It’s no secret that email marketing actually works.
When done well, email will remind people you exist, demonstrate your expertise and drive sales.
BUT in a world of crowded inboxes, are your email newsletters being ignored because of a few simple blunders?
Give your email newsletters the best chance of success by avoiding these 5 mistakes…
Top 5 don’ts for email newsletters
1. Don’t write a sloppy subject line
The first thing your reader is going to notice is the subject line of your email newsletter – and your subject line has just one job: to get your email opened.
If you don’t pay any attention to your subject line, why should anyone else?
Subject lines should be the most well thought-out part of your email. Find the heart of what you’re trying to say and write an effective line that’s clear, brief, and most importantly – interesting.
Tell your readers what’s in it for them, and at all costs – avoid using a subject line like ‘December Newsletter’. (Cringe!)
2. Don’t be impersonal
This is a biggie.
You see, your subscribers not only like knowing that there’s someone at the other end, they like being addressed personally (remember, you do business with people – not email addresses!)
Start out greeting your recipients by name, then sign off with your name.
Using your recipients first name in an email is called ‘personalisation’, and email programs like Mailchimp and Simplemail can handle this easily.
Pro-tip: Avoid sending campaigns from a ‘noreply’ email address – the idea is to be accessible (even if that means setting up a special ‘from’ email address because you get too many replies).
3. Don’t crowd it
It’s pretty tempting to cram your email full of products, services and news.
But if you really want to make an impact, keep it short.
Have a clear message, and stick to it. Use fewer and smaller words, and keep your sentences short – your readers will skim the email to get the information they want, so make the message as easy to understand as possible.
Need to say something substantial? Longer articles should be uploaded to your website (or blog) and be linked to from within your email newsletter.
4. Don’t ignore mobiles
Here’s a fun fact: 66% of Gmail messages are opened on mobile devices.
If the same is true of all email accounts, that’s two-thirds of your audience who are opening your email on their mobile device – so it pays to make sure your emails are mobile-friendly.
(Note – if you’re not sure, send an email to yourself and open it on your mobile.)
5. Don’t rely on images
Like to give your emails great visuals?
Yes, images are great, but many email programs won’t display images by default, meaning that information within images will be missed by your recipients.
Instead of creating an image heavy email newsletter, focus on writing text that is supported by great imagery – that way your recipients with ‘images turned off’ can still read your email.
Need help reaching your customers by email?
Contact us for a coffee and a chat about your requirements.
