Ragged Riches

I think it’s not up for debate anymore, is it?

Email marketing is still one of the most popular marketing methods on the planet, despite it being one of the oldest. The reason why is simple: everyone, their grandma, and their dogs all have email accounts. And most of us check ours almost obsessively.

It’s said that you can make as much as $35 to $42 for every dollar you spend on email marketing. And yet…some folks don’t get any return whatsoever on their email marketing campaigns. Ever wonder why that is?

I worked for several email marketing firms that tanked, plus one company that just didn’t listen to me when I warned them and botched an email campaign. Let me tell you the straight dope, as a copywriter who has seen what works and what doesn’t.

Most companies really keep a strong eye on their analytics, but they don’t always use common sense when it comes to their marketing. Let’s talk about the worst email marketing mistakes made by both newbies and professional firms.

#1: Emails That Are Too Long

I’m going to kick off this email by telling you what I told the CEO of a company I used to work at: Just because YOU want to write about your product doesn’t mean that anyone will actually WANT TO READ IT.

The average marketing email attention span is maybe 1 minute at most for typical consumer-friendly stuff. Business marketing is a bit longer. AWeber cites the average email length to be 434 words, or 3.3 minutes of reading time.

I’ll be frank: I’ve never seen an email marketing campaign that had that many words and succeeded at conversions. Short and sweet wins the race. I generally try to keep my emails under 250 words, and even then, it might be too much.

PRO TIP – You should also avoid walls of texts. I generally keep my marketing emails at 2 lines long, max. The patience people have for long bricks of verbiage in an email is just not there.

#2: Too Few Words

Yes, most writers write way too many words. The average attention span is shrinking to under a minute’s time. However, there’s a flip side to this. It’s possible to say too little, too. And when that happens, people just view your company as sketchy.

I’ve had one agency tell me to avoid exceeding 150 words. I usually try to keep it to that, but the truth is that this doesn’t always work out well because you lose the ability to convey everything you want to when you shrink it that small unless you get into the graphics side of things.

Speaking of…

#3: Not Getting Into Graphics

They often say, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” and this is oh, so true when it comes to email marketing. We live in an aesthetic world. Aesthetics matter. So, plunk down some cash on a luxurious-looking format template for your emails that has a complete branded look to it.

If your emails are almost all words, people tend to assume you’re a low-budget company. It can’t look like an email you’re sending out to your homies. That may have worked back in 2006, but it doesn’t work now.

Your graphics matter. If you’re not making an effort to make it put-together, you are failing from the start.

#4: Not Using A Good Headline

Your headline and first paragraph both matter. They’re the “make or break” of your email. If the headline is weak, it will not get clicks and your open rate will be abysmal. Good headlines are the ones that grab attention, pique curiosity, and (ideally) offer some kind of benefit to you.

Good examples of headlines include:

• Did you know you can get this for free?
• Increase your open rates by 50 percent…no kidding!
• Here’s the real reason why life sucks right now.
• A bittersweet farewell
• I have a deep confession to make
• Here’s the real reason you’re not getting hired
• Your favorite lipstick is going in 3, 2, 1…

Put yourself in the shoes of a consumer who gets dozens of promo emails per day. What stands out to you? Would your headline make the cut? If not, rewrite it. I often rely on “shock and awe” techniques to make mine work when I can’t come up with a benefit or guarantee.

Headlines are the first impression in an email. Make sure yours are good.

PRO TIP – I will be making a separate article on how to make a good header. You can read more about better SEO practices in this article in the meantime, if you just need to step up your copy game.

#5: Not Understanding Your Demographic

I remember when I was working as a VP of Marketing for a modeling company that’s blending AI with marketing for models. The product is great. In fact, it would revolutionize the way models make a living in more ways than one.

The problem is, the business owner didn’t understand how to pitch it to models.

The world of modeling is unique because you’ll meet MENSA-level smart people in this field, people who have Master’s Degrees and prior work in law or compsci. They’ll understand if you talk to them about machine learning or AI-based search methodology.

However, for every sexy Einstein in that field is someone who doesn’t want to learn new stuff. Some models just want to be the “cutie with the booty,” so to speak. They don’t want to worry about numbers or algorithms or marketing. They hire other people to help them with that and if you talk math to them, their eyes glaze over.

My friend was trying to explain something to a potential client who works full-time as a model, and you could literally see her eyes glaze over. Halfway through the conversation, she dipped and he was left with a stricken look on his face.

He didn’t understand the demographic. If half of your client base won’t understand what you’re saying in tech speak, you better make it simpler to grasp. The truth is, most people don’t read past an eighth grade level. Talking about Kubernetes is not going to fly there.

Before you start writing promotional emails, research these three things:

• Who are your clients or preferred clients? Are they the hyper-trendy clubkids in LA or the churchgoing tradwives of Utah? Do they have a college degree? What do you think they would like to read, in terms of tone?
• Why should they want your service or product? Remember to highlight the benefits of what you’re selling at least once in your email. When it comes to fashion and makeup, a picture truly can be worth a thousand words, even moreso than any copy you could whip up.
• What kind of money do they have? If they’re short on cash, emphasizing discounts for a limited time. If they have a lot of money, emphasize the status, benefits, and luxury of your product.
• How are they feeling? If they’re reeling from tariffs and the like, don’t be afraid to MENTION it if it works in your brand’s favor. If they feel attacked by other groups in the country, MENTION it in solidarity with them if that’s what you feel is a pressing matter.
• How educated are your clients? If you sell to doctors and lawyers, you can use big words. Heck, you might even be able to make your copy sound a little dry without issue. With that said, it’s been my experience that no one likes dry-sounding, scholastic-sounding copy. If you want to catch a wide net, write like you’re talking to your best friend about a new sale at their favorite store. It’s shockingly effective!

Remember: what appeals to you might not appeal to your clients. Act accordingly.

#6: Not Letting Photos Do The Heavy Lifting When Necessary

Email marketing is not all about copywriting, contrary to popular belief. I’ve mentioned this multiple times in this post, but I’m going to say it AGAIN:

• PHOTOS AND APPEARANCES MATTER. This is doubly true if you want to email for a fashion store, a makeup store, a home decor store, a gift shop, or for a model promotion. The more aesthetic the industry, the more you should rely on your images to do the talking. In the world of finance? Stick to charts and graphs.
• ILLUSTRATE POINTS WITH CHARTS. No one wants to see math equations or tables of numbers on their emails. Stick to graphs and charts that are easy to understand and navigate.
• BUTTONS WORK BETTER THAN LINKS. Use buttons to get people to click. Trust me, it increases your click-through rates.

Most mass email services will have at basic template services and easy email services. I’ve had personally good successes with MailChimp, Omnisend, and even Substack. With that said, most ecommerce companies do best with MailChimp or something similarly ecommerce-specific.

#7: Inconsistent Emails

Timing matters. Sending blasts too frequently will make people unsubscribe from your service or make you appear desperate. Sending them too rarely will make people forget your brand altogether.

Every email campaign is different, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t notice general trends with timing. Most people do not want to get daily emails from ecommerce sites, but they are okay with it if it’s from their favorite content creators.

According to Campaign Monitor, the ideal frequency for most email campaigns is two to there times per week. This has been my experience as well. Please, don’t be the person who bombards with emails or just sends a flare once in a blue moon!

#8: No Call To Action

Finally, I’m going to top off this email marketing mistake list with the classic email marketing mistake we’ve all done: not including a call to action. Yes, it’s true. Even I’ve sent out emails that don’t have a call to action. Why? Who knows.

When it comes to marketing, “Ask and you shall receive” shall be the whole of the law.

If you don’t tell people what to do, they won’t fucking do it.

Even if it’s as simple as a Buy Me A Coffee button, you NEED a call to action. So make sure you tell them exactly what you want them to do at least once. It might not work the first, second, or third time, but they will eventually will do what you ask them to do if you continue to nurture the leads.

People often assume a call to action doesn’t work if you can’t convert right off the bat. This isn’t true. A corrollary to this email marketing mistake is assuming that you should quit trying something if you don’t get immediate results. Marketing is not a sprint. It’s a marathon!

Have patience. Keep asking. Nurture those leads. Trust me, it works in the end.