Email marketing can be an extremely efficient means of interacting with customers. Ninety-one percent of consumers check their messages at least once per day. Additionally, email boasts an estimated $38 in return for every $1 spent. It is clear why many companies choose to take advantage of this convenient means of contacting prospects.
As brands begin to plan the direct marketing messages that they send out, however, it is important to recognize that not all emails are regarded equally by recipients. If you send out an email that is deleted by your email list, it will do little good for your brand. Here are five mistakes that organizations make that lead to emails being deleted.
Bad subject line
Your subject line is the opportunity to entice people to read more, to convince them to open your email, and see what you have written. Recent industry research looked at the most and least successful email subject lines. They found that:
• The most successful lines were not overly sales-y and were more direct
• The least popular subject lines attempted to be attention grabbing, but really just ended up sounding like spam
• Valuable subject lines should stick to the basics and describe the content of the email
An email display that is not optimal
An estimated two-thirds of emails are now being opened on mobile phones. This means that your emails need to be written in a way that is compatible with the user’s screen, regardless of size. Emails that do not show up correctly on a cellphone, tablet or desktop will be clicked off quickly and the brand name disregarded, even tarnished, by the poor customer satisfaction.
Brands should instead be testing their emails to make sure that they show up correctly for users on all devices. This means:
• Avoiding excessively large images that might slow down the loading time
• Do not assume your images will be seen — people may opt for a text-only version
• Use responsive design
• Verify that all clickable aspects of the email are easy for users on touch screens
• Use fonts and text sizes that are easy to read on any device
Lack of personalization
In 2015, 205 billion emails were sent and received every day, and that number continues to grow. Your customers are receiving countless emails from brands vying for their attention. If you want your email to stand out from the bunch, you need to make sure you personalize the material.
The message itself should be tailored to the interests and needs of the prospects. Segment your email lists so that you can send out targeted emails based upon factors such as company population size, geographic region, position within the buyer’s journey, and other categories that impact buying behavior.
You also want to personalize the individual email. This includes the person’s name, company name, and any other personal information they gave you on the registration form they filled out. Personalization helps customers feel as though you care about their needs as an individual, and this helps your relationship with them blossom.
A message that is boring or difficult to digest
Your email marketing message itself should immediately capture people’s attention. It should be engaging, written in a way that is easy to scan and digest. This means:
• Using bullets
• Using short paragraphs
• Creating content that aligns with your buyer personas and their journey
• Writing material that can be quickly understood on-the-go
The use of spam words or false advertising
When people are inundated with spam email message each day — 43 percent of Americans (6) say that more than half of their mailbox is filled with spam each day — it is easy to see why people employ spam filters and delete spam-y looking messages without a second thought. You need to create material that cannot be easily confused with spam. This means:
• Avoiding excessive punctuation, such as numerous exclamation marks
• Not using all capital letters
• Not using words such as “free” that are usually associated with spam in the title
Email marketing can be a valuable technique — it is no wonder that millions use it. To see genuine return, however, it is important to avoid making common mistakes that can result in deleted emails and poor returns.
