Five Common Email-Marketing Mistakes

Finally, make sure your content is relevant to your customers. If you're only telling them what you want to hear, they won't waste their time. Relevance is in the eye of the beholder. Get to know your audience, tap into their interests and give them something of value. Then you'll have them clicking back for more.

Mistake No. 3: No Call to Action. You'll know your email was relevant and effective if readers took the action you desired, whether it was visiting your Web site to learn more about a subject, clicking for a free consultation, downloading a white paper, or purchasing a product.

If you're unsure of the desired outcome of your campaign -- don't hit "Send." Choose the links that you embed in your email wisely, matching them to your sales cycles and marketing objectives. Know your goals and measure your results. Sending email with no clear call to action is like having a sales meeting and not asking for the order.

Mistake No. 4: Sensory Overload. Overzealous email marketers try to cram way too much into one communication. Readers get overwhelmed and don't know where to focus, so they click off. That's an opportunity lost.

Remember: You don't have to accomplish your year-long sales goals in one single email. Each email effort should fit within your overall marketing/communications plans, targeting a few specific ideas.

Look at your last campaign and imagine it with half the content and graphics. Was your message front and center, "above the fold?" Could it have been two separate campaigns? Don't try to shoot for the moon or you won't get off the ground. Simple, concise, targeted email communications with clear calls to action win eyeballs -- and sales.

Mistake No. 5: List-Size Anxiety. Permission is perishable! Don't wait until your list is a minimum size before embarking on your first email marketing campaign. If someone gives you their email address on a business card or at a networking event, close the permission loop immediately with your first mailing, which asks permission and shows them what they'll get if they subscribe. Sit on that address for six months and you'll no longer have permission!

Don't worry if your list is only your 10 best friends or associates. Send them your first campaign and ask for feedback. With good content, they'll "forward it to a friend" and then your list will grow to 15. Your list helps build itself virally, but only with regular, relevant email contact.

These mistakes are very easy to avoid. It's really not that hard once you grasp the basics. Keep it clean. And get going today! Your customers are waiting to hear from you.