5 Email Missteps Every Marketer Should Avoid

While nothing  worthwhile in advertising and marketing comes without risk—and there are definitely ways to waste money and ruin opportunities with email marketing—there are even more ways to increase site traffic, lead generation and revenue. The key is to invest up front to design an effective email campaign, which starts by avoiding the blunders detailed below:

1. Boring the Audience.  From lackluster subject lines to verbiage-laden text only emails, to emails that only talk about the company and provide nothing of tangible or even perceived value, it's easy to bore readers. But email is intended to be the start of a conversation and savvy marketers understand this. For a better success rate, provide an enticing offer and an eye-catching subject line, design colorful and well-branded graphics, and provide value to your email audience.
   
   
2. Annoying the Audience. You know the feeling when you get interrupted by a little fly buzzing around your head, and then again 30 seconds later, and then yet again 30 seconds after that? Don’t be the little fly pestering people too frequently.  Your audience will love hearing from you if you are providing value in a way that gives them room to breathe—to consider your office and how it fits into their own needs and objectives.
   
   
3. Confusing the Audience. All too often online marketers try to cram too many messages into one email. There should always be one clear call to action and any messaging or imagery, and links should always direct the customer to a landing page where they can act upon that main call to action.  Stick to one primary message around which all else is focused and be sure to tell your potential customer what you want them to do next.
   
   
4. Bombarding the Audience. Marketers often try to throw everything they've got at their audience in the form of too much written copy and too many design features such as star bursts or complicated shapes. The best email campaigns are those that keep the design interface and messaging simple. That means clearly written and formatted content as well as clean, fresh graphics and design.
   
   
5. Missing the Audience. At a high level, email marketing seems simple enough but, when you dig into all of your options with data filters to specifically target certain audiences, it becomes clear just how complex the endeavor really is. Today, online marketers have countless list segmentation options but, sadly, they often choose poorly when it comes to filtering their email list. For example, a localized Mercedes dealership would target potential customers who live within a certain zip or area code radius of their location, have certain interests and make enough in salary to afford a high end vehicle.
   

For extra assurance, digital marketers often enlist the help of field experts and outside voices who can consult on the preparation process and catch errors that may have otherwise been missed. When executed properly, email marketing can grow a business.

Kevin Layton is CEO of Data-Dynamix, which provides demographic data, digital marketing campaigns and experts in advertising sales training. The company was ranked 1,226 on the 2015 Inc. 5000. Layton, author of the upcoming book, “Building Your Digital Marketing Machine,” is also a speaker on digital marketing, international business and business strategy. He can be reached at www.data-dynamix.com or via Twitter@DataDynamix1.