7 Email Marketing Mistakes That Cost Me Millions of Dollars

In today’s rapidly evolving eCommerce landscape, email marketing remains a powerful tool. But it comes with its pitfalls. I’m going to walk you through the top seven email mistakes that have cost Aspekt, me, and my clients millions, and more importantly, exactly how to fix them. Plus, stick around to discover a bonus tip on how to generate more email revenue with your Ecom brand.

The Impact of Email Marketing Mistakes: An Overview

You might be wondering, how have you lost millions of dollars? It’s not physically but more so an opportunity cost when not implementing the right email strategies. When I first started out in email marketing, I made so many mistakes, leading to significant losses.

For example, if a brand doing $100,000 a month misses out on the ideal email revenue of $30,000 a month, over a year, that’s almost half a million dollars lost!

Now, let’s dive into these mistakes.

Mistake #1: Email Deliverability

Email deliverability is paramount to any email or SMS marketing strategy. If your emails aren’t getting delivered, you’re basically talking to a brick wall.

How to Fix It:

Analyze your deliverability using tools like mail-tester.com.

Set up an email Canary to monitor deliverability rates.
Ensure your email size is optimized and under 100KB.
Use fewer code and images that may end up in spam or promotions.
Avoid using trigger words that might hinder delivery. Use this resource to avoid trigger words.

Mistake #2: Email Subscriber Segmentation

The segmentation game has changed, and simply sending to the entire email list won’t work.

How to Fix It:

Create segmented lists based on engagement, buyer status, lifetime value, gender, etc.
Maintain a cleaned and organized system to access specific emails.

Mistake #3: Not Sending Enough Emails

Sending too few emails can be just as damaging as sending too many.

How to Fix It:

Expand your welcome flow up to 12 emails.
Use multiple abandoned cart emails to build trust and increase engagement.
Add value with your emails and nurture the customer relationship.

Mistake #4: Lack of Email Personalization

Personalization goes beyond just addressing your customers by name.

How to Fix It:

Collect first names, birthdays, locations, and even gender.
Tailor your emails according to specific needs and benefits.
Speak to the customer, understanding their needs, not just writing to them.

Mistake #5: Email List Cleanup

Regular list cleanup can save money and improve deliverability.

How to Fix It:

Delete contacts that are unsubscribed, bounced, or not engaging.
Regularly clean up your list to maintain efficiency.

Mistake #6: Variety in Email Design

Sticking to the same email template can lead to fatigue.

How to Fix It:

Keep your emails fresh with various designs.
Use tools like Really Good Emails for inspiration.

Mistake #7: Speaking To, Not Writing To, The Customer

Understanding and speaking to your customer’s pain points can improve response rates.

How to Fix It:

Tailor your email to the customer’s specific needs, rather than just announcing sales.
Engage them with targeted content that resonates with their particular challenges.

Don’t Make The Same Mistakes as I Did

These seven mistakes have been hard lessons, but they have paved the way for better strategies and success. I hope that you can learn from them and not repeat the same errors. If you want to keep up to date with the latest email and SMS marketing strategies, sign up for our email marketing newsletter, or follow me on Twitter. And as always, leave your thoughts and questions in the comments below. Thanks for reading, and see you in the next post!