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Email Marketing Mistakes You Should Avoid

Chances are, your business is one of the many who make common email marketing mistakes. But luckily, there are ways to help you avoid them so you get can your company on track for online success.

Here’s a list of the most common email marketing mistakes we see and what you can do to prevent them.

Sending Emails with a Poor Subject Line

Everyone knows the subject lines in your emails need to be attractive to the consumer to get them to click and read what you have to offer. However, many businesses still make the big mistake sending emails with boring, ineffective subject lines.

Boring subject lines means decreased traffic, click-through rates and conversions. So create a subject line that’s designed to get your audience to click on your email. A great way to do that is to use questions. According to an infographic by Litmus describing a recent study by MailChimp, subject lines that poses questions perform better.

Emails are Only Optimized for One Platform

In this technology age, more and more consumers are using cellphones and tablets to do everyday tasks they normally would do on a laptop. This includes checking emails. In fact, two-third of all US emails in the first quarter of 2015 were opened through a mobile device according to Business2Community.com.

So it’s important to make sure the emails you send to your customers are responsive on all platforms. This includes PCs and laptops as well as smartphones and tablets.

Failing to Add CTAs and Links

Emails are designed to help get potential consumers to visit your business’ website so it’s important to make sure they include links and calls-to-action (CTAs) leading back to resources on the company website. Just make sure they’re relevant to your consumers’ interests.

For example, if you own or manage a dealership, you can send out an email like the one below.

The entire email is designed to cater to a specific need your customer has. The links take you to the dealership’s vehicle reviews, comparisons, and inventory pages giving readers a path to the information they need to make their car buying decision. Plus, the CTA at the end of the copy encouraging them to schedule a test drive is perfect for those who may have an idea of the car they want already.

Simply put, regardless of where the reader is in their purchase process, you’re providing them with the details they need as well as a reason for them to visit your website.

Choosing Sales Over the Customer

The biggest mistake businesses make when executing their email marketing campaigns is focusing on their business rather than the customer. I get it. You need to sell your products, but consumers don’t want to take their business to a place that doesn’t show that they pay attention to their customer’s needs.

In the above example, you can see that it doesn’t push the reader to visit or contact the dealership. Instead, the email educates first by providing a list of helpful links while positioning themselves as the obvious choice to do business with, without being pushy or boastful. This tactic not only attracts more visitors to your website, but it keeps your dealerships on top of mind until they’re ready to make their purchase.

The most common email marketing mistakes can cause tons of problems for your dealership, so it’s important to take the steps to put your company on the path to email marketing success and stay away from these common mistakes.

To help you better execute a successful email and digital marketing campaign, check out our free Responsive Design eBook to get your emails and your website working for all platforms.
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Until next time,

Jenn

Jennica Torio is an Inbound Marketing Copywriter at Stream Companies, a full-service Philadelphia-area advertising agency.

 

Stream’s Kick-Start Step

Print out one of the emails your sales team sends to their prospects and cross out every time you talk about yourself and highlight every time you educate, guide or provide a helpful solution to your prospect. If you have more cross outs than highlights you should revise your emails immediately.