Over the years we’ve noticed a few common email marketing pitfalls that new clients tend to experience. These obstacles often leave businesses dazed and confused, so we thought we’d set the record straight.
Set Your Goals
Arbitrarily sending emails will get you nowhere. As with all other marketing functions, you have to set your goals by identifying specific objectives. Losing sight of your main purpose leads to distractions and misuses of time and resources.
Take these for example.
Goal: To turn cold leads into potential customers
Objective: Use email marketing to generate 3 leads per month
Goal: To upsell existing clientele
Objective: Promote key products with email marketing to increase average order value by 15%
See how the goals are aligned with tangible objectives? Holding yourself to defined standards is the best way to get the job done.
Consider Your Subscribers
We say this a lot, but only because of how important it is. Your digital marketing efforts (including email marketing) should be in the best interest of your subscribers.
They subscribed to your emails for a reason and trying to force unsolicited content or promotions will cause them to lose interest in your message and eventually, your brand.
So what should you do? Give them what they want.
If they’re subscribing for exclusive offers, give them that. If they want industry reports, give them that.
Don’t bait and switch your subscribers. Make them happy and they’ll be more likely to convert into profitable customers.
Once your big picture plans are laid out, you can start experimenting on the details.
Think About Your Subject Lines
Regardless of your strategy, you have to generate clicks, which means you need enticing subject lines.
Are you running tests?
Think about the process – users are scrolling through their inboxes and will click on what appeals most to them. This means your copy has to stand out if you want their attention.
But how does something stand out? It has to invoke some level of emotion.
“Buy 1 Get 3 Free” is meant to excite consumers
“Last Chance to Save 40%” is designed to instill fear (of missing out)
“3 Types of People to Avoid on Thanksgiving” is meant to use humor for brand engagement
But what works best?
It depends on a number of factors.
- Do you think the message will resonate with your audience?
- Is your message on brand?
- Does the emotion you’re leveraging match your message?
This is why you have to run tests; identify which approaches are working best and apply those findings to your future efforts.
Regardless of your approach, remember your subject lines should be designed to get people to open your emails. Give enough information to build interest without giving too much that takes it away.
If you do this right, you’ll start getting some clicks.
Consider Your Email Copy
Just as the subject line’s purpose is to build anticipation with a bit of information, the email copy is designed to elaborate on it.
Just not too much. People have short attention spans online, so only tell them what they need to know.
Seriously, get to the point.
We strongly suggest prioritizing your headline, as its the piece of copy people are most likely to notice and engage with.
Aside from the information you’re looking to share, strong emails deliver experiences that consumers look for.
Experiment With Email Designs
A strong email design can further leverage emotions and guide the users’ eyes.
You can do this by communicating visually with graphics that convey your idea with a combination of colors and effects that represent your brand.
Some designs bring up certain emotions and we associate colors with certain feelings. As an example, we’re conditioned to think “red = stop” and “green = go” because of our experiences with traffic lights.
Communicating on a visual level is a great way to enhance the effect of your copy and message.
As with the copy, experiment with different designs and look to identify patterns that you can apply to future emails.
Once your copy and designs start coming together, we can talk landing page optimization.
Optimize Your Landing Pages
They clicked on your subject line AND your email?
Now it’s time to get serious. You’d hate for your website traffic to fall off the map, right?
So what can you do?
Start with these two things:
- Ensure your landing page is loading quickly (less than 2 seconds) to maintain user interest.
- Have the most important information appear at the top of the page to reduce your bounce rate.
- Make sure everything is working (shopping carts, contact captures, etc.)
Then you can apply the same tests you did with your emails to your landing pages.
Wrapping Up
Email marketing can be overwhelming if you let it. Follow these steps and you’ll be on your way to email marketing glory!
Having trouble managing your email marketing campaigns? Contact the experts at Active Web Group for a complimentary analysis. This will let us determine what you could be doing better. Can’t wait? Give us a call at (800) 978-3417.
