Generating quality leads from your WordPress website thus building your email list is perhaps one of the most important elements to your marketing and business growth. Actually, 89% of marketers say that email is their primary channel for lead generation and 59% of B2B marketers say email is the most effective channel for generating revenue. It is a key ingredient to nurturing your subscribers to convert them into loyal fans of your brand. Email marketing is the bridge that makes this happen!
With that said, there are critical errors that WordPress users make when it comes to their email marketing. The goal is to share the top five email marketing mistakes and how to avoid them at all costs:
Especially for new startups, there’s a notion that marketers should postpone list building until there is winning content published on their blog to share with their list. However, that is a huge blunder to your marketing strategy as you could be collecting valuable subscribers promoting the launch of your new blog (or website).
You see, email subscribers are 3 times more likely to share your content via social media than visitors from other sources (Source: QuickSprout). By building and fostering relationships with your leads ASAP, you will cultivate your list so when it’s time to share your content, they are more apt to distribute it to their networks. Email marketing also allows you to reach out to captured visitors, bring them back to your content, and drive sales.
How to avoid: Begin building your list right away…even as early as pre-launch of your blog or new website. The earlier you start, the more engaged your list.
This is probably worse than #1! Buying an email list will ruin your entire email marketing strategy and taint your brand name in the process. It’s tempting just to acquire a list of thousands of email to get your list going, however, no matter how good it sounds, it’s just not conducive to your business growth. These email subscribers simply do not know you or are not even real at all. It will be a waste of time, money, and breed frustration.
How to avoid: Never buy email lists. Instead, take the time to execute best list building practices to grow an opt-in email list. Create compelling lead offers that entice visitors to subscribe to your list. What’s in it for them? What are some freebies that you can give away that brings solutions to your target audience? Answering these questions will guide you in creating a strong lead magnet that converts viewers into subscribers.
Having a single opt-in form on your WordPress website is not effective for lead generation. You only have 7 seconds to grab visitor’s attention. With short attention spans, seeing the opt-in once will not create desired results from your website. Rather, you must strategically place them throughout your site to boost lead conversions.
How to avoid: Tactically use multiple types of opt-in forms like the sidebar form, lightbox popups, footer bars and slide-ins to greatly enhance conversion rates.
WordPress comes with a built-in mail feature which uses PHP’s mail function to send out emails. In fact, there are several WordPress newsletter plugins which enables you to send eNewsletters. Yet using this feature for your email marketing strategy is not ideal for marketers and businesses. Here are a few reasons why it’s best to leverage a real email marketing tool versus using a plugin:
How to avoid: Invest in an email marketing software tool that is designed to optimize your email strategy including newsletters, email campaigns, and lead growth. Such tools also allows you to segment your list which significantly improves engagement and revenue.
Certain plugins and services like Feedburner allows “subscribers” to receive your blog posts via email. But this feature is truly not an email list. You don’t have the ability to send customized email messages for your marketing campaigns nor do you own the list. Many bloggers who start off using this option later end up leveraging an email marketing tool.
How to avoid: The tool to use in building, growing and sustaining your email list is an email marketing software program like ActiveCampaign, Infusionsoft, Aweber, MailChimp, or GetResponse. Most have trial periods where you can test the service to see which one best fits your style and marketing goals.
Conclusion
Now that you are clear on the common email mistakes generally created by WordPress users, make the necessary adjustments and go kill it in your email marketing! Be sure to check out ActiveCampaign to get you started, then contact our team today if you need help by visiting our Contact page or calling us at 888.780.5106!
