Avoiding Email Marketing Mistakes
In an email, the most common mistake is placing too many calls to action. Too many CTAs confuse the recipient and dilute the effectiveness of your email campaign.
Text links are still the preferred method of linking to your website and should have at least two links above the fold. Always place your CTAs on a separate line. The following are the top 4 email marketing mistakes (This is just my opinion, and I am sure others here will have more). Read carefully to avoid making them.
Not Personalizing the Subject Lines
Whether you send out a single or a series of emails, the subject line is your first point of contact with your recipients. It gives them an idea of the contents of your email and can make or break whether they want to open it or not. Personalize your Subject lines to gain attention and boost open rates.
One of the most common mistakes in email marketing is not personalizing the subject line. The subject line is a small piece of content, but it's crucial to make it stand out in an otherwise impersonal email campaign.
A generic subject line will drive readers away, so you won't get your desired response. Avoid using jargon or language that could damage your reputation or end up in the spam folder.
Don't forget to measure open and click-through rates. Open rates measure how many people opened your email and clicked on your link.
Click-through rates, on the other hand, are the percentage of subscribers who clicked on your link. They are a good indicator of whether or not your content resonates with your subscribers.
In a survey, 53% of consumers said they get too many emails from retailers, while 44% said they receive the right number.
Always test your emails and subject lines to ensure they work. A small percentage of marketing emails are personalized, so you should focus on customer segmentation.
However, there are other common mistakes that you must avoid to maximize your email campaign's success. You can identify which subjects work best for your audience using email analytics software and tracking results.
Using a tool like CoSchedule or Omnisend, you can test your subject lines before implementing them on your email campaigns.
Make sure that your subject lines contain a call to action. Your email subject line should encourage your recipients to take a specific action, whether opening the email or clicking on the link.
Remember to tailor your body copy to encourage them to take the next step in your buyer's journey. Your readers will feel more inclined to open your emails if you deliver personalized email content.
Not Including a Pre-Header Text
An important aspect of an email is its pre-header text. It is a quick summary of the email or call to action that gives your subscribers a sense of what the message is all about before they open it.
Make sure to personalize the text for each subscriber by asking a question to get them interested in opening the email. By focusing on the details of your message, you can increase your email open rates and boost your conversions.
In addition to being short, pre-header text must be visible on mobile devices. This text is displayed above the subject line.
Earlier, hiding email content was considered a bad practice. But it has become more common. This practice does not affect deliverability, and it has become more common.
According to Marketing Experiments, including pre-header text in emails significantly increases the open rate. In one study, Marketing Experiments sent two identical emails with the same subject line but different pre-header text. The email with the custom pre-header received a 104% increase in clicks.
You can use emojis to evoke emotions in your emails. Emojis are especially effective when used as pre-header text. They can stand out from the clutter in the inbox and grab the reader's attention.
You can incorporate emojis into an email subject line with or without code. Just make sure you test the subject line across email clients and devices. Otherwise, it could end up losing its appeal.
Not Using a Subject Line Testing Tool
The first email subject line you should consider is how to entice readers to open it. People may be reluctant to open your email if your subject line is too long, generic, or vague.
Ensure your subject line entices your readers to open your email and test it with a subject line testing tool. Your subject line must be mobile-friendly and be large enough for subscribers to read it on a Smartphone or tablet.
Use one or two CTAs in your email. Too many calls to action will confuse recipients and dilute the effectiveness of your email marketing campaign. Additionally, it will be difficult to determine whether your email is working.
People generally prefer text links to buttons, so you should have at least two links in your email, one above and one below the fold. Always place your call-to-action on a line by itself, and remember that less is more.
Ensure your content is informative and interesting. Email marketing can help to generate revenue, but your efforts are a waste of time without engaging readers.
Many newbies make the mistake of creating emails that are full of useless content. The result is a poorly designed email campaign that fails to generate action or increased revenue.
To avoid such pitfalls, keep your content relevant and balanced. Remember that your customers expect useful content backed by relevant product or service information.
Another email marketing mistake is using a poor subject line. According to research, 47% of email recipients decide to open an email based on the subject line.
While subject line best practices vary from company to company, AWeber found that subjects are generally shorter than 60 characters.
On the other hand, Marketo found that 41 characters across seven words are the ideal length. When composing your subject line, consider the tone you want to convey to your subscribers.
Not Using a Prominent CTA
A CTA can be a powerful sales tool that can stimulate your email marketing campaign and remove friction points for moving subscribers down the sales funnel.
A well-placed CTA will compel a buyer to act right away. But CTAs are not just for marketers; many customers and subscribers rely on them as a way to increase their conversion rate.
The CTA should be as prominent as possible. In the case of email marketing, the CTA is typically a button, so make it as prominent as possible.
Place it above the fold and be the first thing a reader sees. It should also be one of the most prominent elements in the email, which is especially true for mobile readers. In this way, it will stand out amongst the clutter and get the recipient's attention.
The text surrounding the CTA is also crucial. The CTA button should stand out, so ensure sufficient white space around it. That way, the CTA will attract people and result in clicks.
A CTA can be a button, a link, or a personalized message. Depending on the type of email, the CTA may be as simple as clicking a link or sharing it with a friend.
The content can be simple or personalized, but it must be highly visible. Ideally, the CTA is a button, but it doesn't have to be! It should be accompanied by an eye-catching image or link to encourage the subscriber to interact with it.
Secondary CTAs are complementary to the primary CTA. They provide an alternate way to engage with the email and encourage more subscribers.
Conclusion
While secondary CTAs do not have the same impact as primary CTAs, they are still useful. For instance, if your primary CTA doesn't work, you can use secondary CTAs to encourage readers to take further actions, such as signing up for your newsletter. If you are promoting a product, you might want to send a free download or a special offer.
I hope this helps.
Recent Comments
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Thanks for this post, Mark. I do plan to do an email campaign as the next thing I do to get more regular readers that are interested in my articles and products. I am just not sure what I can offer someone to make them want to stick around.
Thanks very much for your help!
Barbara
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Your posts are always very helpful, Mark! Keep up the excellent work, Mate!
Jeff