Where Is My Email Marketing Going Wrong?

Few things in life are more frustrating than trying your hardest and coming up empty. If you’re an email marketer struggling to get results, the complexity of everything you do can make it tough to know where to look for problems, let alone know how to fix them. Here are some practical tips that will walk you through the troubleshooting process so you can take the right steps to get your campaigns back on track.

Troubleshooting Tip 1: Are Your Emails Arriving in the Inbox?

According to ReturnPath, fewer than one in four retail marketing emails actually make it to their customers’ inboxes. As email volumes continue to increase, ISPs are tightening their standards for inbox placement. Common signs of email deliverability problems include high bounce rates and an increase in spam complaints.

Common Deliverability Fixes:

• Scrub your email list and institute a policy of meticulous list hygiene
• Avoid trigger words that can flag your email as spam
• Improve your sender reputation by following ISP best practices

Troubleshooting Tip 2: Are Your Emails Being Opened?

Open rates can be tricky to troubleshoot. As Karen Talavera at MarketingProfs points out, subscribers who use tools such as Outlook or who view emails on a mobile device often use a “preview” mode that allows them to read your email even though the email is never technically opened. Nonetheless, actively declining open rates should be of immediate concern.

Common Open Rate Fixes:

• Strengthen your welcome campaign to build subscriber awareness
• Beef up your email subject lines so they stand out in a crowded inbox
• Segment your list so you can send the right message to the right audience

Troubleshooting Tip 3: Are Your Emails Getting Clicks?

If your subscribers aren’t engaging with your emails, obviously you have a problem on your hands. Here is some low-hanging fruit that might improve the way subscribers interact with your emails and drive more clicks to your website.

Common Click-Through Rate Fixes:

• Boost your call to action to draw attention and engagement
• Optimize your email for mobile viewing
• Spice up boring emails with fresh new content strategies to ensure maximum impact

Troubleshooting Tip 4: Are Your Emails Generating Sales?

Email produces some of the best conversion rates around-nearly twice that of search and more than three times that of social. Therefore, if your emails aren’t converting enough sales to produce a positive ROI, it’s worth your time to take a second look at your strategy.

Common Sales Conversion Fixes:

• Tweak your offer to make sure it’s as strong as it can be
• Personalize your emails so your content is more relevant to the subscriber
• Launch a refresh campaign to re-engage inactive subscribers

Troubleshooting Tip 5: Are You Growing Your Email List?

Your email list is constantly shrinking. In fact, according to some statistics, churn rates can average 25-50% per year. This doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing anything wrong. Subscriber interests, needs and lifestyles will naturally change over time. To maintain control over this churn, make sure your list remains robust and continually growing.

Common List Growth Fixes:

• Capitalize on social media to gain new visibility
• Look to offline opportunities to gain new email addresses
• Use email append to make your postal mailing list work for email, too

When reviewing potential problem sources with email marketing, keep in mind that sometimes we all need to pull out the big guns for deeper, more effective answers. If you feel the need to take these troubleshooting tips to the next level, look to the email professionals for help. Download “Build, Clean, Personalize: The Recipe for Email Marketing Success” to get started!