11 Common Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in Your First Campaign

As a marketer, you are probably aware of how important it is for you to be present on different platforms and to use various tactics for success.

This means that your campaign needs to spread across different social media, your website, and your blog. You also need to take care of your email marketing.

If you are only just getting started with email marketing, you may be a bit confused about how it all works.

To help you thrive in the email marketing department, we’ve put together a list of 11 most common email marketing mistakes you need to avoid.

Make sure you make none of these mistakes in your first, or any of the future email marketing campaigns.

Let’s dig into it.

1. Unclear message

Before you even start writing your first email copy, you need to be sure you know exactly what you want to say.

Your message needs to:

• have a target audience
• have a goal
• add value to the reader
• have a clearly defined message

Make sure you are not going too widely with your first email copy, or not trying to cover too much grounds.

Just choose a direction you want to go to, and stick to it.

2. Too much text

When it comes to internet readers, people nowadays have turned more into scanners than readers.

With so much content, posts, and articles being served to them on a daily basis, people simply don’t have the time to read every single letter of every message they stumble upon or receive.

Your email needs to be structured so as to ensure the recipients can just scan it, and detect the most important details.

You can achieve this by:

• making your email copy short
• using headings and subheadings
• writing short paragraphs
• using lists or bullet points
• using bold or italics to emphasize the most important information

Once you get their attention, and they’re sure you’re not wasting their time, they might just read the entire email copy.

3. Wrong subject line

So many marketers tend to underestimate the power of a properly written subject line.

Just think about it:

• it’s the first thing your target audience sees and reads
• it what makes or breaks the deal with them
• based on it, they decide whether to open the email or not

To make sure you write nothing but winning subject lines, let’s clarify what you absolutely need to avoid:

• writing it in ALL CAPS
• using too many exclamation marks (!!!!!!!!!)
• using misleading information or tricks

Make sure your subject line is clear, powerful, and intriguing. Here’s what you need to do:

• evoke curiosity by giving the right hints
• create a sense of urgency but don’t push it too far
• inform them about the offer inside the email
• use action verbs
• make them feel special

Ensure that your target audience has a reason to open the email, and don’t make false promises for when they do.

4. Weak or no CTA

You are writing an email copy and sending it to a bunch of people. You are certainly not doing it for fun. You are doing it to ensure they perform the desired action.

But, how do you expect them to perform it when they don’t know what you want them to do?

This is why your email copy needs to have a strong, catchy, and attention-grabbing call-to-action (CTA).

A CTA needs to:

• send a clear message: Register Now
• gives them a push in the right direction: Check How it Works
• create urgency: Today Only: 30% off!
• be designed to catch anyone’s attention visually: Use bright colors and emphasize it you email design

Use a powerful CTA in your email copy and ensure your first campaign is a success.

5. Weak design

People enjoy things which are beautiful. It’s that simple.

Although you are probably most worried about the content of your email, you can’t neglect the visual aspect of it.

The truth is if your email copy isn’t looking nice, people probably aren’t going to read it.

Invest some efforts into creating a beautiful design for your email copy, and you’ll have more people’s attention. Here’s some really useful advice:

• use a single font
• use bright colors (preferably brand colors)
• make use of spacing
• use attention-grabbing images 

Make sure the email copy is a feast for the eyes.

This way you are enhancing the user experience and ensuring your target audience feels better while reading.

6. Sending attachments

An email attachment in the eyes of the average email recipient says the following:

• this is some kind of a scam

Attachments are known to be unsafe, especially when we are opening something sent from an unknown source.

Your audience might get scared of fishing or hacking, and immediately delete the message.

• you’re asking me to do too much work

People don’t like to waste their time. Since you are the one asking for their time and attention, you are in no position of asking them to do all the work.

Avoid sending attachments. Unless it is absolutely important and you have no other choice. 

Instead, try explaining everything in the email body, and insert a quality CTA if you want them to download something from your website.

7. Ignoring mobile responsiveness

Did you know that 80 percent of users will delete an email that is not optimized for mobile?

 You can’t expect people to interact with your brand or seriously engage in the email you’ve sent if you clearly didn’t consider them when designing it.

There is no way you can create a successful email copy if it is not mobile responsive. Make sure you think about the design, the speed, and the layout for a mobile device.

8. Being unprofessional

When you are creating your first email copy, you’ve only got one shot to make an impression that is probably going to follow you for a long time.

Since most of the email recipients know nothing about you, you need to show you are professional and trustworthy.

There are two things you absolutely need to cover:

• proofreading

If you send out an email with even a single spelling or grammar mistake, you’re doomed. It will show the reader you are unprofessional and sloppy, and they’ll want nothing to do with you.

You can use Grammarly to proofread your own emails or check out these top editing services for additional help.

• show all your platforms

Make sure the recipient knows how serious and professional your brand is. Add a social media button and a link to your website.

Make a good first impression to ensure you start building firm relationships from your first email copy.

9. Not welcoming subscribers

When someone decides to subscribe to your newsletter, you need to acknowledge that. 

Making your audience feel safe, taken care of, and appreciated is the key to having loyal, long-term customers and followers.

Therefore, don’t miss out on a chance to say just how much you care about each new subscriber, and what you’ll give them in return.

Therefore, you need to:

• craft a welcome email for new subscribers
• send it to each new subscriber
• tell them you appreciate it and you are happy they are part of the brand family

Make it short, but sweet.

10. Unclear unsubscribing policy

People don’t like to receive tons of emails on a daily basis and have their inbox filled with unnecessary messages. 

If you want them to subscribe to your newsletter, you need to let them know there’s an easy way out, in case they don’t like it.

This means, there needs to be a clearly defined unsubscription policy.

Let them know about:

• where to go to unsubscribe
• what to click
• how to choose what to receive and what not to receive

Give them some freedom and control over your relationship, and they’ll certainly be less reluctant to accept your offer.

11. Not analyzing

Finally, there’s one last thing you need to cover when it comes to your first email marketing campaign.

You need to track your success.

In other words, you need to conduct data analysis and keep track of all the important metrics such as:

• Clickthrough Rate
• Bounce Rate
• Conversion Rate
• Email Sharing Rate
• etc.

Keep track of the success of each email copy you send out, and make comparisons to see what works best with which target audience.

You can even try out different email copies for the same target audience, divided into two groups.

Gather all the data, and use it for future reference.

Email Marketing Mistakes: Final Thoughts

Every beginning is confusing and hard.

Your first email marketing attempt won’t be your best, but you’ve got to start somewhere.

Luckily, our list above covers everything you need to know about potential email marketing mistakes and avoiding them.

Make sure you read it.

Once you have a clear idea about all the major mistakes you should avoid, you’ll have nothing to worry about.