Email marketing is designed to help develop and maintain a relationship between email subscribers and your business. That relationship is similar to the beginning stages of new relationship. You want to present yourself as polite, interesting, and wanting to learn more. You don’t want to reveal your secrets, history, and talk only about yourself.
Here are 10 email marketing don’ts to help maintain and better your relationship with subscribers.
Not Giving the Reader what they want
When sending out newsletters, don’t just focus on the product you can sell or the service that you ‘need’. Focus on giving information that readers can actually use like the latest trend in their industries or something entertaining to help them relieve some workplace stress. Including information or entertainment along with updates of services or products allows reader to know that they are getting something of value.
Email has too many graphics
When roughly 50% of emails on being opened on mobile devices or tablets, it is crucial to have your email function quickly. Large, low resolution graphic will make for slower loading time and can cause confusion or frustration for reader. To counteract these slow loading times, use graphics with a small scale to have the best effect to your readers.
Subject line is confusing
The subject lines allows readers to make a split second decision to open or delete your newsletter, so you want that subject line to be intriguing and clear. Subject lines play a significant part in successful campaigns and position responses. You want your newsletter subject line to let the reader know that the material is valuable and understandable.
Sending out emails with errors
Mistakes happen. As marketers for your small business you want to spend the time making sure that your newsletters are free from spelling errors, grammar errors, and broken links. This is a first impression a reader will get from your business — make it count. Good spelling, grammar, and links improves your business’ credibility.
Talk to your subscribers like clients
Your clients and customers are already aware what they are, so it’s your job to show that they are more than that — they are friends. Newsletters should be written with your brand’s tone and vocabulary to show readers that you are friendly and relatable. Focus on finding the perfect mix of professional and friendly.
Constantly pitch, educate
Readers subscribe to newsletters to learn, explore, and to be involved within their desired industry. Giving readers the opportunity to learn from you brings a feeling of “exclusiveness” which could make a loyal reader into a loyal customer. Take the opportunity to teach, reveal, and to be involved with your readers.
Forget a call-to-action
Newsletters and emails are sent out in the search of something – so be specific of what you want. Be clear and concise on what you want the readers to do in the email. If no clear instructions or calls to actions are made, nothing will happen.
Spam them
Spam is an annoyance that can be easy to fall into. It is one click away from trapping your emails away from the reader. To avoid this, it is important to discover the best times and days to send out your emails and avoid being sent to the junk folder or being unsubscribed.
Forget to test your emails
Set templates and various email account don’t always agree with each other. Imagine creating the perfect newsletter for your readers, sending, and then realizing that the template changes significantly on Yahoo and MSN compared to Gmail and Hotmail. To help avoid these possible frustrations, test your email on various dummy accounts.
Overlook mobile email
Everyone seems to have a smartphone these days with that instant connection, so it is safe to safe that at least half of people check their email via smartphone. Designing a newsletter template that appears clean and organized on both laptops and mobile devices enables subscribers to have a consistent good quality from your business.