Email marketing is a tricky art to master. Week in and week out our SPAM folders flood with emails that quickly get deleted without ever being opened, much less read. Other emails that make it to our inbox frequently get disregarded, moved to the trash bin, and soon forgotten about. Clearly, this demonstrates that many email marketers simply suck at email marketing. If you want to make sure that you don’t suck at email marketing, check out the short guide below for some helpful tips.
1) Sending The Email Blast From Your Yahoo/AOL/Hotmail Account.
One surefire way to get your email sent straight into the SPAM folder is by compiling a massive email list into the “TO:” field of your online email client. If you are planning on launching a serious email marketing campaign, invest in an auto-mailer application. These applications send mail in such a way that your recipient is almost sure to see it, which is the first step to email marketing success, after all. Besides, it looks much more professional to have your company’s name in the email, rather than “@yahoo.com.”
2) Writing Your Subject Line In ALL CAPS!
Although you might think that a caps-lock authored subject line with a ton of explanation points is bound to grab the eyes of your recipient, it in fact looks incredibly scammy. This mistake has been popularized by SPAM marketers, and most people have since learned to disregard any email with a subject line like “DONT MISS THE AMAZING DEALS WE HAVE ON WIDGETS!!!!!!!111one” Reputable companies don’t need to use audacious and loud subject lines like this to get their point across. If you want to be taken seriously, write a sensible, enticing subject line without the overblown capitalization.
3) Not Using A Targeted Email List.
The key to all forms of successful marketing, online and off, is proper demographic targeting. Can you imagine an ad for the latest “R” rated horror movie being broadcast during a cartoon? Such marketing is bound to fail because your message is reaching all the wrong people. Similarly, when planning a proper email campaign, you shouldn’t settle for any email list that $50.00 and a few mouse clicks can buy you. Truth be told, you should be wary of for-sale email lists to begin with. They’re not all bad, and if you can find double opt in ones for sale you should consider the purchase. The problem is that many email lists are gathered unethically and consist of droves of people who don’t want to be bothered by your emails. The trick is to identify your market carefully, and then find a source of email address of people who are interested in hearing about your thing. The best strategy is to build your own emailing list of people who already know who you are and honestly want to hear more from you. If you can do this, you will be successful.
4) Trying To Trick People Into Opening Your Mail.
There is nothing worse than getting an email with a subject line along the lines of ” Congratulations, You’ve Just Won The Jackpot!” and opening it to find that the body of the email begins, “Would you like to receive a real email like this someday? All you you have to do to strike the REAL riches is…” There is no faster way to reach someones trash folder than this tactic. It is worth noting that if you have to trick someone into opening your email, you should probably rethink your marketing strategy, because deceiving your market is no way to kick off a successful marketing attempt.
5) Selling Something That Is Frequently Sold Via SPAM Mail.
Everyone with an email account knows that there are certain products that are sold almost exclusively via SPAM mail. Viagra and other sex pills, get-rich-quick training courses, miracle debt solutions, online dating services, and the like, are all products that are associated with scammy email marketers and will likely not be taken seriously by your readers. If you are trying to decide what to sell, take a cursory stroll through your email’s spam folder and take stock how many messages are pitching the same generic products. Break free of the heard and sell something original and legitimate for your email marketing campaign. Assuming you invest in a good email list and professional email software, you should be landing in your target’s inbox, so don’t make yourself look like another spammer that just slipped through the grips of the SPAM folder by selling these kinds of products.
6) Making The Pitch Far Too Obvious.
Successful email marketers know that an email has to be enjoyable and engaging for the recipient to consider purchasing something from them. The best in the field build a reputation with their email list as someone with inspiring or helpful daily messages that they look forward to reading. Usually personal stories or entry-level information about your field will suffice to fill this requirement. Eventually, you should strive to work your pitch into the email as a natural, smooth-flowing part of the email. These sort of sales pitches are seen as trustworthy and perhaps worth the time to investigate further. In contrast, sending a big colorful image of a Ferrari parked outside of a mansion in hawaii with a guy leaning against it in the latest designer clothing, and putting the words “THIS COULD BE YOU IF YOU BUY MY COURSE TODAY!” is like a glass of cold water in the face. Only the most gullible people on earth ever give these sort of pitches a second glance, and relying on this approach makes your campaign very likely to fall flat.
7) Not Making The Pitch Obvious Enough.
Though you certainly don’t want to take the “glass of water in the face” approach (as discussed above), you also don’t want to leave your customers without a clear course of action they can take if they like the sound of your email. Sending an interesting and engaging email is a great strategy to take, but it doesn’t mean you should shy away from making your product or service well known. A small ending paragraph with a short but direct pitch, augmented by a link to your product page and additional contact information does the job well. Never leave the customer hanging or they will soon find someone else to pay for what you offer.