E-mail marketing can be extremely difficult. Even if your list contains nothing but high quality subscribers, getting them to read your e-mails can still be a challenge. Converting those readers into sales can be harder still. There are a few common mistakes you might be making that could be turning your readers away, and costing you sales.

Your subject line is your introduction to the reader. Your subscribers decide whether or not to read your e-mail based strictly on that subject line, so you should take some time to make sure it’s right. A lot of people use stiff, boring, or dull subjects for their e-mails, and that only hurts your chances of getting sales. For example, “HTML Programming Course Is Ready For You” is a bad subject line. It delivers the facts, but it doesn’t entice the customer at all. “Learn HTML 5 In Two Weeks!” delivers the message, and gets the customer excited about learning HTML 5 quickly. You can’t just deliver the facts, you have to entice the customer to open the e-mail. If they don’t open it, they won’t click any of your links.

A lot of people make the mistake of sending the same e-mails to everyone on their lists. The problem with that is that everyone on your list might not be interested in the same information. Consider breaking  your list down into several sublists. For example, existing customers should get a different set of e-mails than potential customers. That way, you can offer your potential customers different deals to entice them to sign up for your site, and make a purchase.

Another all too common mistake people make with e-mail marketing is using bad sales copy in their e-mails. You want to keep your e-mails light on text, and easy to read. A lengthy e-mail won’t get read, it will get skimmed, or ignored. Keep your e-mails clear and concise, and they’ll get a lot more attention in the long run.

A lot of people skip one very important step that should never be ignored. It’s important to test every e-mail for compatibility. Your readers are looking at your e-mails in a wide variety of ways, and you should be testing your e-mails to make sure each of your users can read them. What works in Outlook Express might not work in Gmail. Take the time to run a few tests, and it will help you retain your subscribers.

So remember, keep your e-mails clear, and enticing. If you present your e-mails the right way to the right people, you’ll see your sales increase in no time.