Email marketing is not an ancient dinosaur close to extinction. It's alive and well. With 91% of U.S. consumers accessing email daily and 40 times more effective at turning leads into customers than social media (Facebook and Twitter), there is no evidence that email marketing is dead.
Now that we have your attention, are you making any of these common mistakes? Here's a quick quiz - and some advice to take your email marketing out of the Stone Age and into the 21st Century.
1. Your messages are not responsive
A whopping 33% of email opens occurred on an iPhone and 55% of opens are on mobile devices, which means if your messege isn't mobile friendly you could be missing out. It's not enough to have a responsive website; the emails you're sending need to be responsive as well.
2. You're not nurturing leads
Emails generate 50% more sales and is one of the single most effective way to build a relationship with customers. Lead nurturing is critical to converting a lead to a customer by engaging and education a lead you're adding value, and this is generally done via email. Set up a workflow to navigate your lead through the buyer's journey will save time and increase your ROI.
3. You bought a list
It sounds like a great idea, doesn't it? What's so bad about buying a list of "qualified leads," and all you have to do email them? The issue is that the receivers haven't given you permission to email them, and are very likely to mark your business as spam (which can hurt your overall rankings in search engine results). Utilizing inbound methods can attract prospects that convert to leads, giving you permission to communicate with them. These leads are more likely to open your emails and respond to communication, because they're already interested in your product.
4. You don't customize
Recipients want to feel special. If they sense their message was part of a blast to all of your contacts in the CRM they will be turned off. Personalization in subject lines see 26% more opens. Take a few extra seconds and personalize the message based on interest they've shown. With software like HubSpot, you can quickly add a personal greeting and send smart messages all at once using tokens.
5. The subject line s**ks
You have 50 characters to make an impression and engage with the lead. Keeping it short and simple can increase the open rate. Don't use baroque language or make false promises. This is a great place to add a sense of urgency (Only 24 Hours, Today Only, etc.). HubSpot created a list of Spam Trigger Words, so reference this list and avoid these phrases.
Pro tip: Test out A/B messages to see how your audience reacts. Measure which message is more effective.
Email marketing is adapting to the modern buyer who is digitally-savvy, well-researched, and wants to feel valued. If your emails are not getting opened, they're not getting seen, and they're definitely not being shared. Don't be become extinct by using outdated email techniques.