Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools for small businesses. Over the years, it has kept delivering incredible results and ROI, reaching even 42$ for every dollar spent. If you promote your business online in various ways, you know that the benefits of email marketing, with relatively low costs and effort, are really impressive. But what if you don’t see such visible results, even though you send out email campaigns? It’s possible you’re making email marketing mistakes typical for small businesses. Don’t worry, this article is here to show you the most common email marketing mistakes made by small businesses and what to do instead.
Table of Contents
- Email marketing mistakes among small businesses and what to do instead
- 1. Poor list-building practices
- 2. Not segmenting the audience
- 3. Weak or generic subject lines
- 4. Now mobile-friendly emails
- 5. Too much selling, not enough value
- 6. Inconsistent sending schedule
- 7. Ignoring analytics
- 8. No clear call-to-action
- 9. Neglecting the welcome email
- 10. Sending emails from an unverified domain
- Small business email marketing mistakes - wrapping up
Email marketing mistakes among small businesses and what to do instead
1. Poor list-building practices
The contact list is essential in email marketing, as you need to have someone to send your campaigns to. But many small businesses try to jumpstart their email marketing by purchasing lists of contacts or adding people without their explicit permission. While it might give you thousands of email addresses overnight, taking such shortcuts will backfire spectacularly. Not only is it illegal, but bought lists are filled with people who have no connection to your business and didn’t ask to hear from you. Sending emails to them leads to spam complaints, poor deliverability, and damaging your sender reputation, which will affect your future email sending.
Instead, build your email list organically from day one. Create compelling double opt-in opportunities on your website, social media, and in-store. Offer something valuable in exchange for an email address, such as a discount, free guide, exclusive content, or early access to sales. The whole process may take more time, but every subscriber will actually want to hear from you. As a result, it will lead to much higher engagement and conversions.
2. Not segmenting the audience
The statement “one size fits none” is definitely true in email marketing. If you’re sending the exact same email to everyone on your list, regardless of who they are, what they’ve purchased, or how they interact with your business, you’re practicing email volume, not email marketing. Generic newsletters fail to resonate with anyone because they're not specific enough to be relevant. Just think of it - a new subscriber who just discovered you has completely different needs than a loyal customer who’s made five purchases. Sending the same email to your entire list will result in high unsubscribe rates and low engagement.
Start with basic segmentation and build from there. At a minimum, separate new subscribers from existing customers. The first ones will need more educational or introductory content, whereas your customers will appreciate more complementary products, loyalty offers, and product recommendations. You can also segment your audience based on engagement - into active subscribers, who opened your emails in the last 6 months, and inactive ones, who haven’t opened your emails in 6+ months. As your business grows, you can create segments based on purchase history, browsing behavior, engagement level, or demographics.
3. Weak or generic subject lines
The subject line is the gatekeeper of your email. If it’s generic, vague, boring, or overly promotional, your email will get ignored or trigger spam filters. Remember that your subject line is competing with dozens or hundreds of other emails for attention in your subscribers’ inboxes. If the subject line is not compelling enough, your entire email will not be opened and seen.
Craft subject lines that create curiosity, promise clear value, or convey urgency. Use mild urgency like “Your 24-hour discount on [Product Name]” or specific numbers like “Save 25% this weekend”. Asking a question in the subject line also increases your chance of your email being opened, e.g., “Are you making this common mistake?”. To be sure what resonates with your target audience, use A/B testing and try 2-3 variations of subject lines varying in language, tone, and emoji usage. Also, remember to keep your subject lines under 50 characters for mobile optimization.
4. Now mobile-friendly emails
More than 60% of emails are now opened on mobile devices. If you’re designing emails on a desktop computer without testing how they appear on smartphones and tablets, you risk that the majority of your audience will not be able to see your emails as you intended. If your email requires zooming to read, has tiny buttons that can’t be tapped accurately, or takes forever to load, most recipients will simply delete it.
To design your emails mobile-friendly, use responsive email templates that automatically adjust to screen size. Modern Email Service Providers (ESPs) offer responsive templates and mobile screen previews. Keep your design simple with a single-column layout, use large, readable fonts, and ensure buttons are at least 44x44 pixels for easy tapping. Remember to always send test emails to your phone before hitting send to your list.
5. Too much selling, not enough value
Another email marketing mistake is sending overly promotional messages. If every email screams “Buy Now!”, your readers will quickly tune out. Let’s be honest, people don’t wake up hoping to receive more advertisements. When every interaction is a hard sell, subscribers get tired and are more likely to unsubscribe.
Instead, follow the 80/20 rule. Aim for 80% of your content to be high-value and non-promotional. You can send tips, educational resources, industry insights, customer stories, or surveys. The remaining 20% of your content can be reserved for direct sales and promotions. Another good practice is to send your emails to solve a problem. Don’t just list your product features, but frame your offering as the solution to a common problem. Instead of saying that your software has 10 tools, tell people your product will cut their admin time in half.
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6. Inconsistent sending schedule
Success in email marketing lies in consistency. Sending three emails one week, nothing for two months, then suddenly five emails in a short time creates confusion and annoyance. When you disappear, people forget about who you are. When you suddenly reappear with a series of emails, they feel spammed and hit unsubscribe.
To avoid this mistake, choose a realistic sending frequency you can maintain long-term and stick to it. You can send your emails once a week, biweekly, or monthly. It all depends on your resources and industry. Remember that consistency builds trust and keeps you top-of-mind without overwhelming your audience. Set up a simple content calendar to plan ahead and avoid a last-minute rush.
7. Ignoring analytics
Email campaign statistics are a goldmine of useful information. Without data, you have no idea what’s working or what needs improvement. You might be repeating mistakes, missing opportunities, or failing to recognize successful patterns worth repeating.
Here are some email campaign key metrics you should monitor to evaluate and improve your email newsletters:
- Open rate
- Clicks and clickthrough rate
- Bounce rate
- Growth list rate
- Complaint and unsubscribe rate
- Spam rate
- Conversion rate
- Overall ROI
8. No clear call-to-action
Every email you send should have a purpose - the action you want your subscribers to perform, e.g., to click the link. If your emails contain multiple compelling calls-to-action or no clear action at all, you leave your audience wondering what you really want them to do. In such situations, people tend to do nothing. As a result, your email becomes just something they read and forget.
That is why every email should have one primary call-to-action that stands out visually and tells people exactly what to do next. When designing your email, you should always ask yourself what action you’d like people to take when reading it. It can be a CTA button saying “Shop Now”, “Download Your Guide”, “Book Your Consultation”, “Read More”, or whatever fits your business. Secondary actions can exist, but they should never compete with your main goal.
9. Neglecting the welcome email
When someone subscribes to your list, it’s time to make a good first impression and make someone feel welcomed by you. If you send a generic “thanks for subscribing" message or add people to your regular newsletter list without any special welcome, you’re missing a lot. New subscribers are at peak interest and engagement right after they sign up. This is your best opportunity to set expectations and start building a relationship.
To do this, create a thoughtful welcome email sequence. Even just 2-3 emails work well. The first one should arrive immediately, thanking them for subscribing, delivering any promised incentive, telling them what to expect going forward, and sharing your best content or bestselling products. Follow-up emails can introduce your brand story, highlight customer favorites, or provide onboarding information. It’s worth creating a good welcome sequence, as it typically sees higher open rates than regular campaigns.
10. Sending emails from an unverified domain
When you send from an unverified domain, your emails are more likely to land in spam folders or be blocked entirely. It happens when you use a generic email address like Gmail or Yahoo to send business emails, or fail to properly authenticate your domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Another thing is that you also miss out on building your brand's sender reputation, and your emails lack professional credibility.
Instead, send emails from your business domain like hello@yourbusiness.com. Avoid addresses similar to yourbusiness123@gmail.com. Work with your email service provider to set up proper authentication. Most email service providers have step-by-step guides for configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records in your domain's DNS settings. While it sounds technical, it usually takes less than 30 minutes and dramatically improves deliverability. Once verified, email providers trust that messages really come from you, and your emails land in inboxes where they belong.
Small business email marketing mistakes - wrapping up
We discussed in detail the most common email marketing mistakes committed by small businesses and showed what can be done to avoid them. Based on each point, you can see that it doesn’t require a massive budget or a marketing team. Instead, doing your email marketing right requires thoughtfulness, consistency, and a genuine focus on providing value to the people who’ve trusted you with their inbox.
Start by auditing your current email marketing strategy against this list. Pick one or two areas that need the most improvement and focus on those first. Small, consistent improvements compound over time into significant results.
Remember that email marketing is a conversation, not a megaphone. The businesses that succeed are those that respect their subscribers, provide consistent value, and use email as a tool to build relationships rather than just extract sales. Get these fundamentals right, and email marketing can become one of your most reliable sources of growth and revenue.
Ula Chwesiuk
Ula is a content creator at Elastic Email. She is passionate about marketing, creative writing and language learning. Outside of work, Ula likes to travel, try new recipes and go to concerts.
