So, not too long ago it was Halloween and if you’re a parent then we’re sure you did the whole ‘check your kid’s candy’ thing to make sure they didn’t get anything they shouldn’t have. Anything that looked suspicious almost certainly ended up getting launched into the trash.
When it comes to email marketing, it’s important to understand that almost everyday is like Halloween. Send out something cruddy looking and wham-o- off to the trash it goes.
The GOOD news is that it doesn’t have to be and hey – if you’re doing the right things, it won’t be. That being said, the path to getting things ‘right’ more often than not requires a preliminary understanding of the things you DON’T want to do.
As such, this week’s post is a bout three email marketing mistakes you MUST avoid if you want to make an impact.
Don’t mutilate your design
Whatever you do – stay away from stale stock photos and generic images. Especially don’t try to copy/paste/shoe horn them into an existing design. They look as cheap as they do suspicious. Instead, opt for more vibrant, eye-catching pictures of the things you use and the services your offer that helps tell the story of your brand.
Tone down the frequency
Nothing stinks worse than feeling like you’re being harangued by something trying to sell you something. We hate hovercraft furniture salesman, pushy car salesmen, etc. Same thing with email marketing. Don’t get pushy and send emails too frequently – especially if people haven’t given you the green light to do so.
Try to include an option on your emails that empowers your customer to hear from you on their terms. Offer daily, weekly or even monthly updates and give them a button for opting out as well. Also if you’re a retailer – one idea would be to ask subscribers if they want to be emailed when certain products are discounted in their favorite styles. If you’re a restaurant – ask them if they’d like to be notified about menu changes and specials. There are ways of being relevant and present without being overwhelming.
Be relevant
It’s happened to all of us at one point or another – where we’ve received an email newsletter or solicitation that’s intended for someone else. Not knowing basic information like that makes you look lazy. If you can’t take the time to get someone’s name right – especially the name of someone who’s heading up an organization – they why would you expect them to do right by you?
Not only should the names and contacts be relevant, but they also need to be segmented properly. Not everyone is going to want to hear all of your messages, so make sure your emails are targeted to people who’d actually be interested. Especially if you see masses of people unsubscribing from certain types of messages or leaving them unopened – it’s highly likely that your email just aren’t relevant to them.