Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to turn potential customers into paying customers. With the highest return on investment out of all marketing channels, it’s important to ensure your email marketing strategy is on point. To help you out, we’ve outlined the top 5 common email marketing mistakes people make and provided some helpful tips to avoid them.

Common Email Marketing Mistakes

Unsuccessful email marketing campaigns are the result of poor planning, uninspired content, and lack of analysis. The most common mistakes you might make are:

1. No customer segmentation or personalisation

A common mistake made by email marketers is not personalising emails to appeal to their target markets. A generic, bulk email is much less likely to convert than a personalised message targeted towards a specific audience. Your customers should feel like they matter and aren’t just another subscriber. Start with personalised greetings and messages tailored towards specific traits, interests or behaviours.

2. Missing calls to action

You could have the best content in the world, but if your emails are lacking effective calls to action, your readers are unlikely to engage with your content. Before sending your message, consider the purpose of your email. Do you want to promote a product? Or drive traffic to your Instagram page? Your CTAs should be tailored to these specific goals. They should also be attention grabbing and provide a clear conversion path.

3. Poor subject lines

Getting people to open your message is the first step towards a successful email marketing campaign. An interesting, attention grabbing subject line could be the difference between a conversion or an unread email. Fifty percent of emails are opened on a mobile device, meaning you need to consider your character limit for mobile. iPhones show a maximum of 35-38 characters in portrait mode, so it’s best to aim for subject lines that won’t exceed this limit. The tone of your subject line should also vary depending on your audience. For example, if you’re targeting a young, fun-loving audience, emojis have been shown to increase open rate. On the other hand, a more formal subject line could be appropriate for an older or professional target market. This can also differ depending on your industry and the message you’re trying to portray.

4. Selling too hard

Think of email marketing as a way to build relationships with your customers. If you’re constantly trying to sell, sell, sell, you might end up putting your email recipients off and losing a potential customer. Try to find a balance between helpful, engaging content and selling your products and services.

5. Lack of data analysis

Analytics are crucial for ensuring you’re getting the most out of your email marketing strategy. With the help of analytics tools like Google Analytics, you can find valuable insights and connect the dots to help your customers go from potential customer to paying customer much more quickly. Some key data to keep an eye on are open rate, click-through rate and conversion rate. These figures will tell you what’s working, and more importantly, what’s not.

Direct Email Marketing Strategies

A successful email marketing campaign can rapidly grow your client base and revenue, but a poorly executed email can leave a bad taste with your readers. The first step to avoiding email mistakes is to make a plan. Before hitting send, ask yourself the following questions:

• Who is your target audience?
• What is the purpose of your email?
• What types of emails will you send?
• How do you want your emails to look?
• How often will you send the emails?
  

Once you have answers to all of these questions, you’re ready to start your email marketing campaign!

How TwentyTwo Digital Can Help

At TwentyTwo Digital, email marketing is our jam. We understand the value of a great email marketing campaign, and know how to push the limits to see great results. If you’re interested in further developing your email marketing strategy, get in touch with our team! We’d love to hear from you!