3 Common Email Marketing Blunders (and How to Avoid Them!)

When implemented correctly, email marketing offers great ROI. Get it wrong and you risk irritating (and even alienating) your loyal client base. If you’re preparing to send your first email marketing material and we’ve got your worried, relax. Simply read on to find out what not to do before you press send on your first campaign.

1. Overlooking mobile

Ignore tablet and smartphone users at your peril. 55% of emails are now opened on a mobile device and this figure is on the rise. By 2018, 80% of email users are expected to access their email accounts via a mobile device.

So what does this mean for your email marketing campaigns? The first step is to ensure that your content strategy is optimised for mobile. How? Start by paying close attention to the overall design of your campaign.

There are plenty of tips and tricks available out there for designing a campaign that looks great on a mobile device. For example, making sure the buttons and hyperlinks aren’t too close together will make it easier for clumsy fingers to hit their target. Plus, sticking to a single column layout will ensure recipients don’t have to scroll sideways repeatedly to read your email.

2. Overlooking your customer base

It can be tempting to constantly chase new customers, but what about the ones you already have? Email is a fantastic way to re-energise your mailing list and bring any aloof patrons back into the fold. Here are few ways to get started:

• Win back lapsed customers with ‘we miss you’ and discount emails to show them you haven’t forgotten about them.
• Send abandoned cart reminders to customers who have loaded up their online carts but haven’t made it through to the checkout.
• Send welcome emails to anyone who signs up for your mailing list. Get creative and show your subscribers why signing up for your updates was the best decision they’ve ever made! Don’t forget to (subtly) encourage your subscribers to connect with you on other social media platforms too.

3. Too many links

Reaching a customer’s inbox isn’t as easy as you may think. In their annual Deliverability Benchmark Report, ReturnPath reported that one in five commercial emails fail to make it to their target’s inbox at all. Instead, they are delivered directly to jail (otherwise known as the junk folder).

One sure-fire way of ensuring your carefully crafted marketing or promotional email gets sent to the junk folder is by overdoing it with the links. Make sure your links are relevant, reputable and beneficial to your recipients. Stick to a few carefully selected, on-topic links to avoid overwhelming and irritating people who do open your emails. You don’t want to fail at the final hurdle!

Connect with your customers

At Bing Digital, we know that a tailored, strategic email marketing campaign is a powerful tool for your business. Whether you want to send abandoned cart follow-ups, re-engage with inactive subscribers or welcome new followers, our team can create highly targeted, fast-acting email marketing campaigns that get results. For more information, call today on 0208 242 1954 or complete a contact form and tell us about your project.