Email Marketing: 8 Ways you’re Doing it all Wrong!

Release Date

22 November 2016

It can be difficult to get noticed in a busy inbox. If you’re not getting the best bang for your email marketing buck, maybe there a few quick fixes you can make.

 

 

1. You’re sending unresponsive emails


We know that so many of our readers are opening their emails on their mobile devices. In fact, the stats say that 55% of email is now opened on a mobile device – (source: Litmus “Email Analytics” March 2016).


2. You’re emailing the wrong people


Doing a last minute promotion for your event tomorrow? Don’t send it to customers in another state, or even country. They’re not your target market! You’d be better off segmenting your database to ensure the right people are getting the right emails. Sending unnecessary or irrelevant emails can burn your contacts, causing them to opt out of future correspondence.


3. You’re spamming your database


If you’re not sending useful content or worse, you’re using too many salesy subject lines, there’s a higher chance that your email will be immediately deleted without being read. It may even be marked as spam by the email server and never even make it to your recipient’s inbox. Think about presenting useful or actionable information targeted to help the recipient you’re sending it to. This shows a respect for your customer’s time and helps you to appear more genuine as a brand.


4. You’ve forgotten to test


You should be adopting an A/B testing process. This will allow you try different approaches and strategies. By alternating your style, your subject line, call to action buttons etc you’ll be able to reduce your bounce rate and increase your conversions. 


5. You’re using the wrong “From” name.
 

Now, this one gets a bit controversial. Some believe that to make your communications more personal and give your email a “voice”, you might want to associate that voice with a person; a human being that people can relate to. This is because we’re more likely to open an email from an individual than from a company (we enjoy that personal touch on a subliminal level and essentially – people do business with people). 

 

Conversely though, you don’t want to keep changing the From Name depending who in the company is sending the email, of if that staff member leaves. Further, if you have a strong brand name, you want to use that.

 

A definite no-go is an email address in the From space and even worse, a noreply@XYZ.com email address!

 

So, if you want to play it safe, here are some guidelines:
 

• Pick the most logical, recognised brand that would make sense to subscribers and that they would most likely expect to see in their inboxes.
   
• Do use different "From" names to differentiate among newsletter brands or email streams. However, incorporate a common style, such as the brand or company name, to promote continuity. For example Marketing Success Tip of the Week, Marketing Success Newsletter & Marketing Success Event Reminder.
   
• Don't change "From" names repeatedly on the same publication. Once you choose a name, stick with it.  
   
• Do keep the “From” name as short as possible, while still conveying your brand correctly. 
   
• Do test a few “From” names (over a few sends to increase confidence in the results) if you’re starting a new email program or if you’re planning to change your “From” name and are unsure of the best name.

 

Keeping the same institutional "From" name builds trust and recognition. Don't change it as a gimmick or attention-getter.

6. Your emails are simply too long

We’re time poor and when we receive a long email full of text (especially on our mobile device), we’ll likely scroll right through it, judge it as ‘too much work’ and hit delete without reading it. 


So, keep your email copy concise. Say what you need to say in as few words as possible. By keeping your language concise, you avoid confusing your readers and help them to take action. 


If you’re struggling to condense your copy, paste it into the Hemmingway App. It will highlight sentences that too long/confusing. 



7. You’ve gotten your image balance wrong (or you’re using the wrong images)

Images can be great and actually increase your click-through rate. However, they need to complement your copy. 


We process images 60,000 faster than text, so they can get the message across effectively. However, too many images = noisy and confusing email and images that won’t load = amateur business.



8. Confusing Call to Action
 

Limit your emails to one call to action per section. Keep in mind that too many offers and directions to ‘click here’ within a single email can get confusing for the recipient. 

 

Also, look at using buttons rather than hyperlinks. They break up your content into bite-sized chunks of information, and help to increase click-through rates. 

 

Lastly, give your recipient a clear idea of what the action is: “Buy now”, “Visit our site”, “Continue reading”, “Contact us”. Prompting the reader with clear directions will also help to increase click-through rates.

 

We’re happy to step you through which digital marketing assets and tactics would work best for your brand and how to integrate these into your overarching marketing plan. To get started, contact us on 1800 505 529 or by submitting an enquiry.