Email marketing can be a game-changer for businesses, especially in the e-commerce space. When done right, it has the power to boost sales, build customer loyalty, and drive long-term growth.
But when done wrong, it can lead to missed opportunities, annoyed subscribers, and even brand damage.
To help you navigate the email marketing minefield, we’re doing a quick deep dive into the top 10 common mistakes email marketers make and, more importantly, how to avoid them.
Get ready for a mix of actionable advice, a few lol's, and a ton of insights.
You can check out our in-depth: "Email Marketing For Ecommerce Ultimate Guide" for a comprehensive list of all the things you should be doing!
Mistake 1: Bad Subject Lines
Why It’s a Problem:
Your subject line is like the first impression on a first date. If it’s dull, misleading, or just boring, it’s going to get ignored—or worse, make a bad impression. According to research, 47% of email recipients decide whether to open an email based on the subject line alone.
How to Avoid It:
Crafting the perfect subject line is an art and a science. Aim for clarity, urgency, and a dash of intrigue. A/B test different lines to see what resonates with your audience.
Keep it short and sweet— fyi.. most subject lines get cut off after 60 characters on mobile devices. And, for the love of all things marketing, avoid clickbait. It might get you an open, but it won’t get you loyalty.
Pro Tip:
Personalization goes long way. Something as simple as adding the recipient’s first name to a subject line can drastically boost open rates.
Mistake 2: Lack of Segmentation
Why It’s a Problem:
Imagine sending a promotion for winter coats to your entire list, including customers living in sunny Florida.
Not only is it irrelevant, but it can also lead to higher unsubscribe rates. Segmentation is key to delivering the right message to the right person at the right time.
How to Avoid It:
Segment your email list based on criteria such as purchase history, location, engagement level, and even email preferences.
The more personalized your emails, the more likely they are to resonate. Use your email platform’s segmentation tools to create groups and tailor content accordingly.
Pro Tip:
Dynamic content allows you to customize different parts of an email based on the recipient’s segment, making personalization even more effective.
Mistake 3: Inconsistent Sending Frequency
Why It’s a Problem:
Consistency is king in email marketing. It's a delicate balance of staying in your customers faces but NOT being the annoying, clingy friend. Send too often, and you risk annoying your subscribers. Send too infrequently, and they might forget you exist. Both can lead to lower engagement and higher unsubscribe rates.
How to Avoid It:
Create a content calendar and stick to it. Whether you’re sending weekly newsletters, monthly promotions, or quarterly updates, make sure your audience knows what to expect.
If you’re not sure what frequency works best, start with once a week and adjust based on your audience’s engagement. (We recommend sending 2-4x a week).
Pro Tip:
Use your email analytics to monitor open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates. It's 2024, utilize your data! If you see a drop in engagement, asses the data & figure out why & do less of that. If you see an increase in engagement, asses the data & figure out why & do more of that!
Mistake 4: Ignoring Mobile !!
Why It’s a Problem:
This is a huge one. With over 50% of emails being opened on mobile devices, ignoring mobile optimization is like opening a restaurant and not bothering to clean the tables. If your emails aren’t mobile-friendly, you’re going to lose a significant chunk of your audience.
How to Avoid It:
Use responsive email design to ensure your emails look great on any device. Keep your subject lines short, your images optimized, and your CTA buttons large enough to be tapped easily on a smartphone. Test your emails on different devices before hitting send.
Pro Tip:
Pay attention to load times. Large images or complex designs can slow down your email’s loading time, annoying mobile users. (You can use this tool, to compress your images while maintaining quality & decreasing the load time + Its FREE!)
Mistake 5: Overloading Emails with Too Much Content
Why It’s a Problem:
If your email reads like a novel, chances are your subscribers aren’t sticking around until the end. Overloading your emails with content can overwhelm your audience and dilute your message.
How to Avoid It:
Keep your emails focused on a single goal, whether it’s promoting a product, sharing a blog post, or announcing a sale. Use clear, concise language and break up text with images, bullet points, and subheadings to make your emails easy to scan.
Pro Tip:
Use the inverted pyramid structure—start with the most important information at the top and taper down to less critical details.
Mistake 6: Not Testing Emails Before Sending
Why It’s a Problem:
Sending an email without testing is like buying clothes without checking if they fit—you’re taking a huge risk. Typos, broken links, or formatting issues can make your emails look unprofessional, damage your credibility and more importantly you can lose out on sales!
How to Avoid It:
Always test your emails before sending them to your entire list. Most email platforms, Klayvio, mailchimp etc.. Allow you to send test emails, so take advantage of this feature. Check for spelling and grammar errors, test all links, and preview your email on different devices, mobile & desktop. (You can checkout a list of the main email platforms here)
Pro Tip:
Set up A/B testing to compare different versions of your email and see which one performs better. Test elements like subject lines, images, and CTAs.
Mistake 7: Neglecting Email Analytics
Why It’s a Problem:
If you’re not paying attention to your email analytics, you’re literally flying blind. Metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates provide valuable insights into how your emails are performing and where you can improve.
How to Avoid It:
Regularly review your email analytics and use the data to refine your strategy. If you notice low open rates, experiment with different subject lines or sending times. If click-through rates are low, try adjusting your CTAs or content.
Pro Tip: Set up automated reports in your email platform to track your email performance over time. This will help you identify trends and make data-driven decisions & increase performance.
Mistake 8: Failing to Include a Clear Call To Action (CTA)
Why It’s a Problem:
Every email you send should have a purpose, whether it’s letting them know of a sale, a new product, encouraging a purchase or just driving traffic to your website. If you’re not including a clear CTA, your email is like a boat without a rudder, let your subscribers know what you want them to do after reading.
How to Avoid It:
Make sure your CTA is clear, concise, and easy to find. Use action-oriented language that tells your subscribers exactly what you want them to do, such as “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” or “Sign Up Today.” Position your CTA above the fold so it’s visible without scrolling.
Here's some examples below:
Pro Tip:
Experiment with different CTA styles, like buttons, links, or images, to see what resonates best with your audience.
Mistake 9: Not cleaning your Email list
Why It’s a Problem:
Over time, your email list gets cluttered with inactive or invalid email addresses. Continuing to send emails to these addresses can harm your sender reputation, and get you locked in your customer's spam folder.
How to Avoid It:
Regularly clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers and invalid email addresses. Consider sending a re-engagement campaign to inactive subscribers before removing them from your list. This will help you identify people who are still interested in your content & keep you out of the spam folder.
Pro Tip: You want to only send to your engaged lists, meaning the people who've interacted with an email in the last 60-90 days and use this as your base send.
Then, once a month if you have larger events that you want to make sure everyone sees you can send to your whole newsletter list.
Mistake 10: Not Complying with Email Regulations
Why It’s a Problem:
Failing to comply with email marketing regulations, such as the CAN-SPAM Act or GDPR, can result in huge fines and damage to your brand’s reputation.
How to Avoid It:
Make sure you’re familiar with the email marketing regulations that apply to your country & audience. Include a clear unsubscribe link in every email, honor opt-out requests promptly, and ensure that your email list is composed of subscribers who have given explicit consent to receive your emails. (Read our section on "Importance of Email Compliance")
Pro Tip:
Don't try to hide the unsubscribe link, if someone is no longer interested you want to make it as easy as possible to opt-out, that way you're list stays clean and you're not paying for a profile who isn't interested in your products.
Conclusion
Avoiding these 10 common email marketing mistakes will significantly improve your campaigns’ effectiveness and protect your brand’s reputation.
By focusing on best practices—like crafting compelling subject lines, segmenting your list, and regularly analyzing your email performance—you’ll be well on your way to becoming a world-class email marketer.
If you'd like to have some dedicated professionals do this for you & your company, feel free to reach out here!
Feel free to reach out directly with any questions: danny@cloudseed.studio
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