7 Email Outreach Mistakes That will Cost You Valuable Links

Stats show that most outreach emails are ignored and that only 8.5% receive a response.

So what exactly are you doing wrong? 

Did you verify the email address? Are your subject lines misleading or outright boring? Do you send emails that are dry and lack personalization? Are you sending broken links?

There are many things to consider with an email outreach campaign. If you do it right, email outreach is one of the best ways to build links –but make lots of email outreach mistakes and you’ll end up losing valuable links and potential clients. 

Let’s have a look at 7 common email outreach mistakes to avoid.

Not verifying email addresses 

You might overlook the email address verification part, but when you send lots of emails to the wrong email addresses, the bounce rate can damage the reputation of the domain’s sender, consequently lowering the email deliverability rate. Plus, the effort that you invest in finding link-building targets will be wasted.

You can always run email addresses on your list on tools such as NeverBounce or Clearout to verify them (especially useful if your email list is long and manual checking would be too time-consuming). And be careful while sending emails to catchall emails, especially if they add up to more than 10% of your list.

Using misleading subject lines

Many consumers report feeling cheated or tricked into opening a promotional email after reading the email’s subject line. If you persuade your subscribers using the subject line to open an email that is not related to the subject line at all, you will not only lose their trust and spoil your brand image, but you are also violating anti-spam laws.   

Even if your email body isn’t promotional, put some effort into crafting an email subject line that directly relates to the email body.  Never give your subscribers a reason to click on the unsubscribe link, ignore your email, or report you as spam.  

Crafting boring email subject lines

A lot of importance should be put on crafting an email subject line that is catchy, effective, not misleading, and of the right length. Many subscribers open an email based on the subject line alone. 

Subject lines that are between 36-50 characters can improve open rates. Too short and it might not be interesting enough for readers to click on it. In fact, studies show that longer subject lines have a 24.6% higher response rate compared to shorter ones.

And here’s an unexpected one: exclude the word newsletter from your subject line, as studies show that open rates plunge by nearly 19% when you use this word.

Also avoid using spammy words, including: 

• Apply Now 
• Auto email removal 
• Billion 
• Cash bonus 
• Earn $ 
• Extra income 
• Free 
• Fast cash 

Not sending personalized emails

When you send generic emails, you can’t expect an excited response from subscribers. People like to feel special, and it reflects when you send personalized emails.

Studies show that when you send personalized subject lines, it increases the response rate by 30.5%, while personalizing outreach email results in a 32.7% better response rate compared to emails with generic content.

Sending incorrect links

What is the point of the emails if the links you send to your subscribers are broken or incorrect? Use a test email to check your links before sending your newsletter out. While you are at it, you will also get the chance to test other elements, including subject lines and CTA buttons.

Don’t ignore any links in your test email. Click on each one to make sure they are not broken or incorrect. If you have sent a broken link by mistake, rectify the error as soon as possible.

Forgetting to add a call to action 

The CTA in your outreach email is an important tool to boost reply rates. But don’t use too many — studies have found that even using a single call-to-action in emails increased clicks by 371%.

To trigger the right action using a CTA, make it persuasive and specific. It should also define the email’s purpose. Or you can add humor to stand out and encourage a click.

Not sending follow-up emails

Did you just send one email and gave up because the receiver did not respond? Even sending one follow-up email can increase the response rate by 65.8%.

The key is not to give up when you don’t get a response after your first cold email.

People receive so many emails in a day that there’s a good chance that your email simply went unnoticed. Just make sure you’re not overdoing it with annoying follow-ups. A gentle nudge with additional context will work better.

Wrapping-Up

Given that so many outreach emails are ignored, you have to stop making mistakes to increase the chances of getting a response. Taking time to craft an appealing email subject line is a good start, but great content should always follow.

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