Email marketing lemon: Sending customers pictures of products, but then not allowing them to buy
This morning, a marketing lemon in my email inbox stopped me from looking at products on Etsy, and possibly buying them.
There I was, just recovering from a marketing lemon in the shape of a form tossed at me by Stein Mart, when an incoming email newsletter from Etsy caught my eye. This issue was a real wowser, with a whole line of products that looked like just the sort of things I might buy!
(Nice work there, Etsy!)
It's almost my birthday, and part of the deal I have with my husband is that I buy a few things for myself, and let him give them to me. This works because, well, I know what I like.
So I was especially eager to check out these beautiful items.
I hurried to try to click on the products, but found I couldn't.
Click this image. Nothing. That image. Nothing.
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
Click the text? Nothing.
I even tried clicking on the heading: "Our picks for you."
That text was clickable, but it took me to Etsy's homepage. And NONE of the products from the email were on that page.
So what's a yearning consumer to do?
Do I take a screenshot and send it to Etsy? Yep. Did that.
Do I check my favorites on Etsy, in case the system uses favorites to populate the email? Yep. Did that, too. None of the products featured in the email were in my favorites.
Do I use Etsy's search feature type each product into the search bar?
Or, do I close the browser, delete the email, and get back to more important matters?
Like Facebook.
Yep. That's the option I chose.
Oh -- that and writing this blog post.
How to turn this email marketing lemon into marketing lemonade?
It may seem obvious, but have someone check that product images are clickable before sending a newsletter.
Check in different email clients, and on different browsers.
For large volume mailers like Etsy, it may even make sense to hire a managing editor or an eagle-eyed freelance marketing editor who can act as the final quality-assurance checkpoint for outgoing marketing materials.
Customers like me will say thank you buying your products.
Join my tribe?
Do you sweat the small stuff? Do you want your online presence to inspire trust and confidence? Do you grit your teeth when others don't care enough about YOUR web experience? Are you all about creating an excellent website and excellent content that makes it easy for people to get to know, like, and trust you and buy your stuff?
I think we might be soul mates. And I'd love for you to join my tribe.
When you do, I'll alert you to new blog posts, new programs and products, and new ways for you to create excellent, frictionless, online experiences that lead more people to YES! I promise to be relevant and real, and to send only thoughtful content and advice.
EMAIL NEWSLETTER * MARKETING GUIDANCE
Thoughtful content. Real-world advice. Enter your details to get the next issue when it's ready.
