We’ve all been newbies in the world of email marketing at some point and all of us has made some collosal errors. Some of which we choose to speak about and others which are buried deep in the closet because we’re so ashamed of them. There are a variety of email mistakes which are really common for newbies starting out in Internet Marketing and I’ve certainly made my fair share of these!
This article addresses some of these very common email mistakes and is designed to prevent you from making the very same mistakes. I have made every one of these mistakes but am thankful to say that I’ve learnt from them and come a very long way since.
Some of these errors can actually be fatal to your list building achievement, so do take careful note of these!
#1 Not Giving Subscribers A Good Enough Reason To Open Your Email
If your subscriber is not reading your emails, there’s no point in that subscriber being on your list. Sure they make up the numbers and, if your business was ever to be sold, they would help boost the asset value of your business.
Always make sure that you’re solving problems that your subscriber originally subscribed to your list for. My list, for example, provides mindset training, Internet Marketing strategies, tools and resources for people wanting to make a part, or even full time living online.
It’s definitely best to make the transition from affiliate marketing to list building. Most people start with direct link affiliate marketing which can provide a good supplementary income, however the business model is not necessarily suistainable and you don’t develop your own list of prospects and customers.
To actually get your email read, you could try curiosity, big benefit delivery, humour or timely events in the media. It’s worth testing a variety of approaches to see how your list responds.
#2 Pitching a Product or Offer in Every Email
I hope you don’t tolerate these marketers occupying your valuable time. Unsubscribe from these lists immediately. There is inherently nothing wrong with selling, but ask yourself a question…
“Are they selling to help you with your business or are they just after the money?”
If they’re not willing to demonstrate their value by providing you with tips, tricks, strategies and solutions for free, I’d suggest they just want your cash!
#3 Not Writing Your Emails in A Person-To-Person Style
Don’t use the Queen’s English when writing your emails. People are going to receive them and read them if they can relate to them. The obvious exception here is if your market speaks using the Queen’s English. Can I tempt you to receive a bunch of dull emails? I didn’t think so! Write as if you’re talking to someone you personally know well and your emails will come as a welcome read.
#4 Not writing HTML Versions of Your Email
If you’re not technically minded, you can be forgiven for not wanting to write an HTML version of your email, however there is a fundamental problem with that. You need to write a HTML version, so that your email software, such as Aweber, can track link clicks, opens, etc.
It really is as simple as copying the plain text and pasting it into the HTML editor region. From this point simply ensure that you select each of the links and copy them and ensure they are used as the hyperlink reference within the HTML editor of the autoresponder.
#5 Guessing What Your List Wants
If you’ve ever taken the time to survey your list and find out what they want, then you’ll know that the answers to the questions are often somewhat different from what you thought that your list wanted. The simple adage of finding out what your list wants and giving it to them definitely applies.
My personal tool of preference for surveying my list is Survey Monkey, although I will be shortly investigating the use of a WordPress plugin called Gravity Forms where I can control all of the data on my own site.
To Your Online Success,
The Profit Share
The mutt's nuts or the dog's drivel? I double dare you to leave a comment! :-)
Wow!!!! You have made it more understandable to me…I am really glad that you are here, because I believe that I will learn a lot from and I already have. You have just saved me some time on my Official Road to Business Development…Thank You…
Hi Ava, I'm glad I can help. Thanks for you kind comments and I relish the opportunity of serving you further. :-)
Hi Wayne
I agree, some marketers send me at least 4-5 emails a week and are always trying to sell me something that I don`t need.
It seems they have forgotten the balance of offering help and advice to subscribers, and products they believe in that will help.
I am getting fed up with all the safe swap emails I am getting too.
As I am trying to build a list, what I can do is learn from the way they do there marketing and dont make the same mistakes.
Greetings from the UK
Paul…..
Hi Paul,
Yes, there is a balance to achieve. I must admit that I send more frequently as people subscribe so I can build the relationship fast and deliver exceptional content up front. I want to give my subscribers a reason to stay on my list.
I then slow the emails down to once every five days later within my autoresponder sequence and send occasional broadcasts with offers, timely news or blog posts I’ve just released.
Safe Swaps can be a great strategy to build your list. I can understand why you would be fed up with them. The question is, do you trust the list owner to only provide you with reputable swaps.
When I’ve done safe swaps, I personally opt in to my partner’s list to check the product is of value. After all, my reputation is at stake.
Please don’t dismiss JV’s as a list building strategy – it works really well.
I am also from the UK Paul. I live close to Peterborough in a town called Spalding. :-)
Wayne
Wayne Lambert invites you to read The Laws of Influence
I think it’s OK to pitch a product in every email – just in a tasteful way, which usually means providing value first. The best example is Ben Settle. He writes a tip in every email, and follows it up with a PS that links to a product along with a small pitch.
It’s been very successful for him, and I love his emails. Cheers!
Copywriting Dean invites you to read GeoSurf Lets You Browse For International Clients
That’s interesting Dean, has it been successful over a long period of time?
Does he deliver the value/tips within the email itself or does he send his subscribers to his blog post?
Thanks,
Wayne
Yes, consistently successful over a long time and multiple markets. He spells it out in his Street Smart Email course, and it sells for $795!
Google him and sign up for an example. All his content is in the email, no blog posts. Cheers!
Copywriting Dean invites you to read GeoSurf Lets You Browse For International Clients
Great tips here Wayne! I hadn’t even thought about #4 from the stats point of view, and I think #3 can be the real answer to problem #1 which affects every email marketer. Ensuring your list is highly targeted, responsive, and creating rapport through developing your attitude to #2 is the key to long term subscriber list success.
Maybe so many wannabe affiliates give up because the one-pitch marketing model is hard work whereas making the transition to email marketing develops your profitably greatly and provides you with a steady source of blog traffic too!
Adwello Strategies invites you to read What Do You Believe Quotes About Confidence
Once again Adwel, some great insights into developing a long term relationship with your subscriber list.
Your list is your most qualified traffic source and compliments a blog perfectly.
Wayne Lambert invites you to read Promote Yourself Online Here
One thing not mentioned is frequency. It is very much market and expectation dependant, but sending too infrequently will lead to lost sales and a weaker brand, but too often will lead to unsubscribes and irritation.
The frequency is not a set value, but depends on the market. For instance, a cinema alert one weekly would be normal, but one for unchanging product like a piece of software should be less often.
Yes, frequency is a delicate balancing act.
On the one hand you want to respect your prospect’s inbox tranquillity, but on the other you need to keep them informed, especially when you know that not communicating your products and services will be doing them a massive disservice.
The key to knowing how often to email for any marketer has to come down to testing how often works best in terms of:
1) Open rates
2) Subscribes v Unsubscribes
3) Sales
I am now working on asking people to subscribe to my RSS feed, so I can allow them to browse my content when they choose and it cuts down the number of times I choose to email them about a post I’d like them to read.
In blogging and IM, people are pretty knowledgeable about RSS feeds and quite possibly use Google Reader or FeedDemon to read their blogs, so it can work out pretty well.
Wayne Lambert invites you to read How To Get More Fans on Facebook – Part Five
All of these are great and definitely on point. I would also add “not testing” to this list. It’s absolutely imperative to test, if not then you wont know what works or doesn’t work until it’s too late. Both A/B split test as well as multivariate testing should be done.
P.S. Gravity Forms is GREAT!
Dewane Mutunga invites you to read How To Create A Killer Call To Action
HI Dewane,
Yes, testing is important. I do a reasonable job of testing and tracking with Google Analytics, Aweber, Crazy Egg and Flip Tracker.
I could always do better though.
Gravity forms is great. I use it for several of my forms such as my contact page, services page and guest blogging application page.
Thanks,
Wayne
Wayne Lambert invites you to read Best Internet Marketing Tools
Most online marketers make these mistakes, especially the second one, I receive tens of emails every week with just a promotion of affiliate products and it’s the number one reason that I unsubscribe from a list.
The key in email marketing is to send informative content to your subscribers that they will appreciate and want to learn even more from you. Of course you can promote a product, affiliate or yours but only if you make your subscribers trust you and only if you believe that the products you promote will actually help your subscribers
Kostas invites you to read Do you make the most of Email Marketing?
Welcome to my blog Kostas.
Good comments.
Wayne Lambert invites you to read Promote Yourself Online Here