Email Marketing Rules Unwritten [Infographic]

You might have noticed that email marketing is the channel with the highest return rates.

Statistics show that email is 40% more effective than social media in driving leads and revenue for B2B marketers.

These numbers prove email marketing is reliable in generating leads for your business. If done correctly, these numbers will also be a proof of its reliability. These trends will be monitored by marketing teams, who will then increase their email campaigns to meet the demands of your business.

It is important not to overwhelm your prospects with spam emails. You need to be different and stand out among the rest by using email marketing principles and techniques that resonate well with your prospects.

The Key Takeaways:

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  Everyday, people receive hundreds of emails. It is difficult to stand out amongst the crowd. It is important to strike the right balance between compelling language and not becoming too spammy.
  
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  When used correctly, automation tools can be a marketing ally. Personalization is the key.
  
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  To optimize your lead generation efforts, make sure you A/B-test your emails.
  

Email Marketing: The Problems

Every day, people receive a variety of emails. An average office worker receives 121 email per day. These emails can include promotional materials and personal emails.

It's easy to see how cluttered an inbox can get when there are so many other senders. This is why it's a challenge to make yours stand out among the rest.

This has led to people being more selective about what they see in their inboxes. Filtering involves searching for someone you know among the senders, or looking for content that is really useful or interesting to them. Most people will send all other content to the trash can, which is not what you want.

This effect is even more evident when you consider the selective nature of automated email and spam filters. It doesn't matter how compelling your email is, it won't get noticed.

To build trust with your recipients, it is important to present yourself as someone who practices proper email marketing etiquette. Your chances of your emails being opened will rise significantly if you establish trust with your recipients.

Email mistakes to avoid

The list below contains examples of common mistakes made by email marketers that usually results in less-than-satisfactory levels of engagement:

1. An Uncompelling Subject Line
   

The email subject line is the first thing that people see. Your subject line is the first thing your leads will see so it's important to make sure you write something compelling and, more importantly, relevant. Your email will not be read if your subject line isn't immediately captivating their attention.

You can play on the emotions of your readers a little. Instill curiosity and urgency. Keep it personal, as much as possible (more to follow).

Don't be too pushy. Although click-baity subject lines are great, you should not make promises that you will not keep once the recipient opens your email.

2. Automate Everything
   

Although email automation is a great tool for marketers, some people misuse it. This is especially true when it comes to targeted marketing. Marketers sometimes fail to segment their marketing lists according to customer personas, so the right emails don’t reach the people who really need them. Email segmentation isn’t something that’s nice to do, but it’s essential in today’s online world.

Personalization is crucial for higher engagement rates. However, too much automation could limit that. Email automation tools often allow personalization tokens to avoid making you sound robotic. This feature will allow you to take email personalization to new heights.

3. Sending Unsolicited Messages
   

If it is something very valuable, nobody likes to get something they don't want. Your recipients will not hesitate to report your email spam if they don't give their consent.

Worse, if you do not include an opt-out link in your emails, prospects will be furious at you. They won't have an easy way to unsubscribe. A CAN-SPAM Act requires that all email marketing must include an opt-out option.

4. Images that are not clickable or missing
   

Images are an essential element of email marketing. They are used to convey the message and to provide visuals.

The bottom line is that if images are not clickable or missing, prospects will lose the opportunity to engage with them and prolong their engagement.

5. Sending without Testing
   

Before you hit the Send Email button, there are many things to check and test. This includes a subject line that matches the content of your email, broken links and any error messages that may be displayed due to technical problems.

Customers hate when they find out they wasted their time looking at inconsistencies or bloopers. Before you start your email marketing campaign, ensure that you test your email marketing process with a test account.

How to use email to live by

Now that the great potential of email as a lead/revenue-generating channel is clear, it's important to know how to make the most out of this tool.

You should be familiar with the “unwritten rules” of email marketing, in addition to following industry best practices. These are rules that deal with etiquette, good judgement, and how to avoid angry recipients.

Learn the Rules

Email marketing is an effective, time-tested, and simple strategy that every marketer should have in their arsenal. Although it might be difficult to send emails that are well received by your subscribers, remembering the principles of email marketing and following the rules may just be the key to being noticed.

Once you have mastered the basics, optimize the content you send with every email. Personalization is key. This means that you should create content that addresses the needs and interests of your readers. To learn more about optimizing content marketing, check out our SEO Blog Writing Services.