5 Common Email Marketing Mistakes you Might be Making
For loads of small businesses, email marketing can be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. Even with the world of social media, automated marketing and AI developments moving along rapidly, email marketing is still a very high-performing channel, and, very importantly, one that you don't have to pay to play, unlike on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Google Ads. This means less investment for you with all the same great results - some publications estimate the average ROI for email is around 122% if done properly! Of course, like everything else when it comes to marketing your business, there are a few pitfalls you should keep in mind when email marketing to make sure getting the most bang for your buck!
Sending to the Wrong People
GDPR is also important here, since the wrong people‚doesn't just mean who you're targeting, but also who you're allowed to send things to. Under GDPR laws, which came into effect in 2018, you can't send your email marketing to anyone who hasn't actively opted into it. That means no pre-ticked boxes, no ‚ just send it to the full customer list and no buying email lists from some guy on Fiverr. If you're not sure whether you're allowed to send someone a marketing email under GDPR, err on the side of caution, since plenty of big companies have been caught out by the regulations.
Too Much of a Good Thing
There's nothing worse than an inbox crammed full of things you don't care about! Most of us get what feels like hundreds of emails every day, with varying levels of usefulness! Old magazine subscriptions, Wagamama's voucher codes, updates on your house search, recommendations from ASOS, the list goes on! When you're sending emails, it's important to make sure that you're sending things that are actually useful, and that when you don't have something to say, don't bother!¬†Of course, every industry and company will have their own parameters of what ‚ too many emails‚Äù looks like, but it's always key to keep an eye on your unsubscribe rates and make sure you're not overloading your precious subscribers.
Think About Your CTA's
When it comes to a Call to Action (CTA), you want to both think about what you're saying, and how you're saying it. Find out More‚ Shop Now‚ Get In Touch are all examples of CTAs, and are great touchpoints for your users to click through to your site. Because they're often key points you want to make sure they're working as well as they can. Some important things to consider are:
- What the CTA actually says - does it make sense for your users and what they want their next steps to look like?
- Where are your CTAs? If you can have your CTA in a place that is visible as soon as users open their email on both desktop and mobile devices, you're in a great place to pick up their clicks.
- What do your CTAs look like? Do you need to put them in a button, or do your users prefer links within the text? Would they rather click images?
Templates That Don't Make an Impact
Email marketing can be super effective, but that means there's also a lot of competition for space and clicks in our inboxes! Making sure you have an email template that is eye-catching, beautiful and really representative of your brand as a whole. Lots of email marketing platforms like MailChimp and ActiveCampaign give you the option to create an email template with a simple drag and drop builder, or to import your own fully customised email template designs to really make an impact. As well as your main template, imagery that looks bright, slick and stands out to your users makes them more likely to keep reading or to click through.If you're struggling to create email campaigns that land the way you want them to, get in touch with the team at Design Cloud to see how unlimited graphic design can reboot your email marketing. Contact us to arrange your free demo on 0330 133 1929!
