25 Reasons Why business fail to Launch Email Marketing Campaigns Effectively

With the growing use of Email (estimated 3.9 billion email accounts in the world), there is no doubt that Email Marketing remains strong and resilient in all marketing activities. Therefore, disregarding the potential of email marketing would be highly detrimental to your business. 

Email marketing allows your business to reach a global audience in a cost-efficient manner. However, a poorly executed email marketing campaign can drive customers away and prove to be expensive.

In this article, we will outline some common mistakes in email marketing that can result in the loss of valuable time, resources, and customers for your organization.

Let's begin now.

Poorly Curated Subject Lines

In the midst of receiving numerous emails on a daily basis, all the effort you invest in a marketing campaign will be in vain if recipients don't even bother opening your emails. 

So, how can you make your emails stand out in a crowded inbox? It all starts with a captivating and visually appealing subject line that entices subscribers to click on your emails. It's important to keep your subject lines concise yet engaging but be cautious of using clickbait tactics that may disappoint your subscribers. 

Additionally, customers can preview the first line of an email before opening it, presenting another opportunity to use persuasive language to encourage subscribers to click.

Not Sending Welcome Email

When a customer demonstrates interest in your business by taking the effort to sign up for your email list, it presents a valuable opportunity to establish a connection with your new subscribers. Rather than remaining silent, it is essential to promptly send a welcome email to each subscriber.

At this stage, your business is fresh in their minds, so it is crucial to maximizing this opportunity by sending a welcome email that introduces them to your brand and provides a glimpse of what they can anticipate from your emails.

Waiting for a Certain Number of Subscribers

Are you hesitating to launch your email campaign until you reach a specific number of subscribers? If that's the case, it's time to stop waiting and begin crafting a new email sequence immediately. Every customer holds significance for your business, and you can't afford to make them wait for updates and valuable content. 

Even if you only have a modest 20 subscribers, initiating regular email communication is essential. This not only keeps your customers informed but also provides an opportunity to gain insights and learn more about effective email marketing strategies for your organization. It's a valuable technique for discovering which approaches yield the best results.

Unclear Call-To-Action

All of your efforts will be wasteful if you leave an unclear Call-To-Action. That is when you fail to achieve your marketing goals, which is to encourage more buying behaviors. Therefore, a well-crafted CTA prompts readers to take the desired action and should be prominently displayed. By making it easy to spot, you increase the chances of your audience engaging with your content and following through on your intended goal.

Disregarding A/B Testing

If you find yourself unsure about which types of emails will effectively resonate with your audience, there's no need to wonder. You can use A/B testing to easily compare different emails and gather valuable insights. 

For instance, if you're torn between two subject lines, you can put them to the test by sending one subject line to half of your audience and the other subject line to the remaining half. This approach allows you to determine which subject line performs better in terms of engagement and open rates. 

A/B testing is often referred to interchangeably as split testing.  If you're interested in learning more, Style Factory offers a comprehensive guide to split testing that can provide you with in-depth knowledge and strategies to optimize your email campaigns.

Failing to Utilize Sign-Up Sheet

Simply having a sign-up sheet tucked away in the corner of your website's homepage is insufficient for building an impressive email list. To effectively capture the attention of your visitors and encourage more subscribers, it is crucial to incorporate sign-up forms throughout your website in various creative ways. Additionally, it is essential to carefully time the appearance of your sign-up forms. They should not be too late, when visitors are about to leave, or too early, overwhelming them before they've had a chance to explore your content. Striking the right balance and timing will maximize the chances of attracting and converting subscribers.

Complicated Sign-Up Sheet

Review the number of questions on your sign-up sheet. Are they all necessary? An intricate form can harm your chances of attracting new subscribers. Opt for simplicity, allowing visitors to complete the form effortlessly.

Salesy Content

While the primary goal of email marketing is to generate sales for your business, it is important to avoid solely approaching your emails with a sales mindset. Sending only promotional content can lead to your emails being marked as spam and may result in increased unsubscribe rates. To ensure success, your emails should provide value to your readers. Instead of focusing solely on sales, make your content engaging, informative, and valuable. Rather than overtly promoting your products, share content that explains how your products can address the specific problems of your target audience. Customer-centric content is the key to a successful email marketing campaign.

Not Staying Consistent

Sending three emails in a week and then abruptly stopping, is not a sustainable strategy for email marketing. Consistency should be a fundamental aspect of all email campaigns. 

Without a regular emailing schedule, your subscribers are likely to forget about your brand. Instead of solely sending emails when you have something to sell, strive to regularly share valuable content. By consistently delivering engaging content at specific times and days, your subscribers may even begin to anticipate and look forward to receiving your emails.

Sending Lengthy Emails

Customers have limited time to read long-written emails sent by random businesses. They will probably skim through the text and miss out on key details or CTA. 

The size of the email also relies on the preferences of your audience and your writing style. If you need to convey information that can't be shortened, feel free to share the longer version. Once again, it's advisable to conduct A/B testing to determine which version of the email is more effective for your organization.

Impersonal Emails

The goal is to make every subscriber feel unique and acknowledged. Customizing your emails is the key to accomplishing this. Something as basic as using a subscriber's name instead of a generic greeting can significantly increase click-through rates and make a difference in engagement levels.

Spamming

There are 100 emails on average being sent to customers every day. So overflowing inbox could bring customers nothing but annoyance.

Frequency is important but you should beware of the overweighed number of emails being sent. Please bear in mind that consistent updates do not mean spamming. 

Spamming can severely harm your email marketing effectiveness. When many individuals label your emails as spam, it can result in your domain being blacklisted by the email system. This means that any email sent from your blacklisted domain will automatically be flagged as spam.

Overlooking Message Previews

While making an occasional typo might not be catastrophic, consistently sending out emails riddled with grammatical errors and broken links is a problem that requires urgent attention. Before hitting the sending button, you should preview your messages carefully. By previewing your emails, you can evaluate how they will appear on various devices, enabling you to spot typos, correct grammatical errors, address broken links, and enhance the overall layout.

Inactive Subscribers

There are definitely certain contacts that never visit or read your emails, which turn your open and click-through rates into a mess. There is no point in including them in your email list anymore. It is advisable to review all emails and remove inactive contacts. At the same time, businesses should constantly expand their email list.

Forgetting Audience Segmentation

To guarantee the efficiency and relevance of your email campaigns, it is crucial to implement audience segmentation. By categorizing your subscribers based on different criteria, you can send targeted emails that are specifically tailored to each customer. A good starting point for segmentation is dividing your audience based on gender and age. Additionally, you can further segment by analyzing their purchasing behavior, geographical location, and other relevant factors.

Neglecting Mobile Users

The population of mobile users is expanding rapidly, and failing to make your emails mobile-friendly means missing out on a significant opportunity. While an email may appear appealing on a desktop, it won't be attractive to mobile users unless it is optimized for smaller screens. It is essential to format your emails to fit well on mobile devices. Due to the limited space available, it is advisable to use concise text and minimal graphics.

Sharing Image-Heavy Content

Undoubtedly, graphics are far more visually appealing compared to plain text. It is highly recommended to incorporate relevant images, gifs, and other visual elements to make your emails engaging. However, it is important to strike a balance and avoid overloading your email with excessive graphics that may slow down loading times. Additionally, it is crucial to include alt text, which provides a description of the email's content, ensuring that readers understand the email's context even if the images fail to load.

Not Giving the Option to Unsubscribe

You might believe that making the unsubscribe option difficult to find or hiding the link will deter customers from unsubscribing from your email list. However, even if they cannot unsubscribe, they still have the ability to report your emails as spam. As mentioned before, being reported as spam by numerous users can lead to your account being blacklisted. It is advisable to provide your subscribers with a clear and easily accessible option to unsubscribe.

Sharing Irrelevant Information

When crafting content for email campaigns, it is crucial to begin by comprehending your audience. Diverse audiences have varying preferences when it comes to styles, formats, and tones. If your readers favor long-form content, sending brief emails will not generate the desired level of engagement. Conduct thorough research to understand what your target audience appreciates, and then create email content accordingly.

Choosing the Wrong Days & Times

Your email conversions might be suffering due to sending emails on incorrect days or times. Surprisingly, something as basic as selecting the right day and time can significantly impact the success of your campaign. The optimal day and time will vary depending on your business and target audience. It is recommended to experiment with different days and times to discover the ideal option that works best for your organization.

Failing to Make Use of Social Media

Apart from your website, you can also utilize social media to build your email list. On Facebook, you can add a sign-up button that takes users directly to your sign-up sheet. You can include a link to your sign-up form on Instagram. If you have Twitter, you can also add an email opt-in button, which allows users to sign up without leaving Twitter. LinkedIn is another useful platform for growing your email list. You can leverage your connections as well as groups to increase your subscribers.

Faceless Senders

Rather than presenting your business as an impersonal entity, you’d better enhance the professionalism and authenticity of your emails by concluding with your personal name as a sign-off. This simple gesture adds a human touch and helps establish a genuine connection with your recipients.

Not Paying Attention To Analytics

Relying solely on sending emails without monitoring their effectiveness is not an effective strategy. To assess the impact of your efforts, it is crucial to pay attention to various analytics. Examining metrics such as click-through rates provides insights into the level of engagement and persuasiveness of your content. Consistently monitoring analytics is essential if you aim to enhance your email marketing strategies. If your business heavily depends on email marketing for conversions, considering the utilization of professional email marketing services may be beneficial.

Not Utilizing Automation

In the initial stages of email marketing, it may be feasible to manage all tasks manually. However, as your business expands and your email list grows, relying solely on manual processes becomes inefficient. It is advisable to invest in email automation, which can streamline your marketing efforts. Email automation provides numerous benefits, such as time savings, cost reduction, and improved targeting capabilities. By automating various tasks, you can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.

Conclusion

Regardless of whether you operate a small business or a large corporation, incorporating email marketing into your overall marketing strategy is essential. Avoid sending sporadic emails without a clear purpose. Instead, invest time and effort in developing well-planned campaigns that align with your brand. Additionally, it is crucial to be mindful of the mistakes mentioned earlier to ensure the effectiveness of your email marketing endeavors.