3 more e-mail marketing blunders

In my last column I covered three e-mail marketing mistakes you should avoid. This article continues where that one left off, adding three more e-mail marketing mistakes you want to avoid and best practices that will increase your results.

Additional Mistake 1: Failure to use personalization in the body of the e-mail. When you personalize e-mails to your customer or prospect, you will see higher response rates. The fact is, we all like to see and hear our names. It makes us feel that we are appreciated and understood and that the other person knows us well enough to remember our name. That is just as true with e-mail as it is with anything else.

For example, let's assume your first name is Lane and I sent you an e-mail saying: "Hello Lane. I am contacting you because on January 4th, 2007, you requested more information on our eMarketing Seminar. On the information request form, you said you have an existing business Web site and you wanted to learn how to increase the number of Web site hits, how to increase Web site revenue and how to advertise in my local area.

"I want to let you know our seminar will cover each of those topics and you will have case studies and actionable steps you can take the day after the seminar. Please let me know if you have any questions. Also, please visit the link below to register for the free preview."

That sample e-mail is actually a form letter that uses several personalized pieces of information to help encourage Lane to respond to the e-mail. It also would have a special link to help us track responses (more on that later).

Additional Mistake 2: Failure to provide an opt-out method. Because I subscribe to more than 20 e-mail newsletters, I see this mistake made on a daily basis. An opt-out method allows your subscribers and customers to request removal from your e-mail list. While participating in a recent marketing project for a major online retailer, I noticed their affiliate department sent e-mails to affiliates without an opt-out method. Affiliates would reply saying: "Remove me!" or "Why can't I get off of your list?"

Not providing your prospects and customers with an opt-out method only frustrates them and leaves them with feelings of ill-will toward your company. And you may be breaking CAN-SPAM laws.

Additional Mistake 3: Failure to track e-mail click-through rates. What is a click-through rate? It is the number of clicks on your links divided by the number of e-mails sent. Most professional e-mail systems allow you to use a special link that will redirect subscribers to your Web site. This counts the number of subscribers who click your e-mail links.