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5 Awful Types of Email Marketing and How to Avoid Them

With 60% of buyers saying their purchase was because of email marketing, this method proves resilient in the face of a growing focus on social media marketing.

First, let’s disprove some myths about email marketing.

Myth #1: Social media reaches more people than email marketing. 

Because 4 billion people on the planet use email worldwide, email marketers are sure to reach a wide range of readers. Multiple social media platforms catering to different audiences actually have less impact, as they split their 3.6 billion users between them.

Myth #2: Social media reaches users faster than emails do. 

Because of social media algorithms, you can publish a post and never know if it shows up in your followers’ news feeds. The post also works only if the user is online.

But 21% of the time, emails are opened within the first hour. After 3 hours, 41% would have opened their emails. It is a 41% definite open and view rate.

Myth #3: Too many emails turn potential customers off. 

In fact, 61% of consumers do not mind receiving at least one marketing email a week. Around 38% would not mind if they received even more than one email a week.

How does this apply to your business?

For every $1 you invest in email marketing, you see a return of $42 on average. That is a 4200% return on investment. 

And, as the previous statistics showed, both current and future consumers appreciate receiving emails regarding updates and promotions. 

Effective email marketing can help you hit your industry benchmark and strategize for sales even more effectively.

Types of Email Marketing to Avoid

One good way to narrow down email marketing strategies is to know what does not work. Here are some examples of ineffective email marketing.

1. Sending Emails With Zero-value

While consumers subscribe to email lists to get the latest updates and promotions, no one likes to feel targeted just as a buyer. If your emails share only the latest product line or sale periods, expect a drop in subscribers. 

Instead, you should offer an opinion on the latest discussions in the industry, disprove a myth going around, or share some tips on using your products. It would hook your subscribers to your brand.

Emails with value are the ones that: 

  1. Have a good subject line.
  2. Tell a story.
  3. Add a human touch.
  4. Teach interesting content.
  5. Have a Call To Action (CTA) at the end of the content.

2. Emails With Too Many Photos And Designs

If your email has too many high-definition images, they may load slowly or fail to load at all. 

With 28% of a person’s workday spent reading emails, they are likely to judge an email within the first few seconds of opening it. 

A slow-loading marketing email may not register as worth their time. Also, too much graphic design is just distracting!

Here’s how you can solve it:

Images must align with your content. Make sure they help the consumer understand what you are talking about. Avoid using images just to draw attention. 

Research the best format for your images, and make sure to resize them so they load quickly no matter what device your recipient uses.

An email that looks inviting with the desktop layout may not be engaging enough on mobile. Make sure your emails are responsive and look good on all devices.

3. Emails That Are Not Mobile-friendly

Over 80% of people read their emails on mobile, so you would lose most of your target audience by not testing your email on both desktop and mobile layouts. 

Recipients might quickly archive emails that load slowly on mobile or have poor formatting.

Here are some tips to make your emails mobile-friendly:

Make sure the title or pitch is clearly seen the moment your recipient opens the email. If it starts with an image and the consumer needs to scroll down, they may avoid the extra effort. If the text is on an image, make sure it loads instantly.

If the desktop layout has the image and the text alongside each other, make sure they do not overlap. It would annoy the recipient and increase your chances of landing in the spam folder.

4. Emails With Poor Tracking And Follow-ups

If you send emails without using a tool such as MailChimp or HubSpot to track open rates and click rates, there is no way you can measure the effectiveness of your emails. 

Tools with a detailed dashboard allow you to see who interacts with your emails and who to follow up with. 

You will also know which emails to segment farther in the consumer journey based on their consistent interactions with your emails.

Here are some tips to avoid this mistake:

You need to consistently test and modify your email marketing strategy to see what works best for your brand and mailing list.

Who are your “top fans”? Which consumers consistently interact with your emails and click through on your promos? They have come a long way in the consumer journey and you can segment them for more targeted campaigns.

The margin of consumers who open your emails but do not click through are still interested in your content but somehow don’t convert. Follow-up emails may help them make their decision. 

5. Emails Without Consistent CTAs

The emails that get the most attention from the readers are those which demand action. 

The Harvard Business Review shares that an email that requires action is automatically moved into a to-do list rather than a to-know bucket. 

If a consumer consistently receives email without CTAs, they may begin to ask: “Why am I still receiving these emails?”

It might be as simple as checking out a new article or promo on the website or as complicated as signing up for a webinar. 

Each consumer should feel like they are personally addressed. Even with just their names, personalizing the opening line goes a long way into making them feel targeted and personally wanted. 

Is It Time To Modify Your Email Marketing Strategy?

After so many new strategies have hit the digital world, it might be rather confusing to return to a classic one through email marketing. 

However, as social media algorithms and sponsored posts prove, the personalized, targeted approach is the best. And there is nothing more personalized than an email received in an inbox. 

Contrast it with a sponsored post seen in a newsfeed, and it becomes clear that email marketing will continue to be resilient in this digital world. 

Were you making any of the above-mentioned mistakes? Are you facing another issue with your email marketing? Let me know in the comment section below.

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