Most consumers say they will only interact with personalized messages. As such, brands struggle to get personalization right, but many still make basic automation mistakes that can turn shoppers off.
Here are three common email marketing mistakes and how to avoid them.
Too much customization
With the great profusion of ads that exist in the online world, surely we have all seen some that are too personalized, so much so that they are intimidating, especially those that appear after having interacted with a product, mentioned it or just seen it.
Despite repeatedly denying that it eavesdrops on your conversations, Facebook, especially, has received criticism for its creepy ad targeting based on data that most users didn't even know the social giant was tracking.
While there is a tendency to think that knowing everything about your users and personalizing their experience would be beneficial, going too far can produce just the opposite effect.
We believe the best strategy is transparency. Being transparent about the data you collect, inviting users to opt-in to data collection and providing them with specific details about what you collect and how you use it, is the strategy of choice today.
If you are asking your audience to sign up by completing a form to receive a newsletter or blog subscription, we recommend being very clear about what they can expect and, more importantly, how they can opt out if they wish. This establishes a much higher level of trust and demonstrates that you really do have your users' best interest/experience in mind.
Poor synchronization
A sure-fire way to annoy your customers is to show them an ad for a product they would love, but when they click to buy it, they find out it's out of stock. Or, once they've bought it, they keep seeing the same ad.
That is why today it is more than necessary, it is imperative, to be able to send email marketing campaigns on a scheduled basis, in real time, in accordance with the inventory data of the products. In this way, you can reach customers with email marketing campaigns with personalized promotions and offers in real time, which effectively result in a conversion and not the rejection of that consumer.
Lack of calls to action
As you've no doubt heard dozens of times, your content needs at least one call to action (CTA). This is equally valid for a landing page, for a blog post and for your messages.
Without a call to action, you prevent your audience from finding out what you expect from them. Sure your readers are smart, but this would be asking too much of them. They are not fortune tellers.
The first thing is to have a clear vision of your purpose.
What result do you expect?
Do you want to promote a piece of content you've written? Do you want to publicize an upcoming launch or event? Do you want to make a sale?
Focus the text, images and design of your message to guide your readers toward this outcome. Then, before you send it, make sure your call to action is clear, compelling and directs them to the outcome you expect.
Perfect, but how do you make a great call to action? Here are some suggestions:
# 1: Make your CTA easy to find
Don't hide your call to action. Use bright colors, bold text or large buttons. Place it in a place where it stands out.
# 2: Use the right call to action words
Words matter. If your CTA is boring or vague, readers may skip it.
Use action words such as "read more" or "buy now". Appeal to a sense of urgency. Encourage curiosity.
# 3: Do not confuse
Excess is always bad. If you have several calls to action in a single message, it can be confused with others and will confuse your audience.
Instead of taking the action you expected, readers will choose not to take any action at all.
# 4: Repeat the CTA
When appropriate, repeat your call to action more than once.
You are trying to make it as easy as possible for your reader to go directly from the email to your website or product. Repeating the call to action several times will give them more chances to notice and interact with it.
