5 Email Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Ignore
5 Email Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Ignore
You’ve been hard at work building your email list. You’ve gone about it the right way by getting permission to email your subscribers and now it’s time to create and launch your email.
Before you hit ‘SEND’, review this a quick checklist of five mistakes you want to avoid.
ONE: Ignoring the small things
Your to-do list is long, and who doesn’t want to end the day by checking off a lot of boxes? When it comes to email you can’t ignore or overlook the details that make or break the opportunity someone has given you to be in their inbox.
Proof your email for grammar and typos. Especially as a communicator, you want to make sure you are imparting confidence to your readers by sending them emails that are error-free.
Verify that you are sending the email to the correct segment of your list. If people receive emails on a topic they didn’t sign up for, the chances they unsubscribe, or worse, report it as spam, will increase significantly. The right message to the right audience is critical.
If you are personalizing the email be sure that you have selected the correct fields. You don’t want someone to receive an email that says, “Hi jimmyrockstar@email.com” or “Hi, [INSERT FIRST NAME]”. If you don’t have a clean database where your personalization fields are clearly mapped out it’s better to not use personalization.
TWO: Ignoring the subject line
The subject line is what your subscribers notice and read first. Many make the decision to open or delete your email simply based on the subject line. Some studies have even shown a certain percentage of emails are marked spam simply based on the subject line.
So, even though they may recognize your name in the ‘From:’ field, if the subject line doesn’t capture their attention all of the hard work you put into writing the actual email doesn’t mean much.
Think of the subject line like a headline. The job of that headline is to stop people in their tracks and get them to read the next line. So, don’t shortchange the process of creating a killer subject line.
THREE: Ignoring the send-from address
If people don’t recognize your email address then no matter how amazing your content is and how wonderful the subject line you’ve created is, chances are your email is ending up in the trash.
One of the best things you can do that will increase the chances of your email being read is to send your emails from an actual person. Never send your regular email communications from info@email or website@email or office@email or any other kind of general email address. Only if you are sending emails regarding customer service or an order is using something like orders@email fine.
The basic rule of thumb for the ‘sent from’ address is that if you’re wanting to build a relationship with your subscribers, then send the email from you. If the purpose of the email is purely transactional and informational, a generic email will do.
FOUR: Ignoring calls to action
Your email campaigns don’t mean much if you aren’t calling your subscribers to some kind of action. A CTA doesn’t always mean you’re trying to get someone to buy something, but you always need to be pushing people towards something. So, if you don’t have something to sell, what are other things you can lead your subscriber to do? Here are just a few:
- Connect with you on social media – include links in every email to all of the social media channels you are active on.
- Forward the email to a friend – encouraging your subscribers to share the email they are reading with others.
- Include a link to read your blog
- If you are speaking regularly, include a link to upcoming events and encourage people to view your schedule
- Invite people to ask you questions
You get the idea – never miss the opportunity in an email to strengthen and build the connection with your audience.
FIVE: Ignoring your email metrics
Now, you don’t need to be a data geek or analytics nerd BUT you do need to be looking at how people are engaging with your emails. Here are four basic metrics you should never ignore.
- Open rate – look at the percentage of your subscribers that are actually opening your email and reading it
- Click through rate – look at the percentage of subscribers who clicked through on specific links
- Spam – you always want to take a look at how many people mark your email as spam after receiving it because if the percentage gets too high you can find yourself in trouble
- Unsubscribe – if you’re seeing subscribers taking themselves off your list regularly you may have issues you need to address
Are you ignoring any of these?
Don’t let these preventable mistakes ruin the opportunity you have to help people like, know, and trust you.
by Chris Rainey
