10 common Email mistakes that business owners make
Regardless of whether you have a service or product-based business, email marketing is a necessary part of your digital marketing mix. You are literally leaving money on the table when you aren’t building and/or emailing your list.
Now, with that being said, I have seen many business owners make some email marketing mistakes that can be improved upon. Don’t get discouraged! All this means is that there is room for improvement which will increase your sales. Great news, right??!?!?
I have identified 10 mistakes that you are probably making and what to do about them!
Let’s get into it.
1. Not welcoming your subscribers
This is an email strategy that is often overlooked. When a person subscribes to your email list, they are raising their hand and letting you know that they are interested. This is one of the best-performing emails. The welcome email should be triggered right after the person signs up. Get them ready to convert as soon as they sign up.
Welcome emails have a 91.43% open rate. - Hive.co
2. Not sending enough emails
Some business owners send emails when they remember 🤔 You need to be in that inbox once per week at a minimum. The sweet spot is between 1-2 emails per week. If you let weeks pass and you don’t email your list, your list will turn cold and you will have to start all over again.
3. Sending too many emails
Now, on the other hand, if you send too many emails, you are increasing the likelihood of unsubscribes. Again, if you must send emails, try to limit to 3 per week at most. You want to keep your unsubscribe rate at around 0.5% or lower. The ideal rate is 0.2% or lower.
4. No call to action
All of your emails need to have a CTA (call to action). While it’s nice to say hello, it is a must to have a clear purpose for your user to take action. Try to use 1 or 2 CTA’s. Too many CTA’s cause confusion and might deter the user from clicking anything on the email and in turn, lower your conversion.
5. Lack of segmentation
For me, this is one of the biggest mistakes that business owners make. They might be sending emails but they are sending a general mass email to everyone on their list. Segmentation is basically dividing your list into different groups by different data points. For example, the most basic segmentation is new leads vs current customers. You can’t talk to a new lead the same way you would talk to a current customer. Ensure you are segmenting as much as you can. This will help get more open, more clicks, more sales and less unsubscribes. It’s a win-win!
6. Not growing your list consistently
This is a biggie! Once you start down this path, you need to continue the growth. Your email list naturally decreases 25% year over year. Aside from that, you will also get unsubscribes. You should have systems in place to continue adding emails to your list.
7. Ignoring analytics
A lot of answers are in your data! Make sure that you take a look at the email open rates, clicks, unsubscribes, etc. This will tell you what you need to do more of or improve in your email marketing program.
8. Lack of proper data collection
Data is critical for you to tailor and personalize your emails. Please make sure to collect not only first name but also geographic location, interests, etc.
Personalized email marketing is said to generate a median ROI of 122%. – Instapage
9. No email automation
Email automation is your best friend. You can do less work and create more revenue through the use and set up of automation. At the most basic, ensure your welcome email or series are automated.
10. No testing
In order to maximize results, you need to test. You should be testing subject lines, content and design at least once per month.
There is always room for improvement. I hope that you take a look at your email marketing and make the necessary tweaks!
Let’s keep building and growing!
When you invest in your business, your clients invest in you.