How to Avoid Common and Costly E-mail Flubs

Some e-mail mistakes sneak up on even experienced marketers. Check out the recent MarketingProfs article by Amanda Kiviaho to see five of the most common e-mail pitfalls and tips for avoiding costly marketing tumbles. At the top of her list is tacking on the subject line as a marketing afterthought. The subject line is key to open rate and thus click-through, so make sure it is part of e-mail strategy from the get-go, is based on past performance metrics, and is constantly tested to optimize, Kiviaho advises. Next, though relevant content is supposedly a marketing mantra, e-mails still blast out without regard to recipient interest or value, resulting in a disengaged. even disappearing, audience. The lesson: Content needs to be tied to smart e-mail list segmentation--using past response metrics such as opens, clicks, purchases or sign-ups. Expecting creative changes to result in immediate lift also can lead e-mail marketers astray toward ineffective updates or premature abandonment of changes, Kiviaho warns. Use A/B testing before roll-out and then be patient in judging results; response to new creative can initially dip before outperforming a control over time. Another common error is focus on revenue generation to the point of counterproductive over-mailing; one antidote is a disciplined e-mail calendar that monitors frequency and response by segment. Finally, e-mail does not earn optimum performance as a stand-alone, Kiviaho cautions; e-mail plans should draw input across the organization and marketing channels. Read more at http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/26200/five-email-mistakes-even-the-experts-make