So, you’ve done the work to collect your clients’ email addresses, you’ve created a beautiful email marketing campaign, and you’ve sent it to all the clients on your list.

But wait, why is no one opening it? Why is no one clicking through and booking an appointment?

Today, clients are used to filtering through dozens of emails to find the ones they are interested in. Chances are, they are skipping right past yours. If you want to be noticed, you’re going to have to rethink your strategy.

Here are some major mistakes you might be making and how to fix them.

1. You Have Bad Subject Lines

• Keep it short and sweet. 40% of emails are opened on mobile devices and subject lines will get cut off if they’re too long. Keep them under 50 characters to make sure clients who are scanning their emails read the whole thing.
• Create a sense of urgency. Subject lines that create a sense of urgency and exclusivity have a 22% higher open rate. Use deadlines like “today only” or “24-hour giveaway” to encourage clients to act now.
• Make them feel special. What do we always say? Clients who feel valued become loyal clients. Clients who feel valued also open emails ; ) Use phrases like, “An exclusive offer for you,” “My gift to you,” and “Private Invite.”

2. You are Not Offering any Value

If they don’t see what’s in it for them, guess what? They’re going to ignore you, or worse, unsubscribe. Every time you send an email, ask yourself, “Would I be happy to get this email if I was a client? Would I read this?” Here are some examples of valuable information for clients:

• Special offers
• Last minute appointment availability
• New service announcements
• Important info or changes (like new hours or vacation dates)

3. You Don’t Have a Call-to-Action

Don’t leave your clients guessing. Give clear instructions on what you would like them to do next.

• If you want them to book an appointment, let them know!
• Say something like, “Book now to get 50% off your next cut.”
• You may include a link to your booking page in each email you send so they can book an appointment on the spot.

4. You are Sending to Bad E-mail Addresses

Your email marketing campaign is a waste of time if you don’t have an accurate list of client emails.

• You should be updating contact info regularly. Every few months, check in with clients while you have them in the chair. As you get set up, have them update their contact information.  

5. You are Not Improving

Experiment and see what works best. Every audience is different — you need to determine what it takes for your specific group of clients to open an email and take action. You can track important information like this with email marketing tools. This is what you should be keeping track of:

• What day of the week/time of day has been the most successful for me?
• Which subject lines have worked the best?
• Which call-to-action phrases have resulted in the most bookings?

6. You Have Bad Timing

When you send emails on a regular schedule, clients become used to seeing your name in their inboxes. This make them more familiar with your campaigns which leads to more opens on a regular basis.

BUT, you should never send an email just to send one. That is guaranteed to annoy clients. When you are trying to come up with the best timing, this is what you need to think about:

• Your client’s email address is privileged information and you don’t want to lose their trust by bombarding their inbox with spamy emails. If you’ve been bugging them, that’s why they stopped opening your messages.
• So how do you get the timing right? Start by sending an email every other week, monitor your results, and if clients don’t seem to mind, start sending once a week. Keep track of how many opens and bookings you get and be open to feedback.