5 Big Email Marketing Mistakes That Are Hurting Your Campaigns

Email marketing allows businesses to gain valuable insight into their customers and what they want. It provides a quick, scalable way to generate revenue, improve customer retention, and acquire new users.

However, many companies still don't see email as an effective channel or struggle to run successful email marketing campaigns that drive ROI for their business.

Here are five common email marketing mistakes that might be hurting your email marketing campaign:

1. Not personalizing your emails

Using templates and pre-written content in your email campaigns is a common email marketing mistake. While this will help you scale, it fails to create an authentic brand experience or build relationships with customers. People want to feel like they matter when they receive emails, and generic content doesn't provide that.

Personalize your emails where you can: Use the customer's first name, send targeted product recommendations, etc. If you're sending out a series of related campaign emails, be sure to vary the content and format for each email. Don't just change the subject line or the image in the email!

2. Not segmenting your lists

It's tempting to use one list for all of your subscribers, but doing this prevents you from creating targeted campaigns that resonate with specific groups of people. People want to feel like they're getting something valuable when they receive an email, and if you're sending generic content to every one of your subscribers, they'll never feel that way. For example, a welcome email campaign will not be appropriate for your existing subscribers list.

Create separate lists for different customers or people engaged with specific products or campaigns. You can create these lists based on signup dates, purchases, what products they're interested in, etc. Then you can tailor the content within each of those lists to provide a more personalized experience. Using a good email marketing software can make this task convenient for you.

3. Sending triggered email based on time alone

Triggered-based email campaigns can effectively engage users and drive conversions, but you should never send them out as soon as someone signs up (or even worse, as soon as it's been 30 minutes since they signed up!). People need some time to digest the content within an email before they're ready to act on it. To avoid this mistake:

Ensure to keep your sender reputation high. This score, which internet service providers set, weighs your daily email volume alongside your bounce and unsubscribe rates. The more frequently your emails bounce or result in recipients unsubscribing, the lower your sender reputation. Fewer emails sent may correlate with a higher sender reputation. 

Wait at least a week before you send your first triggered campaign after someone subscribes to your list. Then, instead of sending these emails too frequently, try creating scheduled email campaigns that are sent out based on specific days and times for each user. This will help you deliver content that your users want to see at the right time without overwhelming them.

4. Not utilizing mobile devices

Did you know that about 51% of emails are opened through smartphones? So it's essential to make sure your campaigns are mobile-friendly, or you risk driving away potential customers. In addition, with so many mobile users accessing email through a mobile device nowadays, it's essential to have a clear call-to-action and design elements that work well on a smaller screen.

Ensure your email content is fully optimized for mobile viewing by using larger fonts, removing sidebar or header images, etc. You can also preview your email designs on various mobile devices before sending them out to ensure that all links and buttons are appropriately supported across different operating systems.

5. Not testing your email campaigns

You're probably already familiar with the phrase "test, test, and then test again." That's because it's true! It's impossible to know what will resonate with your customers without running a few tests and A/B split tests. These allow you to compare different template designs and measure performance based on how many people click on links, opt into your list, complete a purchase, or whatever your campaign goal is.

Write up multiple marketing emails then create two different versions of each one (and maybe even three!) Send these tests to small segments of your subscribers at first (maybe 5-10%), so you can understand how each one is performing. Then based on these results, you can send the winner to the rest of your list!

Consider these mistakes before sending your next campaign. Remember that an effective email marketing strategy is more than just sending out emails – it requires creativity and a deep understanding of your customers. If you've been focused on getting as many people to sign up, make sure you also take the time to create the best practices to create better engagement by targeting the right people with emails that are more likely to get opened and acted upon.