Don’t make these 7 email mistakes!
Inboxes are precious territory.
The people on your email list gave you something special. They gave you explicit permission to reach out to them in one of the most personal ways possible, just short of giving you their phone number for marketing texts. (That’s a whole different battle, good luck with that 😂)
My point?
You already achieved the hardest part. You did something so cool, meaningful, or exciting that made them absolutely want to hear more from you.
So now it’s time to make sure you deliver and give them what they want.
And this is where I start to see something absolutely crazy. So many brands (personal, companies, whatever) fall short once it comes to the whole emailing thing.
Like, they manage to get people to sign up and then? Bad emails. Or even NO emails!
(I know this because I pay attention to what happens after I sign up… And I sign up for a LOT of emails 😉)
Being a lover of email storytelling, I naturally spend a lot of time reading through others’ writing to see what works and what doesn’t.
And over time, there are things I’ve started to notice… because they’ve happened more than once. So much so that I started to create a running list on my phone… and now I’m finally sharing it here with you!
Some of these things may seem like an obvious “duh Jess,” but they’re still showing up in my inbox so maybe it’s not as common sense as it should be?
Others may be something you never even thought of, but will definitely start paying attention to now.
I wish this was an exhaustive list but unfortunately, this is just SOME of the issues I’ve personally seen out in email land.
So let’s get to the deets and please…
Don’t make these email mistakes 😂
One. Too many GIFs means major sensory OVERLOAD
I’m not going to lie. I stopped reading an email mid-sentence and immediately closed it out because the writer used too many GIFs.
The problem wasn’t just the amount of crazy moving images though. It was that they were so damn close together.
As I scrolled through the email, I ended up with two GIFs on my screen at the same time, with only a sentence or two of text in between.
The result?
Two images with their own separate movements, making my eyes go absolutely crazy while I tried so desperately to read the text in between.
I don’t have a problem with GIFs.
Actually, I love them (and I wrote this whole blog post about why you SHOULD be using them… and memes, and evergreen pop culture in general!)
But don’t give your readers motion sickness because of them 😅
Two. More than one objective translates as unfocused & unclear
If you’re sending weekly (or whatever time frame you decided on) emails to keep your audience nurtured with valuable content, then each email should really only have one objective.
(The exception to this is a newsletter style, where it becomes a round up of links to blog posts, articles, products, etc. Buuut I’d like to argue that even those can be a bit overwhelming sometimes.)
Anywhooo… before you even start writing, I’d like you to think of your goal.
What’s the one main thing you want to accomplish with your email?
Is it to send people off to your latest podcast episode? Do you want them to check out your latest offer that’s finally available? Would you like their feedback or input on a product they recently purchased? There should only be one!
And no matter if it’s a quick email to pop in and share some info or a story-driven email that digs into emotion to really make them feel something, it should guide them toward helping you fulfill your ONE objective.
Which leads me to…
Three. Multiple CTAs only cause confusion
If you’re telling people, Hey check out this podcast. Oh! And then go read this article I found. And if you liked that, peep my new offer - I’ve bundled three special services together for you!
They will absolutely NOT know what’s more important, where they should click, or what you even want them to do.
Simply put… if you make things hard for people, they won’t do it.
You need to direct them exactly where you want them to go, and then tell them what you want them to do. One objective, one CTA (call to action).
Sounds rude and bossy? I know 🤷🏻♀️ But it’s the truth!
Now if you aaaabsolutely have something else you want/need to put in your email that doesn’t fit with your main objective (maybe it’s an ongoing initiative or a push to follow you on socials), consider saving that for a PS after your sign off.
It’ll help keep your main message clear instead of having a bunch of things fighting for your reader’s attention. Then, the info in your PS will have more of this kind of vibe: “oh and once you’re done with that, it would be cool if you also checked this out too.”
Four. Talking to a group is impersonal
People are absolutely CRAVING genuine connection these days. And every time you reach out to those in your audience via email, you have the perfect opportunity to show them you actually care about THEM, as a single person, and… their needs, their interests, their struggles, all of it.
But of course, you need to make sure you actually know what they’re all about 😅
This blog post will help you figure that out
Then this blog post will help you write to them
One of the easiest ways to begin forming that connection is to add personalization (which is why it’s always important to also grab at LEAST their first names when you collect email addresses!).
When an email lands in your readers’ inbox, they want to feel like you wrote it just for them… even if deep down inside, they know they’re not the only one receiving it.
Your ESP (email service provider) gives you the option to insert personalization, so use it! Use their name, call them my friend, dude, my fave peep… whatever it is that fits your tone.
Leave “hey everyone!!” behind and stop talking to the group as a whole.
Five. Dishonest subject lines lead to lack of trust
Your subject line is the ultimate hook. Some people claim it’s the most important part of the email. Others say that if you build up a good relationship with your readers, it doesn’t matter WHAT you put there… they’ll still open it. But of course, you have to create that trust with your community in the first place.
A subject line can have the people in your audience clicking faster than the email itself can even load… or it can have them rolling their eyes and deleting without even opening.
And to the emails in MY inbox? I’ve done both.
So what icky subject lines have I seen? Ones that…
-Create a false sense of urgency. Don’t tell me it’s the last day for your special offer when you already know you’re going to do an “omg we decided to extend it!” email the next day.
-Don’t relate to the email at all. If I have to scroll through what you wrote and keep re=reading it to try and figure out what I missed (because your subject line told me it would be there)... you’re about to lose a sub.
-Ask a question… and don’t answer it. Why would you do that to me? 😭 If you ask a question, you better be planning on providing an answer to it! Or if it’s a deep, thought-provoking question only I can answer, you better help guide me.
-Use sleazy tactics to try and force an open. Things like, using “Re: blah blah blah” to make it seem like you’re following up on something important. Or “I’m giving you this free gift!” but then you find out it’s a bonus “free gift” for their paid offer.
Okay, enough ranting on this… for now.
Six. Poor formatting makes it impossible to read
Using fun fonts can help establish the overall look and feel for your brand. It gives you that extra flavor and pizzazz other people might not have. But… the body of an email is NOT the place to use them 😅
Some fonts can be very hard for people to read and could be the cause of some major frustration if you’re using them. Stick to sans serif fonts and keep your colors nice and dark. Make sure your font size is not toooo small either.
I once opened an email from a WELL known person in the marketing space and I practically needed a magnifying glass. And no, I’m not that old. And my eyes aren’t that bad.
Also, make sure to space out the lines of your email. It’s not the place to make people read full-on paragraphs! Keep lines to a sentence or two, and then add a space.
If you need some great examples of all of this put into practice, sign up for MY emails! It’s like a free email lesson every week (shameless plug, ha!)
Seven. Not optimized for mobile leads to a poor reading experience
Okay… I don’t know who the hell is running the stats department out in the world wide web, but they’re making it difficult for me. All I wanted to do was add a stat in here: how many people read emails from mobile… and I got a range from 40-80% 😂 Damn it!
Either way… a lot of people are reading emails from their phone. And a lot of those points I made in section 6 will really stand out when trying to read from the small screen.
So to make sure everything looks good… ALWAYS send a test email before you send it to your audience… and ALWAYS read it from mobile. It only takes an extra minute or so but it allows you to see it how most of them will see it.
And in some cases, it might look wildly different than it looked when you were adding it to your ESP. So make it a habit to check EVERY email!
I know there can be a LOT to think about when it comes to emailing your list. And sometimes it can be overwhelming to think about if you’re doing it all “right.”
I hope this post serves as a little reminder of some of the obvious things to keep an eye out for, as well as some you might not have even thought of!
And goodness, I didn’t even TOUCH on storytelling here 😅 If you’re still looking for extra help in that department, I’ve got a few things for you:
-This blog post where I share 7 essential storytelling techniques to use in your emails
-This freebie where I give you actionable steps to start creating story-driven emails to create connection with your community & grow your biz
Have you ever made any of these email mistakes before? (I have, heh. We’re only human).
Did any catch you by surprise?
