Email marketing is not just about the emails you create and send to your database. Email marketing forms part of your digital marketing arsenal and is used to help companies succeed and achieve their marketing goals. So have you ever wondered if perhaps your website could be harming your email marketing efforts?
There is more to a good email than just the email itself, there are several factors that make up a good email and one of these factors is your website that you are directing your subscribers to. Let’s take a look at a couple of ways that your website could be harming your email marketing.
Slow loading pages
No one wants to wait forever for a web page to load, we’re in the age of instant gratification. When it comes to website loading times, the general rule of thumb is that people will wait about 5 seconds, then they’ve had enough and they close the tab.
How to fix this:
- Optimise your images: don’t use too many images and ensure the images that you do use aren’t too big.
- Upgrade your hosting: you get what you pay for. If your website is taking long to load it may be time to look at upgrading
- Keep it simple: all the snazzy javascript, sliders and custom fonts all need to be downloaded for your page to load so having too much will make your website slow.
Unrelated content
Avoid having any content on a page that isn’t related to its purpose. Any unrelated content such as pop-up ads is going to drive people away.
How to fix this:
- When you are viewing each page of your website check that all the information that is on the page is relevant and necessary. Anything that looks like it doesn’t make sense or fit, shouldn’t be there.
Un-skimmable Content
No one wants to go to a website and be met with a wall of text. The content of your website needs to be easy to navigate and skim through. You will drive people away from your website if they can’t scan through your content.
How to fix this:
- Get someone who hasn’t seen your website to take a look and see if they can understand what each page is about in 5 seconds. If not then look at ways to make your content easier to scan through by using visuals, design elements, headings and subheadings.
Poor spelling and grammar
Your website is the online representation of your business and having spelling and grammar mistakes brings down your company image. Although this seems small, it’s a form of professionalism that you should always follow.
How to fix this:
- Have a fresh pair of eyes read through your entire website to check for any spelling or grammar errors or use an online tool to check your spelling and grammar for you. We love Grammarly!
Calls to action
There is a fine balance between too many calls to action and no calls to action. You don’t want someone to arrive on your website and have no idea what to do but you also don’t want them to be overwhelmed. You need to guide your users on the actions you’d like them to take.
How to fix this:
- Check and make sure you have calls to action guiding users and get rid of any unnecessary buttons that may confuse them.
No website at all
This is a bit of a no brainer. In this day and age, every company should have a website. As mentioned before your website is the online representation of your business and your brand.
How to fix this:
- Get a website. Chat to us, we know people who can assist you with getting your website up and running.
Here is a handy infographic to help you check if your website is harming your email marketing efforts.
