We all make mistakes. And it’s okay, because that is the best way to learn. Here we will go over the top 5 mistakes of email marketers in 2009 (that does include you, my friend!). Hopefully, here you will find some useful tips that will help you improve in 2010.
1.Too much Focus on email marketing metrics
It is basically useless to look at results from individual email marketing campaigns. Every single campaign should be compared and measured against previous campaigns in order to understand how it is performing against the average. It is most important to look at conversions, because they are really better indications of engagement than opens and clicks. Even if you are running campaigns that don’t end in absolute conversions (sales/form submission) you should still track how deep they enter your site. Even time on the site is a better indicator than whether or not they opened.
2.Treating all recipients the same
When it comes to email marketing, recipients really prefer to be treated differently. I am sure you know the feeling of getting that annoying message “We noticed you didn’t open our last email and we really value you so would this content interest you? Still not interested what would you like to see?”. No one is really interested in responding to something like that! This does not have to be a complicated issue- simply choose those who didn’t respond to your last email and send them the same email again but with a different subject line. You should try sending a follow up email to the recipients that opened, but did not end up clicking through. You can also use a “thank you for your interest” campaign for those who clicked. It requires minimal design time and you can even get some templates built-in that you can run yourself.
3.Acting as though deliverability is someone else’s issue
Remember, at the end of the day- deliverability is in your hands. If you have an interesting and innovative campaign than you will be able to deliver! It’s as simple as that. So even though your ESP’s can help advise you on what will upset the ISP’s, it’s really not relevant. The power is ultimately in your hands.
So what is the best way to create an engaging campaign? First of all it’s important to understand why people are signing up to your email marketing list. You need to also make sure that you are properly delivering on the incentive that you are providing the customer. And for that added value you must really try and deliver content that can’t be gotten anywhere else.
4.Not having the proper welcome program set up
Your subscribers have trusted you with personal data, and they need you to be reminding them why they handed over their details to you in the first place. Try using an instant welcome message or even a sequence of messages afterwards. A good idea is to set up an automated email campaign that goes off when a subscriber signs up and then follows a predefined sequence. It’s also effective to have a good sales team working for you.
5.Confusing Email with Destination Mail
Don’t act as though email is a destination! Always keep in mind that it is a way of getting people to go somewhere else. It’s best to look at email as a flyer- not a letter or brochure.
Emails must get the point across of why it is worthwhile for the recipient to click through. The click through should must be user-friendly and simple. It’s important to get those subscribers to your site- that is the best way for them to communicate with you. So limit the time spent actually reading the email by minimizing its’ length and images.
To Conclude
There is no doubt about it- a properly run email marketing program can bring positive results to the bottom line of your business. For the upcoming year try and follow some of the above mentioned tips and you will be able to see for yourself!
