Communicating messages over email is almost an art form. In email marketing, businesses don’t have the opportunity to present themselves with a smile and a firm handshake, leaving them with the delicate task of trying to capture the targeted individual’s interest with just a few words. Yet, email marketing has proven to be a smart investment for those who are able to execute it properly. In order to master the art of email marketing and keep customers and prospects coming back, businesses must first know what not to do.
Email Marketing: What not to do
Don’t send a blanket email. More often than not, a blanket email that has a piece of general information is not going to be relevant to your recipient. A solution to this is simply asking each registrar what demographic they belong to and sticking to that. Inc.com uses the example of a retail clothing salesman first pointing a man to the women’s section. Be sure to send relevant information.
Make it simple. Though it’s tempting to make it an elaborate and fancy message, the user is much more likely to click on an email that has a simple format. A useful practice is setting one primary option, perhaps including a single, easily clickable link that will require less thought. Asking too much of the reader will guarantee a negative response.
Consider the mobile use of the recipient. As NBC’s Suzanne Choney reports, “A striking 87 percent of smartphone owners check the internet or email on their phones, including 68 percent who do so generally every day.” The increased use of mobile devices requires attention when building an email. A poorly formatted email on a phone will not only frustrate users and guarantee less clicks, it will make your business look less professional. This can be remedied by following the instructions above and making it clickable and easy to read.
Make the subject line appealing. As said before, email marketers have a very small window of opportunity to catch the attention of their targeted audience. If the reader is not immediately interested in what you have to say, you can expect a quick delete. But with an exciting and announcing subject line, you can avoid being deemed as irrelevant. This requires great attention to who exactly your subscribers are, and what exactly they want.
Don’t send too many. The final and most important of all not-to-dos when it comes to email marketing is not flooding the inbox of your recipient. We’ve all unsubscribed from email lists for this reason: we’re tired of having to delete so many. Obviously an increase of sales will be the reward if email marketing is done right, but getting carried away and sending too many will reverse your fortune.
Are you email marketing effectively?
Sources:
http://www.inc.com/charlie-graham/email-marketing-mistakes.html
