Poor email marketing practices over the years has resulted in many businesses being put off it as a channel as part of their marketing strategy.
There is an art to email marketing just like many other marketing techniques and if you get it right then it can be very effective for businesses across many sectors.
This month I am revealing some of the common ways that poor email marketing practices annoy subscribers.
- No I Don’t Want to Let You Look at my Website!
One great way to really annoy your subscribers is to write a really interesting, useful and engaging email. Doesn’t sound annoying right? Well when you don’t provide any way for the reader to take any further action such as links to your website so that they can find out more about your company and its products or services then that is a sure fire way to drive someone crazy.
You can use hyperlinks to easily achieve this but more commonly now your email should 
include buttons with a snappy call to action (just like ours). A button and call to action really draws your eye and if someone does want to find out more information then they will click on it, just make sure you include the link can you imagine how frustrating it is when that button doesn’t work.
- So How Do I Contact You?
Similarly making it difficult for your reader to make contact with you is going to put them off and most likely mean you lose that all important enquiry or sale.
You can include a link through to your website contact page but that is most likely going to involve them taking some additional steps such as locating a phone number or filling out a form. It is actually better to have your phone number on the email itself, clearly displayed for them to locate. Similarly if you have a button or link for making contact it is much better for it to open up a contact email or form directly. Remember if your email is missing a way to easily make contact with your business then your readers are more likely going to leave or worst still unsubscribe from your email list.
- Let Us Tell You Our Life Story
So far you have frustrated your subscribers with lack of information, another common mistake is to do the exact opposite!
There is nothing worse than using an email to tell someone your life story! Your subscriber has obviously clicked the email because you have used a striking subject line which has grabbed their attention. So having won half the battle don’t lose them by pages and pages of information they don’t want to wade through. https://www.allthingsweb.co.uk/blog/5-ways-to-annoy-your-subscribers-with-email-marketing/ https://www.allthingsweb.co.uk/blog/5-ways-to-annoy-your-subscribers-with-email-marketing/Keep it short, to the point and include that all important call to action – so that if they want to find out more they can.
We are all busy people, wasting someone’s time is a sure way to make their blood boil.
- Did you even read this before sending?
Lack of attention to detail not only reflects badly on your business but really annoys people who have taken the time out to read your email.
Everyone knows that proof reading your content is crucial, typos and grammatical errors are a massive no, no; I always find it helps to get someone else to read through it for you as when you spend lots of time on the same piece of content you brain sees what you think is on the page – how many times have you read something over and over again only for a fresh pair of eyes to pick up some simple errors?
- Email, After Email, After Email!
And at number one, if you truly want to annoy your subscribers then you can go with the most
classic mistake and that is to bombard them with email, after email, after email! There’s nothing like receiving multiple emails from the same company, on the same day to really drive someone crazy, trust me I know the feeling! The easy solution – ensure you de-dupe your data regularly or use an email system that prevents duplication of contacts and automatic unsubscribes.
Keeping Happy Subscribers
So now you know the easiest mistakes to make to annoy your email subscribers, and if you take on board these 5 points then your subscriber list will surely reach zero in no time!
But…
If you want to build a list of happy subscribers then the final piece of advice is to do the exact opposite to all of the above!
If you do then you will help to get rid of the bad reputation email marketing has and prove that email marketing is an essential element of your digital marketing. Not only is it a great way to attract new business, but it is also an effective tool for staying in touch with those customers you already have! Don’t forget that your customers are a valuable resource for cross sales and recommendations.
Still Need a Little Help?
If you want to incorporate email marketing into your marketing strategy but don’t have the time or expertise to implement it then why not give the team a call on 01285 50 55 50.
Email Marketing mistakes are one of my pet peeves so you can be assured that annoyed subscribers will be nowhere to be found if you come to us.