Value, trust, and respect – if your email marketing campaign doesn’t have these three characteristics, then you’re doomed to fail. That’s because users are looking out for themselves: what can they learn from your newsletter?

If your campaign centers around brand promotion, then you are not respecting the subscribers because it’s they who signed up for your newsletter with their consent because you’ve promised they would find value.

Email marketing is great for promoting brand advocacy and return users, but if your content is irrelevant and doesn’t provide any new knowledge, then you’re wasting their time and yours. That’s why it’s essential that you plan a content calendar, including sending an e-blast based on each user’s familiarity with your brand. Why would you send the same email to someone who first signs up as a one who’s a loyal reader? Regardless of the relationship with the user, each deserves to be treated with respect by satisfying their curiosity. Unfortunately, too many brands violate a user’s trust by not providing real value, but to ensure you don’t make the same mistakes, here’s why a newsletter fails:

Flooding their Inbox

Opening your mailbox to see spammy subject lines like “YOU’VE WON” or “Earn $$$ FAST!” are clear indicators that opening the email is a waste of time…and maybe a virus. If you’re going to send an email every week, that’s fine, but this is dependent on the rapport you’ve built with the user. Based on analytics, determine who is the likeliest to open it and click through to the post, then on towards conversion.

Poor Planning

When a user signs up for your newsletter, they are being thrown in the loop. This is a problem because they don’t know what to expect and have no context for the posts you choose to include in the latest newsletter. Take a proactive approach in your email marketing strategy to capture their attention when their curiosity is piqued – when they first sign up. Thank the user for sign up and provide them with a list of your highest converting posts as well as information about your company and brand message.

Lack of Honesty

Establish expectations with a user before they sign up by including the frequency of emails they will receive, its content, and why the newsletter is beneficial. This requires a carefully planned content calendar as well as a predetermined email schedule so the user knows what to expect and when to expect it. This is what it takes to build brand-user relationships at scale.

You require the user to give you permission to communicate and they can unsubscribe at any time. So give them a reason to keep coming back. That’s why you should be cautious about pushing promotions if subscribers are accustomed to educational material. If you do plan to promote conversion by email, then they must give consent when signing up. Plan accordingly and remember: trust is earned over several steps.