Are your email pitches being left unread or going straight to the spam folder? You are not alone.
Many marketers like you are struggling to find success with their email marketing campaign and often fail to pull it off as desired.
Don’t get me wrong. Email marketing is a powerful conversion tool and can do wonders for your business. The only caveat is that it has to be done right.
If your emails are not being opened, let alone obtaining positive responses, you might be making one of these 8 mistakes.
#1 Trying to make a sale in the subject line
The purpose of the subject line is to make your recipient open the email to read its content, nothing more. However, most people try to make a sale in the subject line, and this is where they fail to convert.
Subject lines that make tall claims, like “lose 50 pounds in 5 weeks” or “10x your monthly income in 3 months” are considered spammy and are flagged as such. If your subject lines sound like these, it’s about time to change your approach.
Your subject line shouldn’t give it all away. Leave information gaps on purpose, use your creativity to pique interest, and try not to exaggerate. Most importantly, don’t use click baits; provide value instead.
Make your subject lines short and to the point. Use professional language and avoid exclamation marks or all-caps. If possible, personalize your subject line – nothing builds trust like a subject line that speaks directly to the recipient.
Related: 5 Outreach Email Tips Your Recipients Will Love
#2 Wrong targeting
When it comes to sending bulk emails, email automation tools can be a savior but sometimes these tools lull you into complacence where you don’t pay attention to your target audience anymore.
The person receiving your email should be the one who is supposed to read your message. Sending a free SEO ebook to someone who is interested in graphic design or animation may not be the best approach. Your SEO ebook may be your life’s best work, but it doesn’t matter unless it reaches the right person.
The idea is to align your offerings with your recipients. Once you take time to segment your target audience based on their interests, your email marketing efforts will soon start to yield desired results.
Related: A Step-by-step Guide to Building and Profiling the Right B2B Leads List
#3 Too long messages
Nobody has the time to read long paragraphs in an email unless it’s from a friend or family member.
The main reason why most marketers write long emails is that they try to explain everything there is to know about their offer or the brand.
The purpose of your email is to make your recipient take the next step, which could be: either request more information on the subject or click on the sign-up link provided in the email. You can’t expect your prospects to reach into their pockets right after reading your email.
It’s your first interaction with them and should be carried out as such.
Related: Ways Your Emails Can Stand Out From Other Emails Prospects Get
#4 Not using line breaks
Further to my previous point, long paragraphs without line breaks can be confusing and a huge deterrent for readers.
When you are writing an email, start a new paragraph after every two lines. Doing so improves readability and makes your message easy to understand as opposed to a text-heavy email.
#5 Using too many images
Perhaps, one of the main reasons your email is not converting is that you are using too many images in your message. Visuals are great and all, but they are resource-heavy as well. Most people who check their emails on the go or while sitting in a coffee shop may not have access to high-speed Internet. By the time the images in your email load, it’s already too late.
Let emails be emails. Always use text in the body of the email to optimize them for fast loading. If you must send an image or a PDF file, use attachments instead.
#6 Unsolicited Emails
Sending unsolicited emails is a waste of time and resources. To fix this, you might want to go back to the drawing board and start things over.
Do you collect emails from gated channels or simply buy an email database from a third party? Your approach to collecting emails can mean the difference between your marketing success and failure. Therefore, it is always recommended to collect emails on your own or outsource the process to someone who understands your niche, target audience, and your ultimate objective.
#7 Mishandling Unsubscribers
Marketers freak out when someone opts out of their newsletter, which is probably why they tend to make it difficult for their subscribers to leave. And they do that by making it a multi-step process. Sometimes, they even ask for the reason to unsubscribe, which only adds to the frustration.
Even if you make them stay by force, you will end up with a sulking subscriber who is going to roll eyes every time they receive your email.
Instead, you must come up with an offer or something valuable that they can’t ignore, such as personalized advice or a free ebook that they might find useful. If they leave now, chances are they will come back to you because of the value that you offer.
#8 Relying too much on email marketing
This may sound counterintuitive, but you have to swallow the bitter pill. Relying solely on email marketing for lead generation or conversions might be a bad idea, especially when there are several other platforms that can bring in qualified leads for your business.
For instance, using LinkedIn as a platform for outreach can help you discover potential clients as well as various collaboration opportunities that might benefit your business in the long run.
Similar to emails, you can use certain tools to send LinkedIn automated messages to your target audience without appearing suspicious to the algorithm.
Related: 5 Ways To Strengthen Your Email Marketing Campaign
Takeaway
Apart from the above-mentioned mistakes that most marketers make, you should also be wary of common malpractices like being too casual in your approach, using click baits, and sending a common, overused template to everyone on your email list.
In a nutshell, when it comes to email marketing, the intent should be to help your recipients learn something new and valuable and not sales-oriented. If you do that, things will fall into place on their own.
