Crucial Do’s and Don’ts of Email Marketing The most important Do in email marketing comes down to the subject line as whether people will open your email or not solely depends on the first impression you make. This is why it is important to make your subject lines engaging as well as relevant. Also it is important to make sure that the subject line offers some value to the readers as it will help in building trust. The most crucial Don’t in email marketing is buying an email list. First of all any email list you buy you will deliver your content to spam rather than inbox as these are generic lists that may or may not contain your targeted audience. Also it is a very unethical form of marketing as you don’t know whether the audience is interested in your products or services or not.
Don't go fishing in the dark! Segmenting audiences for email marketing is essential because it allows for more personalized and relevant communications. By dividing your email lists into distinct groups based on criteria such as demographics, behaviour, or purchase history, you can tailor your messages to address the specific needs and interests of each segment. This approach not only increases engagement and conversions, it also reduces unsubscribe rates and increases overall campaign success. Additionally, clearly identifying and categorizing campaigns in your contact management system is crucial for tracking conversions down the funnel. This is a tremendous help in accurately measuring performance metrics, analyzing interactions, and understanding which strategies bring the best results. This approach helps optimize campaigns based on data-driven feedback, refine strategies, and ultimately hit a better ROI.
The answer is simple. A ‘do’ is to use symbols ( "+" or "=" ) and if relevant, incorporate an emoji or two within your subject line to make your message more compelling amidst the clutter most people have in their inboxes. You want your email to stand out in a sea of wordy, lengthy subject lines. To spark interest, the best way to do it is to not give all of it away in the subject line but to give just enough to pique curiosity, A ‘don’t’ is to create a sense of unnecessary urgency. It comes off as clickbait-y and your intended readership will lose trust. Don’t catfish people with deceptive subject lines and spammy content as it undermines your credibility and in the long-run damages your reputation. The last thing I want to read is a message with a subject line "urgent" only to find out that it was not urgent or important at all..
My number one ‘don’t’ in email marketing is - don’t use click-bait subject lines just to get a good open rate. As with anything in marketing, remember why it is you’re sending the email. It’s not to get an open rate, it’s to get what happens after the email is opened. This might be a link click, a newsletter sign-up, a call request - any number of things. Although the open is required in order to achieve those things, the open isn’t the aim itself. If you create a subject line that is too focussed on ‘opens at all cost’, and isn’t matched with the content inside the email, your open rate will be strong but those other measures won’t be. So the email hasn’t been successful. In fact, those real goals might actually be harmed, due to the user feeling misled or losing trust in your offering. So when writing your subject line make sure it is persuasive and encourages an action, but constantly review it to ensure it is still adequately linked to the content of the email and the offering inside. Certainly don’t write something that misleads the reader, or tries to encourage the open with a promise that the email doesn’t actually deliver. Be convincing, but not too pushy. Create a sense of intrigue, but don’t deliberately confuse. Follow this tip, and it'll ensure your email marketing stays focussed on what is important - the action taken on the email. But it will also ensure you're following best practice and developing better relationships with your subscribers.
It's a hot, humid summer day. Blue skies overhead, the smell of hot sidewalk underfoot, and the sound of sprinklers on grass. You hear a ping from your phone and look down to the email from your favourite fashion brand talking about their new line of winter jackets. Immediate unsubscribe. OK, it's an extreme example, but making sure your emails are timely is a huge factor in their success. As marketers we know it as 'when' – one of the five W's of marketing – and it comes into play both in the proactive planning and strategy part of the job, as well as in the reactive day-to-day part of the job. Whether it's the season or time of the year, or the minute of the day, choosing the right moment can have a big effect on open rates. More importantly still, it can make the difference between making your brand feel relevant and useful compared to annoying, bothersome or even confusing. What's more, utilising 'newsjacking' – the practice of capitalising on current stories and trends with your own take – can provide great opportunities to make your brand feel up to date, trendy and funny.
In the current digital era, most email recipients will open their email on a mobile device. If your email campaigns are not optimized for mobile, the result could be poor user experiences and low engagement, translating to low conversion rates. For example, at our recycling business, we noticed that click-through rates increased by 30% after we optimized the emails for viewing on mobile. Previously they were lower. Careful attention to mobile optimization would not just help us increase engagement metrics but also strengthen our commitment to accessibility and user experience: two very important values for anything with an eco-friendly mission.
Copywriter, Creative Writer & Brand Photographer at Sarah Wayte Creative
Answered 2 years ago
The biggest piece of advice I can give when it comes to email marketing is: RESPECT YOUR SUBSCRIBERS Yours isn't the only email they're getting in their inbox every day so don't send emails that act like they're the only ones your subscriber has to read. By which I mean, don't make them so incredibly long that they have to keep scrolling to keep reading. Get to the point. Don't blatantly sell at them every single email–offer them something of value that makes your emails worth getting. Really assess and look at your emails from the reader's perspective. And if you won't read your entire email or you find you're losing interest halfway through, then it needs work. Because if you're not interested, how can your subscribers possibly be? I see too many people sending not good emails and expecting to make sales from them and I firmly believe and know there's a better way to do it!
The golden rule of email marketing? Never over-promise and under-deliver. It's like inviting someone to a party and then serving them stale chips and warm soda. Sure, they might show up the first time, but they won't be coming back for seconds. When you hype up a product, offer, or event in your email, you're setting expectations. And if you don't meet those expectations, you're not just disappointing your subscribers, you're eroding their trust. Instead, focus on under-promising and over-delivering. Give your subscribers more than they expect – surprise them with bonus content, exclusive discounts, or early access to new products. This will build excitement, loyalty, and keep them eagerly opening your emails every time.
One of the most important things you can do in email marketing is switch up your messaging. You can't always lead with a hard sell to your prospective customers, clients, students, etc. You want to provide some value beyond consistently promoting yourself or your products. What types of educational content can you offer? Is your industry in the news? Maybe you can use your email newsletter to speak on it in a way that educates and ultimately provides context for why it's important for your subscribers to learn more, reach out, sign up, pay for your services, etc. There are many ways to engage with your customers over email that don't involve simply asking them to do something for you - email marketing goes both ways and you have to be able to provide that value people are looking for in order to keep paying attention.
As a marketer, one crucial 'do' in email marketing is to prioritize personalization and relevance in every message. Using tools like Mailmodo, you can create dynamic, interactive emails that cater to individual subscriber interests, increasing engagement and conversion rates. Avoid sending generic, one-size-fits-all emails; instead, leverage data to tailor your content, ensuring that each communication feels valuable and timely to your audience.
In my opinion, the most important "Do" in email marketing is to build a permission-based list. That means your subscribers must opt-in to your list because they want to hear from you. that also leads to things like honoring opt-out requests, not buying email list from somebody else. When you think about it, why do you want to have people who don't want to hear from you? if you do that, it defeats the purpose of having the list.
Email marketing is important because it allows for the segmentation of the emails. This features allows one to tailor one message to fit different groups of people. The email marketer can segment the emails as per demographics, purchase history, engagement level, or preferences. This ensures that the message reaching the reciever is both relevant and customized. Personalized email inspire higher engagement levels which envtually translates to a higher conversion rate.
As an email marketing expert, one important do is personalization. Target segments of your list for the best open and click rates. At Raincross, we customize content for different types of customers which boosts engagement over 30%. A don't is misleading or spammy subject lines. Educate and provide value to build trust. Our newsletters match our brand and what customers want, like tips to extend the life of a new website design. This honest approach retains customers and grows our business. Ensure emails display on all devices. Most of our customers use mobile so non-optimized emails are deleted. We use a simple layout, minimal images and concise copy so emails are easy to read anywhere. Optimizing for mobile has significantly improved our metrics.
One important "Do" is to always include a clear call to action (CTA) in your emails. A CTA guides your readers on what you want them to do next, whether clicking a link, purchasing, or signing up for an event. Your email might be interesting without a clear CTA, but it won't drive the desired action. Make sure your CTA stands out and is easy to find. This will help you achieve your email marketing goals and make your campaigns more effective.
One important do in email marketing is personalizing your content. Sending customized emails custom to specific segments of your list leads to much higher open and engagement rates. For example, sending past customers emails about products they've shown interest in yields a 35% higher open rate in our campaigns. A major don't is sending generic one-size-fits-all blasts. Readers quickly spot stock emails and delete them, damaging your metrics and eroding subscriber trust. Keep emails concise, scannable on mobile with headings, bullet points and bold text. The more optimized for quick reading, the more people will engage. Segment your list and send relevanct content. Keep on top of trends and make sure you're delivering value. Build trust and your subscribers will reward you.
Here is my answer to the question: Do spend time getting to know your audience. I regularly analyze the data from our email campaigns to understand our readers’ behaviors and preferences. This allows me to tailor content and offers specifically to their needs and interests. For example, I’ve found that our subscribers in marketing roles tend to prefer case studies, while web designers prefer technical how-to guides. Catering to these preferences has significantly boosted our open and click-through rates. Don't overload your emails with images or make them difficult to read on mobile. Nearly half of all emails are now opened on mobile devices, so if your emails aren't optimized for small screens, many readers will just delete them. We keep our email layout clean and minimal, with concise paragraphs, a simple CTA, and only one eye-catching image. Our mobile-friendly emails enjoy open rates up to 15% higher than our older, cluttered campaigns. Do A/B test different components of your emails. There are so many variables to optimize, from subject lines and sending times to content and CTAs. We regularly test multiple variants of each component to determine what resonates most with our audience. For example, a recent A/B test of two subject lines found that one drove 38% higher open rates. Continuous testing and refining is key to improving both engagement and conversions.
As someone who has owned an email marketing agency for over 5 years, the biggest don't I can share is sending generic emails. Personalize your emails to each subscriber based on their interests and past purchases. For example, someone who buys hiking gear regularly should receive different content than someone interested in home decor. Another don't is using spammy subject lines or misleading content. Focus on how your product or service benefits the reader, not exaggerated claims. Your content and messaging should match your brand and actually help subscribers. Instead, keep your emails mobile-friendly with minimal images and brief copy. Over 60% of people read emails on their phones now. Cluttered or text-heavy emails end up in the trash. Optimizing for mobile boosts open and click rates significantly. If you provide value and build trust, email marketing can be an incredibly effective channel. But you have to put in the work to understand your customers and meet their needs.
As someone who built a startup from nothing, one important DO is to personalize your emails. Early on, I manually sent emails to our first 100 clients introducing myself and providing value. This personal touch led to several sales and helped build trust in our small company. Now at over 500 clients, we use data to customize emails for different segments. Our open rates are 43% higher and click through rates 28% higher than industry averages as a result. A DON'T is avoiding mobile optimization. Over 65% of our emails are opened on mobile devices. If your emails aren't responsive, you'll turn off a huge portion of your audience. Simple layouts with minimal images and concise copy are key. I've seen companies increase revenue 15-30% just by optinizing for mobile. Finally, avoid spammy subject lines and misleading content. Your subscribers trust you with their inbox, so provide value and be transparent. At Rocket Solutions, our content matches our brand and mission to recognize community achievements. This focus on our customers and their needs builds trust and loyalty, which is key for any business.
As a 24 year email marketing veteran, one important do is to always test. Testing subject lines, content, images, CTAs, and sending schedules has allowed us to optimize our campaigns and increase open rates by over 30% year over year. For example, we found that emails sent on Tuesday and Thursday mornings had a 15% higher open rate for one client. Simple tests can lead to significant improvements. A don't would be not personalizing your emails. Using data and automation, tailor your emails and match content to subscriber interests. For one gym client, we created segmented lists based on members' workout preferences and schedules. Sending personalized workout tips and promotions led to a 45% increase in click-through rates and boosted membership renewals. Keep your content simple but compelling. People check emails on the go. Focus on one clear message or promotion in each email. Use an eye-catching image, minimal text, and a strong CTA. On mobile, less is more. For all clients, we aim for short, scannable emails with a single goal to drive the highest engagement.
Here is my answer to the question: One important Do in email marketing is personalization. Sending generic bulk emails is a Don't - readers can spot an impersonal template email a mile away and it damages trust. By using data to tailor content to specific interests and past behavior, open and click-through rates skyrocket. For example, a medical practice sending different emails to patients interested in physiotherapy versus cosmetic procedures. The cosmetic patients received targeted content on the latest treatments, while physio patients got advice on home exercises. The open rate doubled. Keep your emails scannable and mobile-friendly. Almost all readers check email on the go, so if an email requires squinting or pinching to read, it goes straight to the trash. Simple fonts, minimal images and concise copy are key. At my company, optimizing for mobile increased open rates by 63% and clicks by 72% - so it's worth the investment. In summary, personalize, optimize for mobile and keep it scannable. Your subscribers will thank you with their time, trust and business.