5 Most Popular Email Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
It sounds cliche, but we all make mistakes, and the key to true success lies in acknowledging and learning from them.
However, if you could learn from the errors of others instead of your own? It would be awesome, right? For sure.
Success in email marketing is a combo of science and art.
Yes, email works well for a lot of businesses out there. Still, dozens of email campaigns fall flat due to dull content, ineffective strategy, etc. To help you avoid making these mistakes, we’ve put up this list for you.
Top 3 Most Common Email Marketing Mistakes
If you’re dead serious about your ROI, here are the top three missteps you want to avoid at all costs.
Nat Paying Enough Attention to Design and Email Template
Take enough time to pick the right templates for all the emails you’ll need to create for your marketing campaigns. Let’s face it. Most probably, you’re using the same templates again and again.
Here’s the thing. Don’t get us wrong. Templates are great as a starting point. They are sure to save you time and they do look professional. However, you should go with the right ones that match your campaigns. Use an html email template builder to create custom templates if you need to.
Some marketers fall short because of poor design in their emails. Yes, people want to see visually pleasant content that is optimized for mobile devices as well. Consider this while setting up your next email campaign.
Not Offering Lead Magnets
Your potential subscribers are expecting you to share lead magnets with them. This is something valuable you give them as a free download every time they join your email list. Here are some of the most common lead magnets:
- Cheat sheets
- Whitepapers
- Toolkits
- Infographics
- Checklists
- Case studies
- Ebooks
- Free trials
- Discounts
- Coupons
- Templates
- Quizzes
- Webinars
Great lead magnets are a real win-win. Why? That’s because your subscriber will get value from a free service or product. And you are getting their email and consent for further communication to build up your relationship with them. This is a great way to turn leads into clients.
Buying Email Lists
This is a big no-no for many reasons. Yes, it looks tempting to pay someone to give you the list of emails of your ICP and start sending them your newsletters right away. However, this is just how you’ll get clapped by your email service provider. Why? That’s because this is against GDPR and CASL rules (analog of GDPR in Canada). These data privacy acts oblige you to comply with them if you have any emails from Europe or Canada.
The worst part? Sending emails to purchased lists will likely blow up your brand’s reputation.
Finally, you can’t “buy” relationships with people on that list. It means you’ll be literally shooting yourself in your leg. That’s because you’ll pay money for that list to cut the corner of building relations through genuine email marketing tactics. However, in reality, you’ll still have to do this from scratch, even with a purchased list.
Other 2 Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in Your Newsletters
Forgetting Your Call-to-Action
It may not seem like a very big deal. It’s not the same as a troublesome email blast sample for avoid. However, without clear and strong CTAs in your newsletters, your conversions will surely be lower.
- Shop Now
- Download Your Free Guide
- Register to Get You Exclusive Access
- Claim Your Discount
- Sign Up Today
These CTAs are just examples of how you can go about it. Feel free to be more creative with them. And always include them in all emails that you send.
Not Personalizing at All
Without the names of your subscribers, it’s impossible to personalize, right? No, this is a mistake. You still need and should do this to get higher open rates and conversions.
Here are some elements of your emails that are easy to personalize:
- Birthdays and holidays
- Localized details
- Info about purchases
Bonus: Epic One – Sending “Dear First Name Last Name” messages
Now, let’s talk about one of the really bad email marketing examples you should never do. Be sure to double-check every email before you send it out. It’s easy to mess things up. Send your newsletter to your email first and read it again as if you were a subscriber.
Final Words
Here you have it: top 5 email marketing mistakes to stay away from in your newsletters. Ignoring design and picking the wrong template for your campaign. Purchasing an email list. Not offering lead magnets. Forgetting to modify “Dear first last name.” Not paying attention to personalization and call-to-actions. These are big no-nos for every email marketer.
