8 Email Marketing Mistakes You Need to Avoid
8 Email Marketing Mistakes You Need to Avoid
8 Email Marketing Mistakes You Need to Avoid

8 Email Marketing Mistakes You Need to Avoid

To answer the question everyone seems to be asking: no, email marketing is most definitely not dead. In fact, it’s the second most used medium by small businesses for brand awareness, next to social media. Its revenue is projected to increase by 11 billion in 2023.

Its relevance is out of the question. However, there are previous practices that are better left on the grave. From subject lines that easily get your email unopened and deleted to generic copy that goes out to every person and their dog, there are plenty of ways to bumble, fumble, and blunder your way through it.

Your email marketing strategy must be meticulous. So, before you hit send on your next campaign – check you’re not making any of these mistakes.

8 Common Email Marketing Mistakes

Subject lines that miss the mark

Subject lines are crucial for email marketing – they can make or break the success of your email campaign! But before you crumble under pressure, spend time crafting one that will make people click ‘open.’

Here’s what to do when writing your subject lines:

  • Keep it clear and concise, ideally under 50 characters.
  • Ensure it’s catchy and relevant at a glance.
  • Personalize whenever possible, such as using the recipient’s name to hook their attention and make them feel valued efficiently.
  • Use action-oriented words to incite urgency and stir the receiver to make a move.
  • Avoid triggering spam filters by using spammy language such as “Urgent,” “Free,” or “Act now.”
  • Use A/B testing to determine which subject lines earn the best response rate.

Content that speaks to everyone – but to no one

While everyone on your email database is someone you have communicated with or who has expressed interest in your business, they won’t be in the same stage of the buyer’s journey. Some may be past clients, others may be ready to buy, but a portion could only be at the early phase of considering your product/service.

So, what’s the point of sending them all the same message? Well, there is no point. It’s a waste of time. You MUST segment your database to ensure the content you send out is personalised and meets the needs of each person, depending on their relationship with your business.

Far too long (or short)

Any email you send needs to find a balance between not being too long and onerous to read (people will simply switch off) and too short that it’s difficult to get the right message across.

So just like this point – make sure you say what you need to, but no more than that.

Lacking a splash of design

Following on from the above, for email marketing to pack a punch, it must also look sharp. Keep your awesome content from being let down by a lacklustre appearance that will only inspire people to read the first line. Design can help break up longer text, make specific points really stand out, and even provide a sense of enjoyment for the reader.

Not automated to respond to actions

Email marketing works best when you can automate it to respond to actions that people (who are on your database) take on your website – like adding to a cart, viewing a particular service, or downloading an asset.

If you don’t automate, you’re missing out big time. Automated personalized messages have so much value in engaging your audience to interact and build a relationship with your brand.

For example, you can send a prompt email like this, “Hey, we noticed you just checked out the blog article which compares our services to our competitors – we’d be happy to answer any further questions you have, just reply to this email with a convenient time to call, and we’ll be in touch then.”

Content that hits the snooze button

It should go without saying, but if you’re not creating engaging or exciting content relevant to whoever you’re sending it to, don’t expect a great response.

Feel free to be unique, original, and even humorous (if appropriate) to cut through a busy person’s inbox. Have them wait to get an email from you because it brightens up their day!

There’s no implicit call to action

All marketing emails should have a clear call to action for the reader. After all, isn’t that why you’re sending the email? But don’t confuse them with too many. Choose one easy, actionable next step – and make sure they understand what that is.

Failure to analyse the data

If you don’t analyse the data from your mailouts, how can you understand what works – and what doesn’t? This is particularly helpful when it comes to testing subject lines. Most campaign platforms capture so much information that it’s a shame not to use it to help you really nail your email marketing.

Forgetting to check the details

Have you checked if all the details in your emails are correct? Are you sure? Maybe you noticed that the heading of this blog was 8 mistakes… and here we are at number 9—just a little test for you.

Details matter when it comes to marketing. Before you send out any marketing email, check that it loads correctly (e.g., images, header, branding) and that the links go to the right landing pages, and if you are personalising it, check (and double-check) that it doesn’t say ‘Hi [FIRST NAME]’ – that’s a bit of an oops.

Do Email Marketing Right

Marketers across industries attest to email marketing’s efficiency. It’s a trusted medium used by billions worldwide. When done right, you can launch quality, low-cost campaigns that reap the highest returns for your business. It can also help nurture leads and retain loyal customers by sending offers and resources directly to their inboxes.

Here’s a list of mistakes you might be unintentionally making with your email marketing. Beware. Even the slightest misstep can jeopardise an excellent campaign. You can also tap the best email marketing service providers to help you strategize high-value campaigns to promote your business.

By Erin Harrison, Guest Blogger

Erin loves all things content and digital marketing. She has been freelancing since for-ever-ago, and there is almost no industry Erin hasn’t carefully crafted content for – across both print and online.

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