8 Common Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Some of these 8 common email marketing mistakes can cost you dearly so learning how to avoid them could be crucial to your success.

With so many types of marketing available to you in 2022, why should you focus on email campaigns? The answer is: because it still works. Or rather, it works when you do it right. But, as Shakespeare would say, “Aye, there’s the rub.” The first step toward doing it right is avoiding common email marketing mistakes.

You’d be surprised by how many email campaigns fail because people don’t bother to learn what not to do. Don’t be one of them – find out how you can improve your email marketing today.

The 8 most common email marketing mistakes to avoid – starting now.

If you want to make your email marketing campaign relevant in 2022, you need to steer clear of the mistakes everyone else makes. So make yourself stand out in a good way by not doing the following eight things:

#1 – Not optimizing your subject line

The subject line is most likely going to be the first thing your subscribers see when you send them an email. If it doesn’t grab their attention, they will stop reading. So this is your one chance to entice them with what you have to say – don’t blow it! Make your subject line short and to the point, without revealing too much. The recipient should be able to quickly and easily process the entire line, learn what you’re writing to them about, and still be left wanting more.

You don’t have a lot of time to grab the attention of the recipient so start out strong with a good subject line.

#2 – Not using preheader text

The text that appears immediately below your subject line is called preheader text. It’s about 40-130 characters long, and you can use it to expand on your subject line and complement the information you provided there. If you don’t use preheader text, the space will automatically be filled with the first few lines of the email itself. This could be a greeting, or it could be a warning message about images in the email – you never really know. So don’t risk it; make an excellent first impression with a few impactful opening lines in the preheader.

#3 – Not optimizing for mobile

Roughly half of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices – phones and tablets. So at least half of your emails will be received on mobile. This makes it incredibly important to use the SEO tools at your disposal to make your emails mobile-friendly. Make your emails responsive with fast-loading images, easily readable fonts, and links that are easy to click even on small screens. Remember to test what your emails look like on mobile devices before sending them out.

            : Neglecting mobile users is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

#4 – Not segmenting subscribers

If you’re planning an email marketing campaign, having a mailing list is a must, of course. But what is better than having one list is having multiple lists organized by demographic and interest.

Not everyone on your mailing list is going to be interested in absolutely everything you send. Your email marketing will be more effective if you respond to the interests of your subscribers accurately. So segment your mailing list based on who they are, where they are in the sales pipeline, and what they might respond to.

#5 – Sending emails without a call-to-action

You’ll never boost your sales productivity if you don’t encourage people to take action. So step up your sales game with an effective and inspiring call-to-action at the end of your emails. To be effective, a CTA needs to be clear and well-positioned (typically at the beginning or end of a text, if not both). To strengthen it further, make your CTA a link anchor or clickable button – that way, the reader can immediately complete the action as well.

#6 – Trying too hard

While it is certainly important to optimize your emails and design them specifically for marketing, there is such a thing as going overboard. Peppering in keywords, making every line into a CTA, constantly trying to sell your business – these are not things readers will respond well to. You can quickly become too demanding and in-your-face. So make your emails flow as naturally as possible instead of sounding like a sales pitch the entire time.

In marketing, less is often more – don’t overdo it.

#7 – Sending too many emails

It is very tempting to just keep sending more and more emails, especially if you’re not getting the results you’d hoped for. After all, more emails give you more chances to capture the subscribers’ attention and convert them, right? They can’t forget you if you’re at the top of their inbox all the time. And besides, you really want to tell them about your new blog, the sale you’re planning for next week, or the latest industry news. The problem is that too many emails quickly get very annoying. In fact, spamming your subscribers is more likely to shrink your mailing list than to improve your success rate. So focus on quality over quantity instead.

#8 – Being unprofessional

The tone you adopt in your emails will depend on your brand. You don’t have to talk like you’re in a corporate meeting; it’s perfectly possible to use fun, approachable, and light-hearted language in your emails. But you must not forget that you’re sending business emails. Even if you’re building your brand as a friendly and approachable business, your subscribers are not actually friends you’re sending memes to. So check your emails multiple times before you send them. Are there any spelling mistakes? Are all the links working? Is the information in the email correct? Being unprofessional in these areas will turn off your subscribers.
How to avoid common email marketing mistakes?

Conclusion

• The first step to avoiding common email marketing mistakes is being aware of them. That way, you know what not to do, and when you notice you’ve made a mistake, you can correct it.
• The next step is developing a good email marketing strategy. Start by setting goals for the campaign. Then, collect data about your subscribers to get a better idea of how to market to them successfully.
• Finally, make a thorough and detailed plan. You should keep assessing your strategy along the way and adjusting if things aren’t working. But laying out a strategy at the beginning will help you stay organized and on track with your emails. So it’s definitely worth the time and effort.

Author: Jassica Mendez

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