It’s our job as email marketers to avoid simple mistakes that can ruin the effectiveness of otherwise well thought-out campaigns. Below you’ll find three real-life examples where fundamental email marketing elements – personalization, dynamic content, and captivating subject lines – have been used incorrectly. Sometimes even the best of us let errors slip through the cracks, so I thought I’d share some of these common pitfalls with you.

Inaccurate personalization
In the first example the subscriber’s name is replaced by an obvious piece of placeholder text – “Mr. Soandso.” (That’s email-speak for Mr. So-And-So, for those of you scoring at home.)

Missing dynamic content
Sometimes email marketers forget to test their dynamic content rendering, and as a result, end up with tell-tale blank spaces within their emails. Dynamic content is one area which needs to be tested thoroughly to ensure that campaigns render properly to the final recipient. Wish list and abandoned shopping cart content areas are two places where marketers should double-check before clicking the send button.

Misspelled, poorly punctuated subject lines
The last example concerns a subject line with missing punctuation and a typo. The subject line received was “Hurry Sale Starte Today – New Items Just Reduced!” First, the word “starte” should be starts. Secondly, what exactly is a “Hurry Sale?” How about a comma? The subject line should have been “Hurry, Sale Starts Today – New Items Just Reduced!”

Avoiding these mistakes is really quite simple – test dynamic content, test personalization, and proofread subject lines. If you can, get a second set of eyes to help you proofread and test everything before it goes out.

Do you have any examples of email mistakes? How do these errors reflect on the email sender? How do these mistakes make the recipient feel? Let us know your opinion!

Tags: dynamic content, email errors, email mistakes, marketing message, personalization, re-mail, recipients, subject line

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