Building a valuable and successful email marketing list is but the first step in creating a successful email marketing campaign. In order to get the most out of your lists, you need to further optimize emails to be custom-tailored for each recipient. Additionally, there are many elements, strategies and other details that must be considered when devising how, when and to whom you’ll send each message. Not all email marketing messages are worth sending, and in fact, some can actually hurt your efforts. Today, we’ll discuss the types of marketing emails you should avoid sending if you want your campaigns to continue  delivering value for your brand.

Cookie Cutter Emails

Above all else, people hate it when you waste their time with generic, cookie cutter email pitches. The deluge of emails that the average person receives on a daily basis has never been higher, meaning that most brands are simply pinging noise at their subscribers if they do not go above and beyond in grabbing their attention. If it is obvious from the subject line that your email is lame in this regard, then it’ll likely never be opened. If you somehow trick them into opening it – only for them to find that the message is irrelevant to their interests – then you may lose their subscription. If you are wanting to sell or persuade in this age of rapid-fire email marketing, then you need to personalize your emails as much as possible for each subscriber.

Excessive Emails

The frequency at which you email your subscribers can have just as much of an impact on your subscriber base as the quality of the emails. Even if you are doing your best to customize and personalize emails for each person, pinging them with multiple emails in rapid succession is a recipe for disaster. Whether they’ve just bought a product and you’d like for them to leave a review or they left their shopping cart empty, persistently reminding them goes above and beyond what is acceptable in the eyes of most. It is OK to send one or two follow-up emails spread out over a period of days or weeks, but any more than that and you risk losing subscribers due to your shoddy email marketing strategy.

Poorly-Formatted Emails

Last but not least, the aesthetics of your email layout matters nearly as much as the content of the message. If people are not able to quickly discern what’s what in an email message, then they are likely to stop reading. The reason is simple: any one email message from somebody they don’t personally know in real life isn’t very important to them. Poor format can present itself in any number of ways, including but not limited to bad colours, improper font selection/size or a lack of mobile formatting. Some A/B testing is generally a good idea when it comes to selecting an ideal format for future email campaigns; you’ll be able to see which email format generates the most responses.

If you don’t want to be pinging noise at subscribers with your email marketing campaigns, then be sure to follow a few simple guidelines. By customizing emails as much as possible, using solid formatting and abstaining from sending too many in rapid succession, you’ll generate the most clicks, purchases and engagements possible.