Just as we think we’ve seen all the Email Marketing mistakes

Spelling & punctuation clangers. You’d think having built-in spell checkers would mean better spelling, punctuation and grammar, unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case (as Sam found out recently). A well written email marketing message is more likely to be read and speaks volumes for the professionalism of the sender.

Boring Subject Lines. These are so often treated as an after thought and written in a hurry before hitting ‘Send’ – big mistake! The Subject Line is the text that is seen in a list of unread emails and can be what prompts the recipient to open your message. It can also be the only thing that stops them from pressing the ‘Delete’ button.

Mystery ‘From’ Field. If I don’t recognise who an email is from, the likelihood of clicking to open it and find out is much reduced. For example, contact@ or info@ aren’t very friendly are they? As for noreply@ – personally I find this most off-putting!

Lack of or Confusing Call to Action. Every piece of your marketing needs to have a purpose and a clearly defined ‘Call to Action’ (CTA). Email Marketing is no different. Not including a CTA is a waste of your time and effort. Almost as bad is to provide so many options of things to click on or look at that your reader becomes confused – and does nothing as a result. That’s a waste too.

Collecting Email addresses and then not making contact until you want to sell something. This is a crazy phenomenon I’ve noticed recently. I signed up to receive updates on a couple of blogsites and weeks later was still waiting (I did check my spam filters). Then suddenly, BAM! Email after Email promoting a webinar or product launch. No thank you. This practice is just plain bad manners and, as I’m likely to have forgotten who the sender is after such an interval, their messages run the risk of being reported as spam.

We’re certainly not immune when it comes to making mistakes in our Email Marketing campaigns, but we do try our best to keep them to a minimum.

Further reading:

How not to do Emails

7 Basic Email Newsletter Mistakes (and how to avoid them) 

How not to send out Email Promotions

What Email howlers have you come across? Please share in the comments below.

Email Marketing is one of the cornerstones of online relationship building

Things have moved on a bit (about a million miles actually) since the days of rainbow coloured text emails and using the BCC field for your list while sending the message to yourself, although unbelievably some of these still occasionally drop into my inbox (bless!).

There are many excellent Email Service Providers (ESPs), including Mailchimp (we are fans & affiliates), Constant Contact, Vertical Response and AWeber. Which provider you choose is down to personal preference, but there are compelling reasons why you need to choose and use a professional ESP for your business Email Marketing.

Get More of Your Emails Delivered

Many people think that pressing ‘Send’ is all that’s needed to get their email message to its various destinations. Not necessarily so. For people still using their computer email packages, deliverability is unknown and open & click-through rates are unmeasurable.

Using your web domain host or shopping cart email service isn’t a guarantee of getting delivered either. These are OK for occasional mailings but messages are less likely to get through spam filters, so it isn’t a good idea to use as your main ESP, if you’re serious about Email Marketing.

The number of people reading their emails on SmartPhones is growing rapidly, so making sure your Emails are mobile friendly is becoming increasingly important. The main ESPs have this covered with special templates for the publisher to use and options to receive emails in a mobile friendly format for the reader.

Benefit from their Good Reputation

The best providers have a good reputation they’ve worked hard to establish. Not only for deliverability (over 99% is their proud claim), but also, importantly, for their adherence to the CAN-Spam Act, which they take very seriously.

I was chatting with an Email Marketing colleague recently and he told me the sad story of two clients who had their email accounts suspended as a result of using their computers to send out campaigns. This could have been as a result of the large number of emails going out, or because they fell foul of the Spam filters.

I don’t know about you, but the thought of being without email in my business sends icy shivers down my spine. It’s one of my primary communication channels and I’d really struggle without it.

Professional ESPs use a ‘double optin’ process to further protect their reputation – and yours by association! This process replaces the practice back in the ‘bad old days’ when you simply added all your contacts’ email addresses to a spreadsheet and sent out uninvited and unexpected promotional emails to them. “But wait,” I hear you say, “I still have some of those emails arriving in my inbox.” Yep, me too – and I report them as ‘Spam’ because that’s what they are. I didn’t ask for them.

A Double Opt-In is when you enter your details (usually just Name & Email address) onto a web based form, press Enter and are then taken to another screen with a message telling you to look out for an email which you need to act on. The email usually arrives within seconds and has a link you have to click in order to confirm that you really did fill out that form and want to receive the emails from that person.

The above are just a couple of reasons why using a professional Email Service Provider is so important for the small business owner. Check out our Guide for more information on Email Marketing, and please ask your questions in the comment box below.

I was chatting with a fellow business owner over coffee the other day

We went through the need and purpose of having a blog and setting up accounts with the various social networks where his target market were most likely to be, and then I asked him: ‘How big is your list?’

His answer was pretty much what I’d expected: that he had a lot of contacts but they weren’t organized in any way or stored in a central place, for example on an Excel spreadsheet.

The traditional way of collecting business cards at networking events and trade shows often results in a drawer full of cards and very little else. Even if these cards are put into a display folder of some kind, they still won’t be of any use for email marketing until they at least find their way onto a computer.

As I explained to my downcast colleague, in order to make the best use of email marketing, he really needed to have enough people to send his emails to!

We agreed that his best starting point was to create an Excel spreadsheet and manually enter the contact details. From there it will be easy for him to upload the data to an email service provider (such as MailChimp, AWeber or Constant Contact – and there are many others). When it comes to those drawers full of business cards, his options include various scanning machines & software packages, and he would do well to consider the newer technology Apps for smartphones, such as ScanBizCards.

A common list building mistake 

One of the problems I’ve seen recently with enthusiastic social networking business owners is that they’re so focused on building a following on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and so on, that they seem to have lost sight of the importance of building an email marketing list.

Just think about how quickly those online newstreams, updates and Twitter feeds move down the screen. You have no guarantee that your followers are actually going to see your message, amongst all the other messages vying for their attention, let alone click on a link.

On the other hand, an email is a targeted marketing message arriving in each individual’s inbox. They will have given permission for you to send them such emails and, providing proper opt-in procedures are followed, the recipient has to consciously decide what to do with each message they get from you. While some people may choose to delete without reading, if the campaign has been well put together, your email stands a much better chance of being opened.

By the time we’d finished our coffees, my fellow business owner had written down clear steps to get his email marketing list off the ground and had an understanding why it was urgent and important to keep taking action and build on it.

What would you have recommended he do to build his email marketing list? Please leave your suggestion in the comments below.

When you’ve worked really hard to build your email subscriber list ethically

After you’ve dried your tears, take a look to see whether it is an isolated case or have there been others during the past month or so?

If there are more ‘desertions’ than you’d like, it may be worth asking yourself a few questions about your overall email marketing strategy.

Did you ask permission to send Emails?

As I write this post there are two messages in my inbox from people I’ve met at local networking events and who have added me to their email list. They didn’t ask if I wanted to be added, so technically they are spamming me. It is tempting when starting out on email marketing to go through your business cards just to have some people to send your message to. Tempting but asking for unsubscribes and even a few spam complaints.

Are you providing valuable information?

The reason most people stay subscribed to a list after getting the freebie they originally signed up for is that the information in your emails is useful and valuable to them. Quite often, even though they may not have time to read your message when it arrives, they’ll move it to a folder until they do have time. But they will only go to this trouble if you consistently provide good quality, valuable content.

Is the content relevant to the recipients?

For people to trust you with their email address, they need to be sure that the emails they receive will contain articles, tips, tricks, and resources relevant to their situation or business. Coming up with fresh and interesting content on a regular basis can be challenging (as we both know from personal experience!), but it’s important to always keep in mind the needs and expectations of your reader. If your emails don’t resonate with your list, they’ll leave, and sign up with someone who does meet their needs.

Are you sending out too many emails?

How many is too many? That’s one of those questions which is difficult to answer. I’ve been subscribed to some lists for several years and look forward to receiving emails from the authors. Because their newsletter content is so good (valuable and relevant, as in points 2 & 3 above), I don’t mind receiving quite a few promotion-only emails from them when they launch a new product or service. Everyone’s tolerances are different and some people will unsubscribe as soon as you try promoting anything. So it’s generally a case of trial and error – and keeping a close eye on the unsubscribe notifications!

Is the tone of your message right?

We both started sending out email newsletters in 2003 so have obviously had plenty of opportunity to monitor what works for us, as well as what can cause people to unsubscribe from lists. Assuming the previous questions are answered satisfactorily, then the tone in which the message is written can be a deciding factor in building a loyal and happy list of readers.

Surprisingly, it often isn’t the wonderfully informative articles nor even the excellent resources that keeps the open rate high. But using a more conversational writing tone, as well as including a few details of a more personal nature will have subscribers eagerly awaiting a newsletter. People like to hear about real people whom they can relate to and get to know.

Click here for more tips about Email Marketing.

What makes you hit the ‘unsubscribe’ link? Please share in the comments below.

Starting a blog for your business is a big commitment of time and effort.

Here’s a quick checklist to help make it really easy for people to read your blog and increase the chances that they will.

RSS button – for people who like to read the blogs they subscribe to in a reader (as we both do). While they may not always return to your site to read each post, the fact they’ve subscribed means they’re more likely to click through on links within the posts and come back that way. So make sure and position that recognisable button prominently. I’ve visited many sites where it’s hidden at the bottom of the page and sometimes even been missing completely!

Email option – according to research, more people subscribe to receive email notification of new blog posts than use the RSS option. Reasons given seem to be around the familiarity of email technology. Deliver what these people want by providing an option to subscribe via email as well as RSS.

Link to Twitter, FB and LinkedIn – all three social networks enable you to link your blog so new posts are automatically shared with your connections on those platforms. This means that people who might not have subscribed to your blog will still see when you post something new and be able to read it where they choose.

Your email subscribers - we often stress the importance of building your own list of subscribers to market to. This is a separate list from those people who subscribe to automatically read your blog by email, and will be stored by an independent Email Service Provider (like MailChimp or AWeber). When you write a particularly important blog post, you might want to send an email with a link so subscribers to this list can read it too.

Team up with other bloggers – you probably have some ‘blogging buddies’ – people who share similar interests to you and whose posts you all enjoy reading and commenting on. Help each other get more readers by sharing links to their blog posts and in return they share links to yours. Using an automation tool like Twitterfeed means this won’t call for any extra work on your part. Do make sure you’re happy that the quality of the other bloggers’ posts are of a consistently good standard before you automatically share, or this could backfire on you.

Great content - this should really go at the top of any list! Obviously if you want to get more people to read your blog, give them high quality posts containing information that is relevant to them. With so much competition for people’s attention, mediocre or patchy content simply won’t do.

What makes you want to subscribe to and keep reading a particular blog?

Whether your business sells products or services, the following list of low-cost and no cost ways to get more visitors aren’t at all techie to do.

1.  Tell people about it – don’t assume everyone knows about your website.  If you’ve recently added something interesting, that’s a good reason to mention it when you’re out networking.

2.  Business card – give people a reason to take a look at your website, offer them something interesting like an article or free report (this will also give you an opportunity to include them in future email marketing campaigns)

3.  Online Directories – there are so many of these directories that they aren’t as useful as a few years ago.  But it’s still worth taking advantage of free listings that include a link back to your website so long as the directory looks reputable.

4.  Social Network Profiles – people you connect with on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are more internet savvy and will probably want to visit your website to find out more about you, even before connecting.  Give them a warm welcome

5.  Email Signature – so often forgotten, this is a great place to encourage people to click through and visit your website (or blog).  Make sure to provide a ‘live’ link and check it works OK.

6.  Postcards and direct mailers – just because traditional mailings are offline, don’t stop promoting your business’s online home.

7.  Letterhead – same as 6. above.  (Does anyone actually use letterheads anymore?)

8.  Invoices – why not include a discreet promotional message and your web address? (I’d advise against anything too brash when you’re also asking for money)

9.  Voicemail – Use the outgoing message to encourage people to visit your website after they’ve left a message for you.  It’s quite unusual, so they may just do it!

10. Articles (online and offline) – If you’ve written something of interest, be sure to provide a link (url offline) so readers can click to find out more.

If you consistently use all the above methods, you will get more visitors to your website.

Do you have anything to add to the list?  Please share in the comments below, we’d love to know

Autoresponders are a great way to automate some of your marketing online.  They are a series of email messages you write in advance and then schedule to be sent out at intervals you determine.

In order to set up autoresponder messages you will need to sign up to an email service such as AWeber or MailChimp.

4 Uses for Autoreponders in your Business

Communicate with prospects after they’ve signed up to your list and downloaded the freebie you tempted them with.  If you offer a monthly newsletter, it can be a long time between when people join your list and the date of your next issue.  A series of carefully written short emails will keep their interest and hopefully result in more serious enquiries.

Send out an E-course. Sending out a series of lessons by email is a popular way to deliver the sign-up freebie.  In many ways it can be better than one huge and overwhelming free report type of download.

As a replacement for an Ezine. If the thought of writing a regular email newsletter fills you with dread, then writing a series of ‘evergreen’ articles may be the answer.  Most autoresponder providers enable you to set up messages at least one year ahead of time.

Keep in touch with clients after a purchase. All too often communication grinds to a halt when customers have made a purchase.  Setting up a few special follow up messages will make sure they continue to feel appreciated, enable you to suggest other products/services they may want to consider, and can also reduce the number of refund requests you receive.

As with all low-cost online marketing tools, it can be easy to get carried away!  Spare a thought for the people receiving your autoresponder messages and make sure you’re not bombarding their inboxes too frequently.  You’ll soon know if the number of ‘unsubscribes’ goes up!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief introduction to autoresponder messages and will be revisiting the subject again soon.  If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments below

• If your subscribers have been used to receiving a chatty newsletter once a month and you suddenly start bombarding them with ‘salesy’ messages every couple of days, be prepared to lose those who don’t like the sudden change.
• Don’t try to make a sale from your Email. The objective should be to get interested readers to click through to a specially prepared web page that will take over the job of selling.
• Some people will take exception to you selling anything at all – they believe you should give them everything for free.  You’re better off without them on your list.
• Rather than keep sending the same marketing Emails to everyone on your list, find out who could be genuinely interested by inviting them to join a separate list.  Then mail this smaller, targetted list.
• When your promotion has a genuine deadline, like a date for an event, you’ll need to send out reminder emails right up to the day itself.  It’s surprising how many people ignore anything that isn’t urgent or immediate and therefore don’t book until the last moment.  Interestingly reminders like this don’t seem to annoy too much.

What tips would you add?

As I approved those messages I wanted to forward to my Inbox, it occurred to me how easily we can lose touch with valuable contacts because of the otherwise useful spam filter, if we’re not vigilant.

Here are a few suggestions to ensure you receive emails you want if you have a spam filter in place:

1.    If possible, let new contacts know what to expect the first time they email you.  Perhaps include a short note in your first email to them.
2.    Make the authorisation / approval process very easy for people to follow, especially if they’re a bit technophobic.
3.    Personalise your verification message, the default is so bland and I’ve found people often ignore it if they don’t know it’s from you and they’re reluctant to click on links.
4.    In your verification message, give them an alternative way to contact you if they get into difficulties.

And make sure your messages get to their destinations without falling foul of other people’s filters:

5.    It’s a good idea to send out a message to each of your contacts ahead of the change (if possible), informing them of what your new email address will be.  Include a short note in your email signature block.
6.    Whenever you change your email address (or use a different one!), remember that the spam filters won’t know it’s you, so you’ll need to go through the verification process again for everyone who has a filter in place.
7.    Make sure any emails you send from within any of the social networks are expected, verified or ‘whitelisted’, especially if you know which of your contacts has an efficient filter in place.
8.    If you change the email address from which you send out regular newsletters and promotions, do check the ‘bounce’ report your service provides, to see if your message was trapped by spam filters.  You don’t want to lose any potential customers from your list in that way!

What experience do you have of using spam filters?  We’d love to hear & share any tips!

1.    Don’t email everyone you’ve ever met
I’m sure some people just go through the piles of business cards they’ve collected over the months or years and add them all to their email contact list.  And/or they go through the member directory of the business groups they belong to and add those names too.  Not everyone is going to remember who you are.   Not everyone is going to be interested in what you have to say.
Best Practice Tip: Ask for permission to add people to your list when you meet them.

2.    Don’t email jokes, cute photos or ‘chain mail’ to your business contacts
I know they can be cute, hilarious or tug at the heart strings – but I’m going to be a killjoy and say they don’t have a place in business and they don’t do much for your professional image.  Speaking with a friend at the weekend she just deletes the emails without reading them now because the pictures take so long to download.
Best Practice Tip: If someone has entrusted you with their business email address, then business is what it should be used for.

3.    Don’t mass email from your computer Email programme
Once your list grows to over 50 people, it’s wise not to take the risk of sending emails to everyone from your Outlook or Outlook Express programme (or Mac Equivalent).  Your email provider will pick up the activity and may take the view that you’re spamming your contacts.  At best you’ll receive a warning, at worst your email account will be suspended – not good for business or your online reputation.
Best Practice Tip: Use a professional email service for your larger business mailings (see our March 2009 newsletter for suggestions)

4.    Don’t make your contacts’ email addresses public
If you must send small mailings from your computer email programme, for heaven’s sake don’t lump everyone into the ‘To’ or ‘CC’ fields where they can be seen by everyone else.  This practice makes it easy for your less scrupulous contacts to spam all your contacts with their messages too, which won’t make you very popular.  Read this cautionary tale.
Best Practice Tip: Send the Email to yourself and use the ‘BCC’ field for everyone else. (click on ‘CC’ to reveal it).

You might also be interested in listening to this short interview with Robin Houghton of Egg Box Marketing on the subject of permission email marketing.  Click here to listen

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