Survey Reveals Top 5 Email Marketing Mishaps
A recent survey conducted by the European email service provider MailJet has revealed the top five mistakes email marketers make. If you currently use email as part of your business’s marketing strategy, or if you are planning to use email, you should familiarize yourself with these mistakes. Doing so will allow you to optimize your campaigns for more conversions and a higher return on your investment.
Call-to-Action Buttons Can’t Be Split-Tested
A jaw-dropping 28% of respondents in the MailJet survey said they believe call-to-action buttons in emails can’t be split-tested. Of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth, as split-testing elements like the CTA or email body is a simple and straightforward task when using the right software.
Don’t Know What Click Rates Are
The survey also found that 25% of respondents didn’t know how email click rates were calculated. It’s hard to optimize your campaigns unless you understand metrics like click rates. In case you fall into the same category as these respondents, click rate is defined as the percentage of email recipients who click the link within an email. If 100 users open your email and 20 of them click the CTA link, you’ll have a click rate of 20%.
1 in 10 Thought Keeping Emails Short Would Reduce File Size
Approximately one in 10 respondents thought that keeping email body text short would reduce its total file size. While there’s some truth to this statement, the difference in size is very small. Therefore, you should focus your efforts elsewhere if you are looking to reduce the file size of your emails. Shrinking/optimizing your images, for instance, will prove far more beneficial in maintaining a small file size.
12% Believe the CTA is the First Element Seen By Recipients
According to the survey, 12% of respondents said they believe the call-to-action button is the first element seen by recipients. If you’ve ever received a marketing email, however, you probably know this isn’t the case. While some emails are designed with the CTA at the top, most feature the CTA in the middle or at the bottom.
10% Believe More Call-to-Actions is Better
Last but not least, the survey found that 10% of respondents believe more CTA buttons is better. In reality, though, a marketing email should only contain a single CTA.
“When it’s done right, email marketing can be an incredibly powerful and cost-effective tool for small businesses to deepen customer relationships and drive revenue. But when it’s done wrong it can be a headache and damaging for all involved. With the Mailjet Flight Academy we can help businesses of all sizes to navigate common pitfalls and learn from them to make sure their email marketing strategy fly high,” said Amir Jirbandey, Inbound Marketing Lead at Mailjet.
What email marketing mistakes are you guilty of making? Let us know in the comments section below!
Another mistake I see is sending out emails that don’t provide value to the audience. In my opinion, no email marketing is better than bad email marketing. I don’t think there is a better way to ruin your credibility.
Admittedly, I’m somewhat of a rookie, but learning everyday. I’ve been guilty of falling into the CTA and split testing trap. I’m getting better as I go though!
Yes, Thomas – it is terrible to send out trash emails just to stay in touch. However, I’ve also been guilty of not fully understanding and analyzing metrics.