Why isn't my email marketing paying off?

1. Why Isn’t My Email Marketing Paying Off?
You know how difficult it is to
capture the attention of your target
audience, turn them into customers
and keep them coming back over the
next few years.
Loyalty can be developed in several
ways, but one of the best is by using
email marketing to the best effect.
Unfortunately, most email campaigns
are completely mishandled. And, the reasons are simple! If you are not reaping the rewards you
anticipated, here are some tips on what not to do – and why not to do them - recently shared by
one of the most respected marketers in the world today, Wesley Yuhn at Media Oasis.
What Not to Do
According to Mr. Yuhn, these are the sure-fire tactics to use to make sure that your Email
marketing strategy fails.
1. Don’t use “John” if your company’s name isn’t “John”. That sounds like a no-brainer
once you read it but how many times have you heard tips suggesting that you use a first
name instead of your business’ name in an email? Reputable articles constantly warn
people not to open emails from unknown people.
2. Don’t use a misleading statement in your subject line.This goes to the premise of
tricking potential customers into opening your sales pitch. Just make your subject line is
both honest and interesting.
3. Don’t use scare tactics or words in your subject line. Why would you open an email
that has a subject line stating, “disaster!” or “last chance”? Why not just put in “going
out of business and you may not receive your order” instead?

2. 4. Don’t make every email a “sales” pitch. There is nothing worse than signing up for
emails from a site that you think that you are interested in-- only to find that every email
is trying to sell you something. It gets old and boring and most of all, insulting.
5. Don’t make every email a “give-away” either. There are some companies that send out
emails that only talk about tips, how-to, recipes or what to do if.
6. Don’t assume your links work. Just because you added a link – one that you located a
month or two ago that you thought your readers would find interesting – doesn’t mean
that the page is still there or that the link works.
7. Don’t keep people on your mailing list that want to be removed. Clean your list up on
a regular basis.
8. Don’t make it difficult to find the “unsubscribe” box. Face the fact that subscribers
come and go. Unless you have the most compelling emails in the world, there will always
be fluctuations in your subscriber list. It’s better for your search engine ranking if you
have unsubscribers than if you are reported repeatedly as a “spammer”.
Spamming is a big issue at Google and Bing. Your site can get blackballed for it and if your
emails are being tagged as spam, it adds up against you!
You may have invested in an Email marketing source that allows you to automatically send out
emails to your customers, Facebook followers or website drop-ins. In email campaigns, it’s
essential that you change the pre-header text with each email.
Using good manners and professional techniques makes your campaign work.