Email Marketing Mistakes – One of the oldest and continually effective digital marketing strategies, email marketing can have powerful returns for your business. But like all marketing methods, email campaigns evolve over time—and some strategies that used to be effective simply don’t work anymore.
Today’s consumers are savvy enough to see through many marketing tricks. They’re also constantly bombarded with advertising on every channel, so it’s harder than ever to grab the attention of your target market. With that in mind, here are three formerly effective email marketing techniques that will get your emails deleted unread.
“I made seven figures with this proven system”
This over-the-top claim was in near constant use toward the beginning of email marketing as a strategy. The subject claimed that readers could get rich quickly, and the email itself offered vague, hyped hints that once the reader clicked the buy button, they’d earn a million dollars in 30 days.
Today, this type of email marketing ranks somewhere around Nigerian royalty scams in terms of response rate. Most people understand that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is—so outlandish claims get trashed.
“I have a quick question”
This click-bait email lead is designed to let the email marketer pose a question that readers would automatically reply to with yes—and in turn, click the buy button as fast as possible. The question is usually along the lines of “Would you like to make more money than you ever thought possible? We have the easiest way to [vague idea of your products or services]…”
The problem with this approach is that people will see right through it, and are highly likely to not only delete the email, but unsubscribe from your list and never pay attention to your marketing again.
“I noticed that…”
In this email, some rudimentary research reveals what the target is “missing,” and the marketing that follows promises to fill that void. For example the email might say, “I noticed your website doesn’t rank on the first page of Google. We can get you on the front page of search engines and deliver thousands of visitors…”
While it may seem like a smart marketing strategy, this type of message is irritating to recipients—especially if it’s the first experience they’ve had with your business. Prospects become customers when they know and trust you. Leading out with an email that assumes a relationship is off-putting at best, and will get your messages deleted.
The most effective email marketing campaigns work to establish trust. They provide valuable content, establish the authority of your business, and give subscribers a reason to keep opening your emails. So don’t rely on fancy marketing tricks to dazzle your readers—deliver value with every campaign, and they’ll stick around for more.