Five Email Marketing Mistakes That Will Cost You

Email marketing is a very powerful technique which, when done well, can provide a great return on investment for a relatively low price. However, there are bad practices when it comes to email that can backfire and restrict your email marketing results, read on to make sure you avoid these crucial mistakes.

No Email Management System

Not using email marketing software is a poor choice, although sending a message from your personal email address to a large number of recipients may seem like an easy option, it will lead to more complications. Many providers block this kind of behaviour and are likely to flag it as spam, which could lead to a ban on any emails being sent from your account. On top of this, this method does not allow you to add any kind of personalisation, a key part of connecting with your customers.

At WDL, we have our own email marketing system, Mailr, which provides a range of features to make your email marketing process as efficient as possible. It gives you the option to fully manage and send your own campaigns but also allows us to fully manage or review your campaigns, depending on what you prefer.

Emailing Without Permission

Adding people to your mailing list without their permission could lead to serious legal trouble. Your list should be built up naturally over time and buying third party lists is definitely a technique to avoid. To entice people to sign up, you need to give them a reason to do so, how about a discount or free download? Promoting sign ups will help you on your way, some easy places to start are:

• Add an opt in option onto the end of your website contact form
• Promote it on social media
• Add sign up boxes on your website pages and on all blog posts
• Do you have an e-commerce website? Add an opt in option to the checkout process

Incomprehensive Testing

Before sending out an email, ensuring it is thoroughly checked is a must. It’s always a good idea to send a test version around a few people from different areas of your company to get them to proofread and double check that all links are working. On top of the content, it’s essential that your email works and looks great across all devices; testing software is available to check your email on different devices and across email platforms before it is sent out, we often use Email on Acid.

A Complex Unsubscribe Process

There needs to be clear options on every email you send giving users the chance to unsubscribe. The process should be as simple as it can be, preferably just one click as any difficulty for your recipients will lead to complaints and potentially them marking your emails as spam. If multiple people mark your messages as spam your account will see drops in the number of messages getting successfully delivered and your emails may automatically end up in spam folders, a place you do not want to be!

Ignoring the Numbers

One of the most important reasons to use an email marketing system, if not the most important, is the analytics. When sending an email through your regular account, you do not have access to the kind of information you do when using specialised software.

Reviewing the success of your campaigns is key in ensuring email marketing is working for you and meeting your goals. Each statistic is an indicator of the quality of your email and should not be overlooked; open rates and click through rates show how engaged your recipients are and how relevant your content was. Combine this with how visitors interacted once they landed on your website and you’re starting to build a pretty comprehensive report. Over time you will also be able to gauge when is the best time to send your emails and what type of email provides the best response.

When it comes to generating great return on investment, properly executed email marketing is one of the best options around. Fail to be aware of some of the basics however and it can quickly become a costly exercise. Looking to see what results you can achieve through email marketing or not sure if it’s right for you? Get in touch and find out how we can help.