In April’s edition of the Digital Marketing Postcard, Victoria Chemko is back on the Pacific Coast in Sayulita, Mexico. She’ll be discussing Email Marketing and everything you should NOT do as part of your Email Marketing campaign.
Rough Video Transcription:
Today’s video topic came about from Marjie, from marjiemartini.com.
When you’re starting up and managing your ongoing Email Marketing efforts, there are a lot of variables to keep in mind. Here is a listing 5 of the most common mistakes people make, so that you can make sure to avoid them.
Not Having Permission
Before you even think about getting started, you MUST make sure that you have permission to send emails to your list, as it’s illegal not to in most countries. On your website, provide a way for people to subscribe to your mailing list, and even better, offer something enticing that you will give away on top of it! Also make sure that you always leave an option available to unsubscribe from all of your emails.
Not Testing Emails
The worst thing that could happen is that you send a great email that you’ve been preparing to a lot of people, and then find out something was broken or not working right. Every time you send out an email, make sure to check all links, images, and text to make sure there aren’t any mistakes. Also ensure you’re sending to the correct mailing list and have a terrific subject line that will entice readers to open your email.
Beyond that, it’s a good idea to A/B test emails to see which ones work best and continue to optimize!
Sending Irrelevant Content
Make sure that any emails that you send out are relevant to the list they are going out to. If I’ve signed up to your newsletter to find out about travel deals in the Caribbean, I don’t want to then hear about hotel stays in my hometown of Vancouver, for example. Focus on providing useful and timely content to the right segments and don’t over or under do it. Send emails that are a direct result of data and behaviour and make sure you know what the goals are for your campaign. Remember the reasons you are sending your emails to begin with!
Not Looking at Reporting
Once you’ve sent out an email, you’re not finished – there’s still work to do as part of your campaign! Check your open and click rates, what content resonated most with your readers, what headlines and send schedules work best, and fine tune your upcoming campaigns based on that data. From this info, you can optimize any future email marketing campaigns.
Not Using An Email Marketing System
To make your life easier when creating and sending email marketing campaigns, make sure to select an email marketing tool that will help you with this process. Some popular ones include MailChimp, Constant Contact, and AWeber. Having the infrastructure in place for your email campaigns will make all the difference!
Summary
To summarize, during email marketing, common mistakes include:
- Not Having Permission
- Not Testing Emails
- Sending Irrelevant Content
- Not Looking at Reporting
- Not Using An Email Marketing System
Now that you know more about what common mistakes to avoid, make sure to check out our recent posts covering more useful email marketing tips.
If you liked this video, be sure to subscribe to the Umami Marketing YouTube Channel and the monthly Digital Marketing Postcard. Victoria will be back again in May from somewhere else in the world! See you then!
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