Most brands are “doing” email marketing. Very few are getting what they could out of it.
Here’s the inside scoop from an email marketing agency: it’s rarely the big stuff that holds performance back. It’s the small details that quietly cap your results.
When those details are dialed, email becomes one of the smoothest ways to grow revenue and stay top of mind. Here are five common email marketing mistakes, and small shifts that can make a big impact.
1. Relying Too Heavily on Images
We love a good-looking email. Truly. But when your email is doing most of its talking through images, you’re leaving a lot up to chance.
Email service providers like Gmail and Outlook rely heavily on text to understand what your email is about. When that context is missing, your email is more likely to end up somewhere less ideal–the spam folder. On top of that, many subscribers have images turned off by default, meaning they may open your email and see empty boxes, broken-image icons, and vague “image not displayed” placeholders, which is not exactly a compelling shopping experience.
From a performance perspective, this can matter more than you think: in A/B tests of plain-text vs. HTML emails, simpler, more text-forward versions have often outperformed image-heavy ones in both open and click metrics, which directly impact lead and sales results. In one large set of HubSpot tests covering hundreds of millions of sends, emails with fewer visual elements tended to generate higher opens and clicks because they were easier for email clients to interpret and for recipients to engage with.
Accessibility is just as important. Without alt text, image-heavy emails are harder (or impossible) to navigate for people using screen readers. Federal accessibility standards under Section 508 explicitly call out creating accessible email messages (including using alt text), and the widely used WCAG guidelines require text alternatives for non-text content.
The Shift
Use images intentionally. Balance visuals with clear, scannable text and always add descriptive alt text. Your emails will be easier to read, more accessible, and more likely to land right in that promising inbox.
2. Playing It Too Safe With Subject Lines and Copy
Inboxes are crowded. Your subscribers are making split-second decisions about what to open and what to ignore.
If your subject lines are polite but predictable, you’re probably getting lost in the mix. And if the copy inside doesn’t sound like a real person, engagement tends to follow suit. When we A/B test subject lines with our clients, the more out-of-the-box, catchy option often wins.
For example, a subject line like “New Spring Collection Is Here” is clear, but it reads like every other promo in the inbox. “We Made Something You’re Going to Want” adds curiosity and personality—two factors that earn the open.
The Shift
Think outside the box when it comes to the inbox. Test curiosity. Test a little personality. Let your copy do more than announce. It should intrigue, persuade, and make the next step feel easy. The brands that stand out in the inbox usually sound like themselves, not like everyone else.
3. Sending the Same Email to Everyone
If everyone on your list gets the same email every time, you’re leaving opportunity on the table. We see this a lot: brands sending regularly, but sending to their entire list regardless of engagement level, customer status, or behavior.
Your email list isn’t a single audience. It’s a mix of new subscribers, loyal customers, occasional buyers, and people who haven’t opened an email in months. When they all receive the same message, relevance drops. Content that might resonate with an engaged customer can feel easy to ignore for someone who’s barely paying attention, which leads to fewer opens and clicks overall.
Over time, consistently sending to your entire list can also work against you behind the scenes. When a large portion of your audience isn’t engaging, inbox providers start to interpret your emails as less wanted. That can quietly impact deliverability, making it harder for even your strongest campaigns to land where they should. From a revenue standpoint, it means missing opportunities to tailor messaging to different stages of the customer journey.
The Shift
Start simple. Segment based on engagement and customer status. Send more intentionally to people who are actively opening and clicking, and be thoughtful about how (and when) you re-engage quieter subscribers. This improves deliverability and makes your emails more effective when you do send to a broader audience.
4. Treating Email as a Standalone Channel
Email doesn’t live in a vacuum. When it’s disconnected from your website, paid campaigns, social content, or broader brand messaging, it tends to underperform. The strongest email programs feel like a natural extension of everything else a brand is doing.
We’ve seen this play out firsthand with clients like Kalm with Kava, who run paid ads: once we layered in email to support the same offers and angles (instead of letting ads do all the heavy lifting), performance improved across the board. Email warmed people up, reinforced the message, and gave interested shoppers more than one chance to take action. When the audience was seeing consistent messaging in their inbox and in their feed, ad engagement and conversion rates got better, too, because the brand felt familiar instead of random.
The Shift:
Think of email as part of the bigger picture. Reinforce key messages, support active campaigns, and create continuity across channels. When email works in tandem with the rest of your marketing, it becomes a multiplier.
5. Sending Emails Without a Strategy
Sending emails regularly is great. Sending them reactively is less so.
We often see email treated as an afterthought that’s together because there’s a sale, an announcement, or a gap in the calendar. The result is inconsistent messaging and long stretches of silence, which makes it harder to build momentum or stay top of mind when it actually counts.
A quick example: we worked with an online-and-in-store boutique that was sending about three emails a year, all tied to promotions. In an email audit, it became clear they were relying on sales to justify sending, meaning their list only heard from them when they wanted something. We recommended a simple strategy: show up consistently, even when there isn’t a sale, using email to reinforce the brand, highlight products, and stay present between purchases. The payoff of a strategy is steadier engagement and more revenue opportunities throughout the year—not just during promos.
Email works best when it has a job to do beyond “get something out the door.”
The Shift
Build a simple, intentional email strategy. Know how often you want to show up, what role email plays in your larger marketing ecosystem, and how campaigns connect to one another. Consistency builds familiarity, and familiarity builds trust (and revenue).
The Difference is in the Details
None of these shifts requires a total overhaul. They’re about intention, clarity, and using the tools you already have a little more thoughtfully.
Email marketing agencies like Big Storm dig into email accounts constantly, and we see these same patterns across industries. Small refinements can lead to noticeable gains: better engagement, stronger deliverability, and more revenue from the list you already have.
If you want an expert set of eyes on your setup, we can hop into your account and run a focused email audit and hand you a clear, prioritized game plan to tighten the leaks and start getting more out of every send. Ready to get more out of your email marketing? Contact Big Storm today.