Thread: Avoid These Email Marketing Mistakes

Email marketing is a tricky area though and it is easy to make common email marketing mistakes if you don’t know the right methods to use. This can be frustrating for you as it will cost you money yet not generate any additional sales. Here are some common email marketing mistakes and pitfalls you need to be aware of. It will make your marketing strategies more effective.

Consumers want to feel like they are a person to your business, not just a statistic. Take the time to address each email personally. It is more expensive, but it is more effective. You will get a much better response then something addressed to ‘Dear Customer”. Don’t use dollar signs in your email marketing campaign. It is turn off to consumers who view it as you only want their money. Don’t use email marketing during the holidays. Customers are flooded with them and yours won’t stand out. People are too busy and stressed to relax and read email that is not personal or important at this time of year. If you want to market for the holidays then you need to do it at least before Thanksgiving.

Consumers don’t have a lot of patience! Your email message needs to jump out at them the moment they open it. Put the most enticing information first with the other details further down. They are more likely to read the entire email message if you get their attention from the start. As each consumer is different, so is their computer set up and the type of program they use. Don’t assume the email will open up the same in every type of email service. You will need to test it out for each popular email service. Always give the consumer the option of opening the email in either html or plain text.

Confidentiality is very important to consumers. Make sure your email sign up clearly states that you will not sell their information and that it will be kept confidential and secure. You will be surprised how many people won’t sign up for your email promotions if you don’t offer this bit of information. There are rules and regulations out there regarding what you can and can’t do when it comes to email marketing. Make sure you are familiar with those laws. They vary by country so if you do global marketing make sure you check the regulations for each area you will be sending them to. Failure to do so can lead to huge fines for your business.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking you know what your consumers want. If you really want to know what they are after then take the time to ask. Be open to their comments, questions, suggestions, and concerns. Letting them know you are available for such customer service is a great way to earn their loyalty. It is easy to sell something to a consumer but much harder to please them so they will come back again and again.

If you are new to email marketing, consult with a professional. This will make the entire process flow easier for you as well as yield better results. Take the time to research the consultant before using them. As for references and talk about what your goals are. If the consultant is not willing to make your goals priorities then don’t work with them. Are you afraid to spend a large amount of your revenue on marketing? Consider working with a broker consultant. This means you only pay them for the actual positive results the marketing brings you. They will be paid based on the traffic they generate for your site or the amount of new sales resulting from the email marketing. Make sure what ever method you choose is clear to both parties and in writing. Make sure the time frame that they will receive benefits for is clear as well.

You don’t want unhappy subscribers to your email marketing campaigns. The laws require you to offer a link where customers can unsubscribe. While you want to do all you can to keep them reading your emails, it is important to respect their wishes and remove them from the mailing list immediately. They will become very frustrated if they continue to receive them once they have asked to be removed. It can cost you their future business. Email marketing can be effective for your business if you keep these common mistakes from becoming part of your marketing plan.

Article Author: Terry Detty
Article Source: Depositarticles.com

Great Post

Does newsletter/e-mail marketing still work ? I can't remember the last time I used one or even opened one. Anyone have any click-through/conversion experiences to share?

I think Newsletters are kind of old-school - they are spamtastic. They had low conversion ratio's (5% or below) at the best of times. That's because they are sent at the time that suits the needs of the sender and not that which suits the user/customer - like End-of-Quarter sales etc.

SEM (search engine marketing, i.e. SEO/PPC) and account management is far superior - letting people come to you when they are ready. I file all newsletters under spam now, even if I agreed to signup. When I want to buy a laptop, fridge, car insurance, I'll buy it when I'm ready... :P lol

I think we all need to be wary of our tactics theses days. Nice share.

have to agree with newsletters becoming obsolete. I just click delete everytime i see one

Originally Posted by link8r

Does newsletter/e-mail marketing still work ? I can't remember the last time I used one or even opened one. Anyone have any click-through/conversion experiences to share?

I think Newsletters are kind of old-school - they are spamtastic. They had low conversion ratio's (5% or below) at the best of times. That's because they are sent at the time that suits the needs of the sender and not that which suits the user/customer - like End-of-Quarter sales etc.

SEM (search engine marketing, i.e. SEO/PPC) and account management is far superior - letting people come to you when they are ready. I file all newsletters under spam now, even if I agreed to signup. When I want to buy a laptop, fridge, car insurance, I'll buy it when I'm ready... :P lol

Email marketing still works exceptionally well providing you are getting targeted emails. ie buyers.

I have a list of 5k+ and build about 20-30 daily from squeeze pages I have set up. I constantly get emails from my list. I first began utilising this through ebay and when I sent out a newsletter with an update of products money flew into my paypal account.

Then I began a course on how to sell on ebay even in a recession and constantly receive feedback. I give quality aswell as many free products so when I release my own products people are willing to buy.

I have many other products like using twitter for your business and when I send this out to my list there is sometimes a 2-3% purchase rate. That results in a serious amount of money.

Also I promote clickbank products which I have purchased myself and which might benefit my list and make money from that.

CTR's are sometimes as high as 68%. Thats really positive for me as you know your list like reading your emails.

So the point I am making is that for me email marketing has been very effective and I have to agree with everything said in the 1st post!

Worth reading crazymaus!thanks!

Thanks well written