The Twelve Blunders Made in Email Marketing
By Pat Ryan

We were recently working with a new customer, fine-tuning a plan to market their services to the corporate training/HR market, when the customer said, "You should write an article on all the mistakes people make in eMarketing!"

That's when it hit me - it really needed to be done (Thanks Brent!)

We have discovered twelve blunders made in email marketing. Most companies are making at least a few of them. The implications are vast - squashing the success right out of an eMarketing campaign:

• SPAM filters stop your email from "getting in"
• Low % of "opens"
• Low % of "click-throughs"
• Prospects that DO read your email DON'T call you
• Creating ill-will with prospects

But these blunders are easy to correct - if you know what they are. Make the "tweaks" necessary - and stop squandering the most effective vehicle ever created to reach your prospects.

The Twelve Blunders

1. No enticing subject line
   Many campaign subject lines look like they were an after-thought, just "thrown in" after all the hard work of creating the email was done. But, if your prospect doesn't open the email, it's over. The only thing they will see to determine IF they will open your email is the subject line. You have less than a second to answer this question in the reader's mind: "What's in it for me?" Think about this carefully. But watch out for #2…
   
   
2. SPAM-detecting words in your subject line
   If you are too aggressive in your subject line, you might not even make it in the front door. Spam filters are the gate keepers of the email world, making decisions on what to let in, and what to block. Spam filters look at the words in the subject line to help them make these decisions. Though they vary, spam filters watch out for key words that tend to be in spam. Corporate training vendors don't have to worry about using words like "Viagra" or "Enlarge" or the many others you see daily, but there are others you could use, not realizing that they get you into trouble. "Free" is a good example of a word not to use. "Offer" or "trial" are others. That's why you see words misspelled in typical spam messages. Using all CAPS and exclamation points is also a no-no.
   
   
3. No value provided in your email
   We believe in establishing relationships with prospects instead of trying to "sell" them. If you provide value in your emails, then your prospects may not delete your email as soon as they see it. They may even look forward to receiving your emails.
   
   Look at it this way: In general, you can't "sell" someone unless they are in the market to buy a product or service like yours. So if you:
   
   
   1. Position yourself as the expert, and then
   2. Be "in front of" the prospect when they are ready to buy…
   
   …then you will be the one they think of when they are ready to make a purchasing decision for a product or service like yours.
   
   A great way to position yourself as an expert is to give away some of your expertise, (i.e., provide value), at regular intervals. And the only practical way to do this is using email. To be most effective, we believe that your email should teach, not sell. We use curriculum-based marketing to accomplish this. (This email!) Promoting a Webinar that teaches also accomplishes this.
   
   
4. No "Teaser" - give away the whole enchilada at the get-go
   If the body of your email contains your entire message, your reader will have no reason to go to your web site - and you will have no idea who actually reads it. Making readers "click through" to another area (hopefully, your web site) is how to capture who reads it. If they are interested enough to click through, then they are interested in your message (good information to know, right?). Bottom line: Good teasers drive traffic to your web site.
   
   To accomplish this, you have to "tease" the reader by offering a few hints as to the benefit they will derive by reading your article. If you have reached your target audience (find out how), carefully-crafted hints should entice them to click though to read your article.
   
   
5. No bullets in your teaser
   People don't read your email - they skim it. Bullets allow someone to quickly see whether it contains something they are interested in or not. If you make them read (i.e., no bullets), they may skip it altogether.
   
   
6. No "Oh, by the way" links
   Yes, we believe in providing value. But at the same time, it is important to give someone the opportunity - if they want to - to link to the "pitch" of your product. This should be done tactfully and subtly. Don't try to masquerade your pitch as an article. If you genuinely try to teach something with your article, there's nothing wrong with having a link (where it applies) to your marketing or sales section. (See #4 for an example)
   
   
7. No Call to Action
   You should move the reader to take action somewhere in your article. Whether it is the "Oh, by the way" link mentioned in #6, or by requesting some action at the end of your email, like "Sign up for our free webinar here" or "Call today for a free demo" - you need a call to action! If you don't have one, don't be surprised if the reader takes no action.
   
   
8. Being too long-winded
   Try to say what you need to say in as few words as possible. Don't use big words to impress. Be concise. Again, this falls under the "people don't read -they skim" category. In every article I write, I go through it, trying to remove unnecessary words or sentences.
   
   We all know someone who "talks a lot, but says very little." Don't do this in your email.
   
   
9. Using a home-grown email software with inadequate reporting
   Poor reporting creates performance "blind spots." Technology has empowered marketers with abilities they didn't have a few years ago. But, many still don't capture vital information like:
   1. How many opened the email?
   2. How many & who "clicked-through" i.e. read my message?
   3. Who read my email more than once?
   4. Who read my email most in the past?
   5. What types of companies are responding to my message?
   
   Knowing the answers to these questions will give you vital feedback about how you are doing:
   
   
   • What is working? What is NOT working?
   • What should I do more of?
   • What should I do less of?
   • What are my "sweet spots?"
   
   Using the right email platform will enable you to vastly improve your results through fine-tuning your strategy based on feedback.
   
   
10. Not tracking the "click-throughs"
    See #9. This is the information that separates you from the "throw enough against the wall and see what sticks" crowd. Tracking click-throughs means you KNOW who is paying attention to your message. (Isn't that what you are after?)
    
    
11. Not calling the click-throughs
    Once you know who is "paying attention" it only makes sense to reach out to them. Plus, calling these people is really a warm call instead of a cold call: "Hi Joe, my name is Bill Smith with XYZ Corp. I noticed that you read our newsletter and I thought I would call and say 'hi'." This is the beginning of a dialog that is vastly easier than making a straight cold call.
    
    What would you rather do? Cold call 5000 people, or "warm call" 250 people that read your recent newsletter (and are more likely to want to talk with you)?
    
    Not only is making these "warm" calls more fun for a sales person, but it is also a MUCH more effective use of their time.
    
    Even if you don't want to call everyone who clicks once, there are tools (like MTG Email) that allow you to create custom "Hot List" reports. For example, you can define a "hot lead" as someone that clicks three times within the last 90 days.
    
    
12. Sending out too many emails
    Too much of a good thing is not good.

Question: What are you trying to accomplish?

Answer: You want to be "in front of" your prospects enough - positioned as "the expert" - so when they are ready to make a purchasing decision about a product or service like yours, they will THINK OF YOU.

Monthly is plenty. Twice a month is OK. Every week or every day is overkill and you risk irritating or even angering your prospects. Bad move.

Watch/compare your unsubscribe rate based on frequency per month and act accordingly. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.

Onward and upward!

PS. Don't forget - we are a highly specialized company offering select "best of breed" services to e-learning/training/HR companies. You can outsource to an expert in your business:

• Precisely Targeted Decision Maker Lists
• Email Marketing with powerful reporting

Or watch a 2min message on how MTG can help you.