People have different opinions about the worst email marketing mistakes. But these four are at or near the top of nearly everyones list.
Sending Spam
Everyone should know by know that sending unsolicited emails is just plain dumb.
But judging just by the number of messages in my spam box, I can see that thousands of spammers are still out there.
You accomplish nothing when you send spam. You annoy your potential customers and that’s the exact opposite of what you want to do.
Sending Unclear Messages
Writing well and sending a clear message is important. Some messages are well written and the source of the message is immediately identified. On the other hand, many messages are poorly written, full of grammatical errors and misspelled words. Marketers should always have someone proofread their emails before clicking on the “send” button.
Sometimes marketers send a good message but fail to provide a link that sends the potential customer back to the company’s website. There is only so much that emails can do. The website does the rest.
Sending Attachments
Some inexperienced marketers think that sending an attachment with additional information about the subject is a good idea. Sending attachments is actually one of the worst email marketing mistakes for several reasons.
First of all, many internet users are aware that attachments may contain viruses. In some companies, opening attachments is prohibited for that reason. A virus can threaten the entire company.
Research shows that most people check their email while they are at work. So, whenever you send anything to a potential customer, you must keep in mind that the receiver is probably at work when the message is opened.
To direct the customer to additional information, a link to a webpage should be included. Not only does the link make it unnecessary to send attachments, it also gets your reader to your website, which is where you want them to be.
Mailing Too Often or Not Often Enough
While sending too many emails is one of the worst email marketing mistakes because it’s annoying, sending too few is also a mistake. Major companies send emails at least once a month. Sometimes once a week is appropriate.
An example of a good choice is to send an email about weekly specials. If your services don’t change often enough to warrant weekly emails, sending a monthly greeting is appropriate.
It’s pretty easy to avoid these email marketing mistakes. It just requires a little thought.