Any business not using email marketing is missing the opportunity to benefit from one of the most effective digital marketing tools available. Email marketing is extremely cost-effective, and its ability to help businesses build relationships with prospects and to sell its products and services is second to none.

As with any marketing tool, email has to be used properly, and if not, the results will most likely be poor. This might be why some businesses have turned their back on email marketing claiming it does not work. It does work,  but not if the way it is used is counter to what email marketing experts suggest it should be used.

A fundamental error that often occurs is a business using the wrong copy within its emails. A well-written email that follows effective copywriting principles is key to an email campaign being successful. Unfortunately, many email campaigns are sent containing copy errors, and here are 7 of the most common.

Not Using Emails To Build Relationships With Your Subscriber List

We have this first because it is by far the most important point we wish to make. If you are not using emails to build and augment your relationship with your subscribers, then you are failing to appreciate why you are emailing them in the first place. Without building relationships with them,  your subscribers will not see any reason to open your email and will have even less reason to click on any links they contain.

Poorly Optimised Subject Lines

Coming a close second is the mistake of having poor subject lines. The subject line is the most important few words of your entire email. Why? It is the subject that will entice your subscribers to open the email rather than binning it without opening it. Get the subject right and your email open rate will soar.

Cramming Too Much Into Single Emails

There is a balance to be struck between having a lot of text in your email and not enough. If you send a regular newsletter then it might be okay to have more text provided you separate it into sections. What you most definitely should not do is write an email that is not only too long but which goes off in half a dozen different tangents.

Not Personalising Emails

Using autoresponder tags to insert your subscribers’ first names will help with this. In addition, you want to write emails that feel like they were written specifically for the person reading them. A great technique is to imagine one person, and then write your email as though it is for them, rather than 100s of subscribers.

Using Rehashed Emails

Whilst it is perfectly acceptable to have a swipe file of emails written by expert copywriters and to have a vault of your own, it is not okay to simply recycle them as is and send them. Nothing kills your credibility faster than subscribers recognising that the email you have sent today is the same one you sent last month.

Emails Not Having A Clear Call To Action

Every email you send should have a call to action, even if it is to tell subscribers to check their inbox tomorrow because you have ‘great news’. Conditioning your subscribers into the habit of following your CTAs means when the CTA is ‘Click This Link’ in a promotional email, they will be more likely to click than not.

Making Every Email A Sales Pitch

If all you do with your emails is bombard your subscribers daily with sales pitches you are missing the whole point of how to use email effectively. You will have constant unsubscribes and your promotions will not be as successful as they would be if you send non-promotional emails regularly.