Email marketing may not have the same flair and style of social media or other marketing channels that are gaining in popularity for their “community oneness”, but email marketing is still said to be one of the most powerful methods for connecting with your audience.
According to a 2012 marketing study from Exact Target, consumers were asked which channel they prefer for receiving permission-based advertising and promotional content. Ready for the results?
A massive 77% stated that they prefer email. Only 4% of those who responded listed Facebook, with other mobile apps and social media like Twitter scoring a meager 1%. That’s a cut and dry message about how your contacts want to hear from you.
But don’t rush out and start firing off emails. That’s where many businesses begin to topple in their marketing and waste money. Here are 5 mistakes you need to avoid in order to launch a successful email marketing campaign.
Email Marketing Mistake #1 – Ignoring the Needs of Your Buyer
There’s a lot of noise out there in email marketing. Retail email volume increased by 61% in the last 4 years alone. You have to carve your way through the noise and speak directly to your buyer, because blasting without understanding buyer needs is a waste. The CEO of a Fortune 500 company won’t have the same needs as a small main street start up around the corner.
Email Marketing Mistake #2 – One List, One Message
Since your audience is going to be varied, and people will join your list at different phases of the buy cycle (and thus different levels of understanding about your business), you don’t want to send the same email to all of your list, all the time. Customize your email marketing, segment your lists into groups and provide a targeted message to each group.
With this effort you’ll see your click-through rates begin to climb and your customers will be far more engaged in your marketing.
Email Marketing Mistake #3 – Failure to Adapt
There’s that old definition of insanity, that it means doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. Make sure you’re split testing your email marketing campaigns and watching your analytics. This can help you modify and adapt your marketing efforts to eventually find the sweet spot where everything works together.
Email Marketing Mistake #4 – No Links, No Call to Action
It’s great that you want to educate your reader, but don’t be afraid to include a call to action that promotes you and your business. That call to action should offer a link that easily takes your reader to your site or a special landing page. It’s not uncommon to feel pushy if you inject a little sales message, but people don’t mind being told to buy something as long as you aren’t standing on their chest with a bull-horn.
Email Marketing Mistake #5 – Ignoring Mobile Technology
A recent Return Path study revealed an explosive 81% growth in mobile email viewership from October 2010 to March 2011. That cannot be ignored and clearly defines how important it is to make sure your email messages can be viewed on a smart phone with ease. Go light on images, pay attention to how formatting can shift dramatically on a mobile device, and plan your content accordingly.
Start driving sales and leads with your email marketing campaign – come talk to us at Tulsa Internet Marketing to learn how autoresponders, opt-in promotions and more can broaden your marketing reach today.
