The 5 Most Avoidable Email Marketing Mistakes

While social posts, blog articles, videos and most other published digital media can be edited or deleted post-launch, you can’t take back an email.

For better or worse, once you’ve clicked “send,” the deed is done. But while even the most seasoned marketers make a misstep from time to time, a few glaring, habitual and all-too-common email marketing mistakes can slash engagement and drive away potential business.

To make matters worse, sometimes the most critical mistakes aren’t easily prevented by a pre-deployment checklist or a good copy edit. You may be inadvertently hurting your email engagement and stifling your ROI without even realizing it.

The good news is, you can prevent them from happening again. Check out these five damaging (yet avoidable) email marketing faux pas – and learn how to correct them fast.

1. Vague or Dull Subject Lines

Nearly 270 billion emails are sent each day, according to data from Radicati Group. With so many messages hitting your subscribers’ inboxes, you’ve got to exercise a little creativity to stand out from the pack. After all, there’s only so many times someone can read the terms “seasonal sale” or “big savings” before their eyes glaze over.

Solution: Give readers a tiny taste of what they’ll find inside, but don’t give it all away. Intrigue them. And if you’re not sure what will motivate your subscribers to open, take a couple extra minutes to set up an A/B test.

2. No Preheader

Of course, while subject lines are important, they’re not your only shot at captivating your subscribers. A well-crafted preheader can make a significant difference in open rates, too. Use the extra character count to add another enticing, click-worthy nugget of information.

If the opportunity to see new products isn’t enough, the enormous discount should do the trick.

Solution: Always use the pre-header option, and make sure the copy supports your subject line. These two phrases should work in tandem to hook subscribers.

3. Using a Generic Send Address

Consumers today expect a personalized experience, and there’s nothing less personal than an email from “no-reply@businessname.” Using a real name and valid email address (that is, one that won’t deliver an error message if someone tries to reply) will help foster trust and increase open rates.

Solution: Whether it’s the head of marketing, customer service or the CEO, it’s best if emails are delivered from a recognizable name and legitimate address. Just make sure to monitor the account inbox in case anyone decides to respond.

4. Too Much Copy

More than half of emails are now read on a mobile device, according to Campaign Monitor. I don’t know about you, but scrolling through a several-paragraphs-long email message on a 5-inch screen isn’t exactly my idea of a good time. When you have mere seconds to grab and hold a subscriber’s attention, you need to use it wisely.

Solution: Pare down your text to only the most pertinent information. The more concise your copy, the more likely you are to drive subscribers to take the next step.

5. Sending the Same Email to All Subscribers

If you’re still using the “spray and pray” method of email marketing, you’re missing a significant opportunity to build relationships with your subscribers. Consumers don’t just prefer a personalized experience – they expect it. If you’re delivering a generic, one-size-fits-all message, don’t be surprised when subscribers stop engaging.

Solution: Start by segmenting your audience by meaningful demographics, like geographic location or age. As you accumulate or append more data, you can build more robust customer profiles. The more information you acquire, the more sophisticated your personalization efforts – and the more likely subscribers will be to engage with your emails.

While making a typo can be mortifying, the above email marketing mistakes can be far more damaging to your email performance. By eliminating these snafus, you can drive better engagement and transform subscribers into repeat customers.

Ready to quickly boost email performance and build better relationships with your subscribers? Try Email Intelligence and get all the data you need to make a lasting impression.