I’ve said it, you’ve heard it, but I’ll repeat it: email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach customers. According to an article by Mailigen, 89% of marketers say that email is their primary channel for lead generation. Email is a great way for brands to notify customers of deals, promotions, announcements, as well as drive new business by reaching out to prospects. Successful email marketing techniques are available online, but even with plenty of resources, mistakes are made. In today’s blog, we will go over 5 email mistakes you’re probably making that is keeping you from successful email marketing.

Email Mistake #1: Sending without testing

Images not showing up, broken links, typos and grammar mistakes, and so on. You can avoid these email mistakes by testing your email. Different email services display your emails differently, so it is important to preview and test your email out before you send it to your subscribers. Make sure links work, images are loading correctly, the copy is correct, etc. Email testing involves sending emails to accounts across several services such as Outlook as well as browser-based email services such as Gmail and Yahoo. You want to look at how different email services alter your HTML and CSS. Don’t forget to check on mobile devices.

Email Mistake #2: Not using responsive design

Going back to Email Mistake #1 and mobile devices; according to research by Litmus, 56% of email are opened on mobile devices. It’s more critical than ever that your email campaigns use responsive design to optimize content on your readers’ devices. Responsive design will ensure that your email is seen the way it is meant to.

Email Mistake #3: Ignoring the preheader

Everyone knows the importance of an eye-catching email subject line, but we often forget about the email preheader. A preheader is the short summary text that follows the subject line when an email is viewed in the inbox. Unfortunately, many marketers often overlook this. Many marketers leave a generic message such as “To view this email in a browser, click here.” Extend your subject line into the preheader. Tease the main content of your email campaign to entice readers. Smart use of the preheader can increase open and click-through rates.

Email Mistake #4: Using the from name: “DoNotReply”

This is such a simple yet crucial email mistake. “NoReply” or “DoNotReply” sender email addresses are uninviting and robotic. When companies send emails from these email addresses, they give off a “we don’t want to talk to you” vibe and turn people off. It’s impersonal and doesn’t help with building a good relationship with your audience.

Email Mistake #5: Poor email list hygiene

Emails are either collected in-house through subscription sign-ups or purchased from list providers. However, neither process guarantees that all email addresses are clean or valid. Email providers have anti-spam programs that block or junk inactive email addresses, so having old or fake email addresses on your list could raise a red flag. These email addresses can result in high bounce rates, low sender reputation, and bad email engagement. However, proper hygiene will clean up and keep your database updated to maintain healthy email marketing habits.

Set yourself up for email marketing success. The first step towards knowing what you need to do is knowing what not to do. By avoiding these email mistakes, you can create more effective email campaigns that will build better customer relationships, brand awareness, and help ensure your emails are successfully delivered.