Baseball is a simple game with simple rules. Hit the ball, run around the bases, tag home plate, score a run. The goal is to score more runs than the other team.

(Yes, for the sake of argument, I’ve eliminated the nuances. Bear with me.)

Email marketing is relatively simple, too. Hone your list, write a relevant message, include an enticing offer, and write a clear call to action.

Here’s an example:

A university creates an email campaign to recruit new students. The message contains a list of relevant benefits and a clear call to action. The landing page reiterates the benefits and includes a form that prospects to complete to receive more information.

Simple, right?

Yet, I’m always amazed by how many emails try to play ball without sticking to the rules of the game. Consider these rule violations.

Too Many Players on the Field: Baseball limits teams to nine players (one pitcher, one catcher, and seven other fielders) on the defense at any time. Yet many email messages include too many players in the form of links to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc., as well as distracting graphics, images.

Foul Ball: Your recipient reads your message and clicks the link to your landing page with breathless anticipation—and it’s broken. And unlike a ballplayer, you don’t get a second chance at bat. As far as the recipient is concerned, a broken link is an instant out.

Strike-out with Bases Loaded: Your perfectly-targeted prospect has received your email. They’re read the offer, and they’re interested. They click through to the landing page, and it loads, and … strike out! They are rewarded with more content. Content that requires them to scroll and scroll to finally get to your form. Wow! The bases were loaded, but the clean-up batter failed miserably.

A No-Hitter: Great for the pitcher, terrible for the opposing team. Imagine a landing page so cluttered with misdirected links, broken links, rambling copy, horrible images, no clear offer, and no exact way to respond to your offer. If your email and landing page have all these strikes against it, it’s no wonder you’re not winning new customers.

Forfeited Game: A campaign based on a poor prospect list can mean that your message is sent to SPAM or it bounces. The intended recipient never sees it—game over before it began.

Ready to move your email game to the big leagues? Market Mapping plus can coach you to a winning season. Schedule your no-obligation consultation today. Or drop me an email.

David Fant is the owner of Market Mapping plus, Inc. Reach him at www.marketmappingplus.com or drop him a line:[email protected].