In this video, we are going to take a look at the top ten don’t in email marketing. If you are new to email marketing or an experienced pro, it can be really easy to fall into some of the pitfalls that can result in your email marketing falling flat.
So, without further ado, let’s get started with number 1
- Don’t use purchased lists
For the simple reason that they just don’t work. They are typically old, stuffed full of duplicates and bad data and typically the recipients have opted in to join that list. - After all, would you agree to your email address being bought and sold all over the world by data brokers?
- Don’t use spam phrases
Spam filters nowadays can be pretty strict, before allowing your email into the inbox, they will scan it for spam trigger phrases. Just a few phrases such as discount, sale, promotion can trigger a filter to classify your email as junk.
If you are an email blaster user, then we have a handy spam checker to highlight any potential issues before you send your email.
- Don’t keep sending the same email
If your first mail had a great response rate, then don’t fall into the trap of assuming if you send it again to the same list that it’ll get the same results. By the law of diminishing returns, it probably won’t. Always send your recipients fresh content to keep them interested in your communications.
- Don’t use a generic send from address.
People like to feel valued, if they receive a mailer from marketing@ or sale@, then it feels like they are part of a large scale marketing blast. Engagements rates from campaigns sent using generic send from details are always lower.
You’ll get much better engagement if you send from your own name @. After all, people buy from people.
- Don’t waffle
Keep your emails brief and punchy - say what you need to say in as few words as possible.
- Don’t bury your call to action
Your call to action is the most important part of your email - this is your instruction for the viewer to do something after reading your email. It could be a click link to purchase something or to contact you for more information.
The common mistake is to have this too far down the page or to not have one at all. It needs to be big clear and easy to read.
- Don’t forget to remind people of why they are receiving your email.
If people don’t remember asking to receive your emails - then they may opt-out, or mark your emails as spam.
Always put a small line of text at the top, reminding people of why they are receiving your email. Mailers that don’t have this always have much higher unsubscribes and spam complaints.
- Don’t use large images
Large images - both in terms of file size and the height and width of them can be really frustrating for viewers. If the file size is really large then it just takes too long before your viewer can load your email and read it.
If the overall image dimensions are really big, then your viewer has to scroll down too far before they see the important text sections of your mailer - such as the strapline and call to action.
- Don’t forget to clean your data
After your first few sends you’ll see that some of your emails didn’t get through, these are termed as bounces. Sending out email campaigns with a high rate of bounces will cause reputation damage to your company domain and sending server.
Using decent software such as email blaster will automate all of this for you. We scan lists on import and remove any bad data, we also automatically removed bounces and unsubscribes after each send. This keeps your data really clean and ensures good deliverability.
- Don’t send spam
If you are sending an email to a person who did not ask to receive it - regardless of if you feel that they may want to buy your products - this is classed as spam.
None of us likes to receive emails that we haven’t asked for, they are a nuisance and as a marketing medium sending spam just doesn’t work. Building lists methodically of qualified opted in addresses is what works.
It might be more labour intensive than just trawling websites or buying data, but don’t be tempted by the shortcuts offered by doing this, it just doesn’t work.