5 Mistakes That Cause Poor Email Marketing Performance

Email marketing is still very effective when done correctly, but many businesses are watching their open rate tank because of careless mistakes.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

Email marketing is still very effective when done correctly, but many businesses are watching their open rate tank because of careless mistakes. A low open rate produces a low click through rate, and that ultimately results in a low conversion rate.

Low conversions mean low revenue, so it is important to make sure that your business is not making these five common email marketing mistakes.

2014-06-24-5MistakesThatCausePoorEmailMarketingPerformance.png

1. Jam packed with links - triggers spam filters

If the body of your email message is littered with links there is a very good chance that it will trigger spam filters by many of the service providers and this results in a very low delivery rate to begin with. Not only will multiple links likely trigger spam filters, but the recipient will often view an email filled with links to be spammy as well. Using email marketing to drive your audience to a specific page on your website is fine, but make sure you just have one link with a clearly defined call to action in the email.

2. Overly promotional (spammy) title and message

If you send emails that are overly promotional or exist just to convert sales then it will ultimately lower your open rate. Your recipients will stop opening your emails and then eventually unsubscribe from your list. Once you switch from promotional emails to useful information you will experience a consistent growth in your open rate because the list begins to see value in your emails and will open them rather then ignoring and trashing them.

3. Lacking useful information that benefits the recipient

We just touched on not blasting out promotional emails, so let's discuss what a good email should include. My company has a weekly newsletter that includes a breakdown of important stories and news in the world of online marketing. This is something that anyone can register for on our website. Our subscriber list is constantly growing and our open rate is extremely high because our list knows that they are being provided useful information. Every business is going to have different "useful" information, and this can include news, tips, or how-to tutorials.

4. Too many images and HTML throughout the message

You may think that a fancy email message with graphics and images will provide better results, but the opposite is quite true. Many email providers disable HTML and then the email appears to be broken, resulting in a high delete rate without even reading it. A plain text email with avoid spam filters, but it will also give the reader a better experience. With so many individuals checking their email on mobile and tablet devices a plain text email ensures that your entire list will be able to read the email regardless of the device and email platform they are using.

5. E-mail message is too long

Your emails should be very easy to read through and digest. They shouldn't require someone to spend five minutes reading. If you are trying to elaborate on a specific topic use a short intro to capture the readers interest and then direct them to a specific page on your website to read the full information.

For example, our newsletter sometimes will feature topics that we cover in our blog. In that situation we will just touch on the subject and then direct those that are interested in reading more to the original blog post. Keep it short and sweet for the best interaction.

Email marketing will always be a key component of an inbound marketing strategy, as it is a great way to engage with current customers as well as potential customers. It can keep customers engaged while also nurturing warm leads. Make sure that your email marketing effort isn't making the common mistakes listed above and you will see the true power of a well thought out and executed email marketing strategy.

Want more free online marketing tips? My company, Market Domination Media, sends out a weekly online marketing newsletter that you can sign up to receive for free by clicking here.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot