Why are my Email Marketing Campaigns Not Working? What are the Common Mistakes?

Email marketing remains one of the most effective digital marketing strategies, delivering high ROI when done correctly. 

However, many businesses struggle with underperforming campaigns that fail to generate leads, drive engagement, or increase conversions. 

If your email marketing isn’t delivering results, it’s likely due to one (or more) of these five common mistakes.

1. Weak Subject Lines That Fail to Capture Attention

Your subject line is the first thing your audience sees, and if it doesn’t grab attention immediately, your email won’t be opened. Generic, vague, or overly sales-driven subject lines often get ignored or marked as spam.

Solution:

• Keep subject lines short (under 50 characters).
• Use curiosity, urgency, or personalisation to entice the reader.
• A/B test subject lines to see what resonates with your audience.

2. Poor Email List Segmentation

Sending the same email to your entire list is a surefire way to get low engagement and high unsubscribe rates. Different audience segments have different interests and pain points.

Solution:

• Segment your list based on things like, product interest, stage of the customer journey, purchase history, or engagement level.
• Personalise content to match the recipient’s needs and where they are in the buying journey
• Send targeted emails with relevant content rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Good first party data capture and tracking strategies will help you gather the right types of information about database allowing you to match your email content to your database’s interest

3. Overloading Emails with Sales Pitches

If every email you send is a sales pitch, your audience will tune out. People engage with emails that provide value, not just promotional messages.

Solution:

• Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% value-driven content, 20% promotional.
• Offer educational insights, case studies, or industry trends.
• Use storytelling to make your emails more engaging.

4. Ignoring Mobile Optimisation

More than 60% of emails are opened on mobile devices. If your emails aren’t mobile-friendly, they’ll be difficult to read, leading to higher bounce rates and lower engagement.

Solution:

• Use a responsive email design that adapts to different screen sizes.
• Keep subject lines and preview text concise.
• Ensure CTA buttons are easy to tap on mobile screens.

5. Not Testing and Analysing Performance

If you’re not tracking key email metrics, you’re flying blind. Without data-driven insights, it’s impossible to improve performance.

Solution:

• Monitor open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
• A/B test subject lines, send times, and email content. Some CRMs, including ActiveCampaign, have predictive sending functionality allowing you to send emails based on when the individual user is most likely to open.
• Adjust strategies based on data to continually optimise performance.

One last tip not in the top 5 but worth a mention is to make sure the CRM you send from is authenticated and verified to send from your email domain. If you don't, google and outlook will most likely send you straight to the spam folder.

Final Thoughts

If your email marketing campaigns aren’t delivering results, it’s time to assess where things might be going wrong. 

By refining your subject lines, segmenting your audience, providing value-driven content, optimising for mobile, and using data to make informed decisions, you’ll improve engagement and increase conversions.