I’ve had it…

It’s no secret that email marketing is the most powerful form of modern marketing and can do more for any business than any other online strategy (sorry social media enthusiasts).

It’s been the driving force behind virtually every successful marketing campaign we’ve ever run and industry research reveals an average 3800% return on investment for every dollar spent on email marketing.

Learning how to effectively follow-up, build relationships and drive sales for your business is already enough trouble…

…But it’s not the real problem.

No, the real problem is why I’m so fed up…

The Biggest Threat to Your Email Marketing Success

Bad Information…

There is a lot of misinformation floating around the web from fake gurus, clueless bloggers and random websites that haven’t been updated in 5 years.

Top 10 tips, tactics, and techniques that don’t give you the full picture. They don’t tell you about the hazards that you must avoid so you don’t suffer severe consequences.

So listen, if you haven’t been able to launch a successful email marketing campaign yet don’t be too hard on yourself.

It’s not your fault.

You’re probably more focused on running your business than marketing, which makes it that much easier to get misled.

Welp…I’m sick of it.

So today, I’m going to do something about it. I’m about to give you a roadmap to dodge 7 of the most lethal pitfalls in modern email marketing.

Commit them at your own risk…

Pay For This At Your Own Risk

You want it…

…And you want it right now.

A big profitable email list that generates sales when you sleep. (what else would I be referring to?)

Lust is a powerful desire for something. A desire so strong it can cloud your judgment. In the case of email marketing, your desire for that big profitable list could tempt you into taking a dangerous shortcut.

Like buying an email list.

Yea, the idea of having thousands of new contacts added to your email list in just one day with nothing more than the swipe of a card sounds amazing. The temptation is understandable. However, everything that glitters ain’t gold

3 Reasons To Avoid The Temptation of Buying An Email List:

The recipients won’t know you. These poor folks never opted-in to receive your emails and have no relationship with you. Chances are, your email is on a one way trip to the SPAM folder.
The list could be poor quality. You have no real clue where these contacts came from and your purchased list could be full of fake emails or foreigners. Are you the first one to buy this “list? How many other marketers are blowing their inbox up?
Your deliverability is going to be terrible. Did you know that you have a sender reputation to maintain? Going from 5 contacts to 5000 contacts in one day looks extremely suspicious to email service providers. That means the email service providers might filter you out.

So fight the temptation. Instead of letting your lust for fast results lead you into danger, focus on building a targeted email list of people that voluntarily give you their email address.

Give people a legitimate reason to let you email them and you will see higher opens, less complaints and a responsive list that is more likely to buy what you’re selling.

The Fastest Way To Sabotage Your Email List

Gluttony- The over-indulgence of food, drink, or wealth items to the point of waste.

Gluttony occurs when you want more than your fair share. Take more than you should. You put your desire to consume ahead of what is best for you and your loved ones.

In the case of email marketing, gluttony occurs when you put your desire to make more and more money from your list over what’s good for your subscribers. It leads you into sending too many offers and coming off as just another fat greedy marketer.

There is more to email marketing than sales email after sales email.

You need to switch it up and keep your subscribers engaged. You have to put your desires AFTER those of your subscribers. You have to spend time actually talking about things they care about.

Need help with what to say to you subscribers so you can mix up your content? Watch this video that covers 5 different kinds of emails you can send out to keep your subscribers engaged AND still make more than your fair share of sales.

…Speaking of putting your desires ahead of what your subscribers really want.

This Mistake Will Cripple Your Email Deliverability

You just can’t let them go.

Your precious subscribers. After all, you worked so hard to get them. Why should you let them leave you?

So, you’re tempted to make unsubscribing hard.

You clutter email footers, you make subscribers answer to many questions, some jerks even leave out an unsubscribe option altogether (which is illegal). Trying to keep people on your list that don’t want to be there hurts you far more than it helps. Why?

If a subscriber cannot easily unsubscribe from your list they will mark you as spam
Those SPAM complaints will hurt your sender reputation and make it harder for you to email cool people that actually want to hear from you
People that don’t want to be on your list won’t open your emails or click your links. They make it HARDER to see how your emails are performing and skews your email analytics

Let them go.

Make it easy for people to unsubscribe (some marketers actually encourage people to opt-out).

This will keep your list healthy and responsive.

The 2 resources below should help you combat unsubscribes and give people more of a reason to stay.

Here’s How Slacking Off Hurts Your Email Marketing

Imagine this…

You go on a date with someone that you think has a lot of potential.

The date was awesome. You clicked. Now, you’re excited about the future.

…then you don’t hear from them again for a month. And it’s only because they want something from you.

No bueno right?

Sloth is the reluctance to work or make effort, in other words… lazy.

Many entrepreneurs that dive into email marketing will set up a Welcome Message , but then they disappear. Only to pop back up later…randomly promoting.

Obviously, you’re busy, we all are. However, That’s where email automation comes into play. You can set the messaging up in advance with an autoresponder so you can follow up, build relationships and sell on autopilot.

You have no excuse for not even making the effort to keep in contact. Don’t let the temptation of Sloth hold you back.

Your subscribers want to hear from you. The graph below from Marketing Sherpa gives you an idea of how often you should email your list.

This study was conducted in Jan of 2015 and is based on how adults answered the question “How often would you like to receive promotional emails from companies you do business with?”

Over 60% of respondents said “at least weekly”.

Don’t miss out on this huge opportunity!

So, use an autoresponder, outsource, do whatever you have to do to keep in touch and keep providing value. Your subscribers will reward you with social shares and their credit card numbers.

Of course, that’s assuming you avoid this next sin…

When You Irritate Your Email Subscribers…This Happens

Want to avoid feeling the wrath of SPAM complaints, unsubscribe land-slides and awful open rates?

Avoid these 3 big email marketing mistakes that will irritate your subscribers.

Using The “Bait and Switch”

It’s no secret “Bait and Switch” is plain sleazy, in fact in many countries it has been made illegal through different forms of consumer protection legislation.

Yes, there are certain words or phrases that will make people more likely to open your email. But, don’t be tempted to use subject lines that don’t match what your email is about. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.

Over-personalizing

Yes, emails should be friendly and seem human but over personalization pisses people off. When I open my inbox and I see emails like this from 5 different senders they ALL end up looking spammy…

Subject: Mike, this Friday…

Subject: Mike, will you be part of this test?

Subject Mike, will you be near a phone,

Subject Mike, your account

Subject Mike, last chance!

Of course, my natural reaction is to sacrifices these offenders to my DELETE button.

Unfortunately, this tactic is overused and played out. Be very careful with personalization.

Using Spammy Lingo

This one speaks for itself. Some words and phrases increase curiosity and desire while others just ooze sleaziness. They trigger the reader’s sales alarm and they could also capture the attention of SPAM filters.

Below are several resources with massive lists of spammy words to watch out if you want to stay on your subscriber’s good side.

It’s Easy To Fall Into This Email Marketing Trap

Some people get so caught up in looks…

Don’t be fooled.

Many marketers and business owners fall into the trap of thinking they need to send this big beautiful image-heavy emails just like the big brands to be successful.

This was was actually a huge debate at one of the agencies I worked with, so us being marketers, we decided to test it…

We tested full image emails, vs emails with heavy amounts of HTML, headers, images etc. VS very simple emails that looked like they came from a real person.

…And the simple emails won.

Why? Here’s my take:

1.Email is a personal medium for many people. As entrepreneurs, sometimes we can forget that marketing is not always about advertising and selling. It’s about building relationships.

2.Many people view emails on their mobile phones and don’t always have images turned on. That means full image emails are not even seen by a large percentage of viewers. Some providers (like Google) will not show emails from unknown senders

3.Email services are increasingly filtering commercial emails to improve the overall experience for users. Images and HTML heavy templates are often flagged by email providers and filters out of the recipient’s main inbox

So don’t get caught up trying to be like someone else.

Just because you see a bigger brand use heavily stylized emails and think “that looks amazing”, doesn’t mean it’s getting results.

Instead of mirroring big corporate brands, try mirroring the look and feel of emails that come from people you want to hear from. Like your friends.

The Easiest Email Marketing Mistake You Can Make…With The Worst Consequences

Meet the enemy of progress.

Pride – a deep feeling of satisfaction in one’s own achievements.

Launching an Email List is only the beginning:

Are your emails being opened?
What are people doing when they open your emails?
Are people unsubscribing?
Which emails are your top performers? Which is your weakest?
When do your subscribers open your email the most?

All of these, are questions you should be able to answer if you want to get the best results from your email marketing.

Most email marketing platforms offer analytics and tools to help you monitor how your emails are performing. Put them to use.

Here are a few of the top email elements to test:

I’ve also included a few more email marketing testing resources for you below:

The Takeaway

If you avoid these 7 Deadly Email Marketing Sins, you will be able to minimize unsubscribes, build stronger relationships and feel more confident with every send.

Sin #1 Lust – Don’t buy email lists

Sin #2 Gluttony- Don’t over promote to your list

Sin #3 Greed -Don’t make it hard to unsubscribe

Sin #4 Sloth- Don’t disappear on your new subscribers

Sin #5 Wrath- Don’t do things that will irritate your subscribers

Sin #6 Envy – Don’t go overboard with images

Sin #7- Don’t forget to test your emails

Email Marketing is by far the best way keep in contact with your leads and generate sales while you sleep. Now, you finally have a roadmap to avoid spinning your wheels.

PLEASE. Don’t let the bad information floating around the web tempt you into sacrificing your own success.

Take this roadmap and get to work. You have a business to build and 7 less obstacles in the way

Categories: Launch a Profitable Email List

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