Stop Making These 7 Email Marketing Mistakes
Nobody’s perfect. But if you cut these common email marketing mistakes out of your life, you’ll be pretty close to it. Read on to find out how you can maximize your email marketing strategy, increase revenue and keep your subscribers wanting more content.
Do you feel defeated when auditing your email campaigns? Does it hurt your heart seeing those low revenue numbers and open rates? And let’s not even talk about the pain you feel when you check that unsubscribe rate.
Agonize no more. Class is in session.
I don’t just have one solution to solve your email marketing mishaps — I have seven. Get your pen and pad ready as we begin diving deep into the dos and don’ts of email marketing.
WARNING: Expect major improvements to your email campaigns if you follow these rules correctly.
1. DON’T: Be a chatty Kathy
DO: Keep emails short and direct
Let’s be honest, if someone wanted to read a chapter book, they’d pick up Harry Potter — not open your latest email campaign.
Imagine opening up an email that had lengthy paragraphs, run-on sentences, and a never-ending scroll. Don’t waste your time crafting the next best-selling novel, keep your copy short and direct.
To ensure you stay on topic when crafting your copy, try creating a highly organized campaign brief that includes the following:
- Purpose of your email
- Campaign type (product launch, seasonal, brand awareness, etc.)
- Segment(s) you’re sending to
- Call to Action
- Number of emails if the campaign is a series
The best length for an email is long enough to attract your readers to take the desired action. But if you’re looking for a solid number, the ideal email copy length is between 50 to 125 words.
Long story short, cut the fluff and get on with it!
2. DON’T: Ignore your preview text
DO: Produce preview text that will make subscribers want to read more
When you receive an email with a subpar subject line and zero preview text, consider it deleted in my book.
Besides your subject line, your preview text is the face of your email. This small slice of text is your chance to entice users to open up your email and see the magic inside.
If you’ve been disregarding your preview text, this could be why your open rate is on the lower side.
To prevent your preview text from getting cut off on any device, stick around 35–40 characters. With such few words, you have no choice but to pack a punch when curating your preview text.
3. DON’T: Forget about your mobile view
DO: Give your smartphone subs the best user experience
Get this — 85% of users use their smartphones to access email.
If you’ve been ignoring the layout and design of your emails in mobile view, I’m sure you won’t now.
There will be times when your desktop view appears sharp and organized, only to switch to mobile view and discover your email is disheveled and disfigured.
That’s why Klaviyo is a fantastic platform to build your marketing emails in. You can easily toggle between desktop and mobile views to make sure your designs are all in order.
Plus, Klaviyo automatically optimizes your emails for mobile viewings, allowing you to sleep at night knowing that the 85% of users opening up your emails on their smartphones aren’t seeing a mess of a message.
Here are five more reasons why Klaviyo is king to all other email marketing platforms.
4. DON’T: Send every email to your entire list of subscribers
DO: Segment, segment, segment!
Do not, I repeat, do not send every email to each and every subscriber. If you’re currently doing this, you’re basically asking for people to unsubscribe from you.
Stop and segment, people!
Your subscribers all have different wants and needs, and it’s your job to meet them if you want to retain your day one subs and keep your new followers wanting more.
Don’t believe in the power of segmentation? Here’s the proof in the pudding:
5. DON’T: Overuse industry jargon
DO: Use everyday language that an 8th grader can understand
You might get it, but that doesn’t mean we get it. Get it?
If you’re unsure of what a word means and you’re including it in your email, chances are your readers won’t understand. Make it easier on your behalf and stick to classic everyday language. When your readers have a clear understanding of your message, they’re more likely to take the desired action stated in your email.
Quick tip: Provide context to your readers by writing out abbreviations or including definitions when necessary.
Unsure if you’re using jargon in your email campaigns? Try sending it to someone who doesn’t work in your industry. If they’re as confused as ever, you didn’t hit the nail on the head.
6. DON’T: Rely on hyperlinking text as your CTA
DO: Add an eyecatching CTA button
Using a CTA button is 28% more effective than hyperlinking a chunk of text.
If that’s not a reason enough to start incorporating buttons into your emails, I don’t know what is.
7. DON’T: Forget about sign-ups
DO: Prioritize your pop-up!
How do you expect to see eye-catching results when your subscriber list is that of 50? I don’t mean to sound harsh, but your emails are only as good as your subscriber list.
While it’s important to realize your subscriber list won’t explode overnight, there are ways to make it grow. And the best way to do that is with a superb sign-up.
Even if you have a million subscribers, no number is ever big enough and raking in more subscribers should be a never-ending goal.
Check out Stimulate’s winning best practices for creating a pop up here.
And with that, class has concluded. Feeling ready for your final exam? Implement these email marketing best practices in all future email campaigns to receive an A+.
Still have some studying to do? Allow Stimulate to be your personal tutor. Contact one of our email marketing experts here for a free consultation!
