that offer too many options for your subscribers to choose from. This can result in your subscribers clicking away from your email or even deleting it altogether.
Keeping your email short and sweet is crucial for both mobile and desktop readers. Your customers want to be able to read your content without having to scroll through a long email that doesn’t load properly on a mobile device or if the font is too small.
You’ll also want to be sure that you’re not promoting your company’s products or services in ways that are misleading or illegal. This can lead to your readers losing their trust in you, and it can negatively affect your company’s reputation. It can also lead to your clients unsubscribing or marking your emails as spam, which will ultimately impact your revenue in the long run.
Don’t Overcomplicate Things
Email marketing is a powerful tool for any small business, but it’s important to remember that not every customer is looking for the same thing. The best way to keep your message clear is by segmenting your list into relevant segments with similar interests and needs. This allows you to tailor your emails to each audience. A great example of this is sending a personalized recommendation that matches each customer’s unique interests and past purchases.
You should also be sure to incorporate the latest email marketing technology into your strategy. This includes using email marketing automation to create personalized email templates, ad-free newsletters, and a host of other features that will enhance your communication with customers. The best way to do this is to get onboard with an email marketing partner that has the expertise and resources to make your campaign a success. With the right tools in place, you can achieve your business goals, boost brand awareness, and keep your guests coming back for more. The key to achieving these objectives is in ensuring you do it right the first time around.
Don’t Forget About Mobile
If your email marketing isn’t mobile-friendly, you won’t be getting the full benefit of the open and click-through rates that a responsive design can offer. The truth is, more people are accessing their email on a mobile device than ever before. In fact, in June 2016, 54% of all emails were opened on a mobile device compared to only 27% on desktops and 19% on webmail.
While responsive email design is an important step, you should also test your content and design on different mobile devices to make sure it loads quickly, looks great and provides a positive user experience. You can do this with email service providers that let you preview your email on different mobile devices before sending it out to your subscribers.
You also want to ensure your subject line and preview text are optimized for mobile. These elements will load first, so they are often the first thing your readers see when they open your email. Similarly, you can use preheader text to grab the attention of your mobile readers and encourage them to open the rest of your message.
Another important thing to remember when writing your mobile-friendly email is that it needs to be short and concise. This means using short paragraphs, bulleted lists and highlights that are easy to scan on a small screen.
Finally, don’t overload your mobile-friendly emails with too many images. These can get in the way of the reading experience and clog up data too quickly. Instead, try using smaller images that are easy to scroll through and don’t require a lot of data on a mobile device.
The more time you spend thinking about your mobile users, the more likely they are to open and click through your messages. It’s also a good idea to conduct regular A/B tests with the same email template on multiple devices. This will help you understand which aspects of your email get the most engagement. It will also help you refine your message for mobile users, which is critical to increasing the overall success of your campaigns.
Don’t Oversaturate Your Audience
Email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with your current and potential clients. However, it’s important not to overdo it, as this can lead to a decline in engagement with your message. The best way to avoid this is to identify which audience segments are most engaged and reduce the number of emails you send to these groups.
One of the most effective ways to do this is by segmenting your audience based on their interests and needs. This will help you develop relevant content that your prospects and customers are likely to respond to. For instance, if your company sells air conditioning units to both home and business owners, you may want to create separate campaigns for each group to optimize your efforts.
The best way to do this is to use an email marketing tool that allows you to easily track engagement with your messages, so you can identify which audiences are most responsive and send them the most relevant content. This is where the power of big data comes into play, as it can give you a better idea of what your audience wants and needs, which will in turn make you more efficient in your email marketing.
It’s also a good idea to include a link in your email that takes your readers directly to your site, so they can find out more about you and what you do. This will not only increase your conversion rates, but it can also boost your search engine ranking.