This page provides best practices for email marketing, outlining dos such as ensuring visual appeal, good writing, consistent branding, customer nurturing, and promoting special offers, alongside don'ts such as avoiding garish colors, overusing 'free' or 'zero,' sending too frequently, relying only on email marketing, and sending irrelevant content. The author recommends working with a digital marketing agency if resources are limited.
Overview
This page provides best practices for email marketing, outlining dos such as ensuring visual appeal, good writing, consistent branding, customer nurturing, and promoting special offers, alongside don'ts such as avoiding garish colors, overusing 'free' or 'zero,' sending too frequently, relying only on email marketing, and sending irrelevant content. The author recommends working with a digital marketing agency if resources are limited.
10 Dos and Don'ts of Email Marketing | V Digital Services
10 Dos and Don'ts of Email Marketing | V Digital Services V DIGITAL SERVICES BLOG Straight From The Pros 10 Dos and Don’ts of Email Marketing Email Marketing Posted by Sarah Salthouse On May 27, 2024 Understanding the Best Practices of Email Marketing Email marketing was one of the earliest types of digital marketing [History of Email Marketing: From Spam to | Digital Codex], but it still continues to be useful today. Even though you may have started using other types of digital marketing, such as social media marketing , inbound marketing, content marketing etc., it still makes sense to keep going with email marketing because it has been proven to work. As long as you craft an effective marketing email with real information which will be useful to your customer, you will see results. Here are some dos and Don’ts of email marketing: Email Marketing Dos Here are some dos that you might want to keep in mind when you come up with an email marketing campaign: Visual Appeal : Do craft your marketing email with care, making sure that you use interesting graphics/images and a readable font so that the email looks visually appealing when your customer opens it. Good Writing : Do make sure that the email is well-written—brief, with all the information the customer might need. Do check for spelling and grammatical errors before sending. Branding : Do make sure the images and content are in line with your brand. For example, if your brand is youthful and hip, the images and content could include slang and references that a younger demographic will understand. Nurturing Customers : Do keep track of past customers and send them regular marketing emails. You can also monitor customer behavior and send them emails accordingly. For example, if your customer puts something in their online shopping cart without buying it, you can send them a follow-up email. Special Offers : Do send out marketing emails when you are having sales, special offers, discounts etc. Email Marketing Don’ts Although email marketing may seem relatively simple, there are certain don’ts that you might want to keep in mind. Visual Appeal : Don’t use too many garish colors in your email in order to make it more eye-catching. It’s better to use soothing colors and images. Trustworthiness : Don’t use the words “zero” and “free” too liberally as this is likely to make customers suspicious about what you’re offering. Being transparent about what you’re offering will make you more trustworthy to customers. Frequency : Don’t inundate your customer with emails. It’s fine to keep sending customers emails on a regular basis, but a different email every day or even several times a day is too much. Mixing It Up : Don’t rely only on email marketing to reach out to your customer. Be sure to use a few different types of digital marketing so that you end up reaching your customer in one way or the other. Customer Profile : Don’t send emails which are irrelevant to the customer. The more you can find out about the customer, the better. This way you can nurture them in the long run with emails that are relevant to their age, sex, profession, geographic location etc. Effective Email Marketing Solutions Keep in mind that your marketing email is going to be read by a real person in real time. Try to put yourself in their place in order to figure out what they would like to read. This will help you craft an effective marketing strategy. If you have limited resources it can be wise to work with a digital marketing agency to support your email marketing campaigns and keep you in line with the latest trends and best practices. Reach out to us today to learn more about our comprehensive email marketing solutions . Frequently Asked Questions What’s the Biggest Email Marketing Mistake to Avoid? Sending without segmentation. Generic mass emails train subscribers to ignore your brand, hurt deliverability, and increase unsubscribes. Even basic segmentation (purchase history, engagement level) lifts performance significantly. Should All Subscribers Get the Same Welcome Email? No. Customize welcome series based on signup source (newsletter, content download, product trial). Personalized welcomes generate 4x more revenue than generic welcomes and set engagement patterns that persist across the customer lifecycle. What Email Subject Line Practices Should Be Avoided? Excessive emojis, ALL CAPS, multiple exclamation points, vague clickbait, and trigger spam-filter words. Subject lines that overpromise damage trust when content doesn’t deliver, hurting future open rates. How Often Is Too Often for Email Frequency? Frequency tolerance varies by audience and content quality. Most B2C brands plateau or decline above 3-4 emails per week. B2B audiences typically tolerate 1-2 per week maximum. Monitor unsubscribe rate and engagement; let metrics dictate cadence. What’s the Right Approach to Inactive Subscribers? Run re-engagement campaigns 90-180 days after last engagement, with a clear opt-in to continue. Subscribers who don’t re-engage should be removed; keeping inactive contacts hurts deliverability and inflates list metrics without delivering revenue. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Print Email Sarah Salthouse Content Specialist Sarah Salthouse is a Content Specialist at V Digital Services specializing in Social Media and Email Marketing. She has worked at V Digital Services for 2 years and in Marketing for 10 years in a variety of industries. 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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest email marketing mistake to avoid?
Sending without segmentation. Generic mass emails train subscribers to ignore your brand, hurt deliverability, and increase unsubscribes. Even basic segmentation based on purchase history or engagement level lifts performance significantly.
Should all subscribers receive the same welcome email?
No. Welcome series should be customized based on signup source such as newsletter, content download, or product trial. Personalized welcomes generate 4x more revenue than generic welcomes and set engagement patterns that persist across the customer lifecycle.
What email subject line practices should be avoided?
Avoid excessive emojis, ALL CAPS, multiple exclamation points, vague clickbait, and trigger spam-filter words. Subject lines that overpromise damage trust when content doesn't deliver, which hurts future open rates.
How often should emails be sent to subscribers?
Frequency tolerance varies by audience and content quality. Most B2C brands plateau or decline above 3-4 emails per week, while B2B audiences typically tolerate 1-2 per week maximum. Monitor unsubscribe rate and engagement metrics to determine appropriate cadence.
How should inactive subscribers be handled?
Run re-engagement campaigns 90-180 days after last engagement with a clear opt-in to continue. Subscribers who don't re-engage should be removed, as keeping inactive contacts hurts deliverability and inflates list metrics without delivering revenue.
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