Are you sending out repeated emails and you feel like no one is opening them. You might even feel like you are talking to a yourself. Do you feel like your emails are not getting read. You probably are tired of seeing that low “open” rate and cannot figure out why no one is at home. And then you start thinking is it you or them. Maybe you are doing something wrong. Have a look at these 5 common mistakes of email marketing.
1. On the opening line, Hello {!firstname} (the actual name goes here, not the word firstname). Are you kidding, this does not look good. One of the first rules when sending out an email is to test it. You can send it to yourself first. This just makes someone think you are to quick or to busy when sending out your emails. Make sure you are checking for errors like this one and obvious grammatical errors. The appearance of a good professional email marketer is important.
2. You use these common key words, free, debt, offer, bonus, discount, won, deal, money, sign up now, guaranteed, work from home… You have just used the magical spam words and phrases and most likely will get your emails re-routed to your subscribers junk mail or spam trap by their email provider. Do a quick internet search to see what the latest spam words are. You want to be creative and come up with other words which will say the same thing but avoid the spam filters.
3. Make sure you have an email that will sound believable. A headline of “You Can Make $20,000 In 30 Days” will get an automatic click from the delete button. People already have a full email inbox so when they see something with a headline like that “Click”. You want to sound credible with your emails you send out to make you sound trustworthy. You want to make sure you are using subject lines and content that are believable.
4. It seems no one now has time to read long emails. with huge paragraphs. And they certainly don’t want to read long boring emails. You have to be short and to the point. Your emails should be for them not for you. Good short and entertaining emails can make for better reading. Take those long paragraphs and make them into short paragraphs. This will give it more room and make it easier to read. If it appears easier to read you have more of a chance for them to actually want to read it.
5. Because people opted into your list you will want to use every email to promote a product. They opted in to receive valuable information that you promised to deliver by email. Make sure your emails do not contain promotion after promotion because that will cause them to opt out of your emails. It may not happen immediately but they will. Send them to some useful sites, give them some free reports and other things from time to time and they will be more likely to keep coming back to read your emails. People are interested in something that will help them, sort of a “What Have You Done For Me Lately” frame of mind.
Sit back and think about what you have been sending out to your list of subscribers. Your list, especially if you have a large list, can be the bread and butter of an internet marketer. It helps if you are sending out quality emails otherwise your emails will not be opened, let alone read. When you send out your emails make sure it would be something that you would read if you were to receive it.
September 7th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Good points you have covered. Not being boring and giving people actionable information is more important than being short.
September 7th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Your right, we need to make sure our emails are sent with a personal touch, and not just trying to sell something. But it’s all about finding the best conversion rates for your list, and the best methods used can be different from list to list.
September 8th, 2009 at 9:39 am
All very good points. Numbers 2 and 3 are often overlooked. It’s really common sense isn’t it, write an email that you would want to open and read yourself and others will most likely open it too. I also like your point about not bombarding your list with promo after promo. Build a relationship with your list and tell them about products that will help them and they will stay subscribed and open your emails.
Great post Andre
September 8th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I agree with most of your points, but take issue with the use of Free in the subject of emails. I have been running a lot of adswaps where I am offering free items from other marketers. I use the word “Free” in my subjects and when I do, I get better open rates than when I do not.
I see a lot of people doing F.ree and other tactics, but I think they are continuing an “urban myth” about using the word free.
I wonder what your other readers have experienced?
September 8th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Some really great tips Andre!
I have broken some of those in the past, but really try to pay closer attention to what I am sending these days.
Sometimes it’s difficult as things are changing constantly, but that’s what makes this such a challenge.
And challenge is good. It keeps you constantly thinking and on your toes!
September 10th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Good points about email marketing. We need to do all that we can to keep from making the mistakes that will hurt our efforts.
However, I have to agree with Earl on the use of free. When I use the word free in my subject line, my open rate is much higher then when I don’t. I hope that this does not mean that my will will never buy. But at the present time I get a lot more opens when I use free in the title.