Even in 2020, email marketing remains a gold mine for businesses of all sizes and industries, helping you convert new customers and keep them coming back. You’ve likely heard statistics such as the average ROI of email marketing and how it often serves as the primary method for customer retention.
But not all email marketing strategies are made equal. Make the wrong decisions and you could end up with an ineffective campaign that fails to realize the true potential of this method. This is why it’s important to know about the common mistakes you should avoid to ensure the best possible chances of success. Here are 4 to keep in mind.
Ignoring New Subscribers
Anyone who has taken the necessary steps to subscribe to your mailing list is clearly interested in your business. It’s at this point that they will be most engaged with you, so waiting until your next newsletter before getting in touch is a big mistake. Instead, each new subscriber should be greeted with a welcome email.
These have the highest open rates, generating an average of 320% more revenue than other marketing messages. Ensure that yours includes a warm and appropriate welcome, an introduction to your brand, and an explanation of what to expect moving forward.
Having an Unclear Call-to-Action
Without a clear call-to-action, you’re leaving it up to your audience to determine what to do next. Their decision may not be in-line with the purpose of your email, rendering it more or less useless. This is why your emails need a clear call-to-action that drives your goal home.
Your intended outcome can involve making a purchase, reading a new blog post, sharing to social media, or joining a loyalty program. In any case, be sure to use the content and design of your email to lean subscribers towards that outcome, with a clear and enticing call-to-action to seal the deal.
Doing it Yourself
You’re making far more than just one mistake by not leveraging the tools and resources available for email marketing today. This includes wasting countless hours manually performing tasks that can be completed with automation. It can also mean missing out on valuable insights by not making use of analytics tools.
Not using a professional tool with well-designed templates could result in you sending ineffective emails. This even applies to more specific actions. For instance, take a look at what happens when you send mass email in Gmail instead of a dedicated tool. Deliverability issues are just one of the problems you might end up dealing with.
Buying Email Lists
Finally, one of the biggest mistakes you can make that will break your chances of a successful campaign no matter how well-designed your emails and their content are, is paying for who receives them. It may be convenient, but rest assured you’ll either end up with a list of fake addresses or people who have no interest in your business to begin with.
Be sure to keep these mistakes in mind when putting together your campaigns. Avoiding them will go a long way in ensuring your success.
