You’ve probably heard this a million times, but let’s say it again – email marketing is crucial for your business. It’s a personal, direct, and, most importantly, effective channel. However, even a minor slip-up in your email campaign can cause a ripple effect, potentially damaging your brand reputation and bottom line.
So, let’s dive into the top 9 common mistakes SaaS companies make in their email campaigns. Don’t worry. We’ll also cover how to avoid them!
Mistake #1: Neglecting list segmentation
Wham! We’re hitting straight with a biggie. List segmentation – it’s not just a nice-to-have; it’s a must.
Picture this: You’re throwing a party. Instead of tailoring your invites — giving vegan options to plant-eaters, assuring your introverted friends it’ll be chill — you send everyone the same INVITE.
Disaster, right? That’s what happens when you ignore list segmentation.
You see, not all email recipients are interested in everything you’ve got. Segmentation allows you to divide a broad contact list into smaller, more targeted groups based on shared characteristics.
Smaller, more targeted segments often experience higher engagement rates than generic mass communications. Since you’re addressing each group’s unique interests and pain points, recipients are more likely to open emails, click on links, and take desired actions.
According to DMA, 58% of revenue share comes from a segmented list of emails, and sending targeted emails to these segments brings 36% of overall email revenue.
It is essential to any modern content strategy, enabling your brand to build better relationships with leads, customers, and loyal patrons.
To effectively segment your SaaS email list, you can use criteria like:
- Demographics (age, gender, location, job title, and industry)
- Behavior (website activity, email engagement, and purchase history)
- Preferences (product usage, feature requests, and feedback)
- Lifecycle stage (trial users, new customers, and long-term customers)
- Interests (content downloads, webinar attendance, and event participation)
The result? Tailored content that meets the right people at the right time. How about that for smart business?
Mistake #2: Overlooking personalization
Remember the giddy feeling of receiving an email addressing you by your first name, singling out your individual needs, or acknowledging your business’s struggles? It felt good, right? That’s the power of personalization.
Like somebody took the time to reach out to you, specifically, that’s what we’re trying to replicate!
People naturally crave a unique and personal experience, so when your emails appear uniform and automated, it feels like you’re working up a conversation with a robot. Let’s be honest, nobody likes that.
In fact, 91% of consumers say they are more willing to do business with a company offering personalized experiences.
You’re not the only SaaS company out there! There’s an ocean full of them. But personalized emails? That’s your surfboard – to stay afloat and course through the high waves. With an engaging, relevant, and customized approach, you won’t just stay in the sight of your users; you‘ll remain in their hearts, too.
Addressing your customer by their name or recommending products based on their previous purchases in your emails can give them similar warm fuzzies. Some more fantastic examples of personalized email campaigns include:
- Birthday/anniversary wishes
- Personalized product recommendations based on browsing/purchase history
- Re-engagement emails to win back inactive customers
- Customized content based on subscriber interests/preferences
- Congratulate or acknowledge customers on their personal milestones
Check out this cool re-engagement email from Netflix that combines personalization, an inviting tone, emotional appeal, and a touch of urgency to entice the recipient to return to the platform and resume watching their favorite content.
It’s a well-crafted message designed to re-engage former subscribers or inactive users.
Want to take your SaaS email campaigns up a notch?
Ditch the corporate jargon! Speak your user’s language with the friendly, relaxed, and bubbly tone we’re sharing right now! Personalize the sender name, user-first language, and a dash of humor will make your users feel connected and appreciated.
Mistake #3: Ignoring A/B testing
Does a serious question about life ever start without A/B? 🤔
Jokes aside, A/B testing is a secret ingredient to a successful email campaign.
A/B testing emails seems like a chore, but don’t roll your eyes yet! It’s one of the best methods to uncover what works and what doesn’t in your email campaigns.
The golden goal of any SaaS email campaign is to enhance user engagement. However, it is crucial to remember that every audience is as unique as the stripes on a zebra. What works for one SaaS company’s audience might not work for yours.
By spotting what variants resonate more with your subscribers, you can create more personalized, relevant content – lifting the overall engagement. A/B testing helps you get to know your audience better, tailoring your campaign to fit their preferences like a glove on a hand.
Research conducted by Litmus reveals that companies employing A/B testing for all their emails experience a 37% increase in return on investment (ROI) compared to businesses that don’t utilize A/B testing.
Wondering if a green CTA button outperforms a red one? A/B test it!
Not sure if emails with emojis in the subject line have a better open rate? A/B test it!
With each test, you’ll uncover a slice of your subscriber behavior, giving you more insight into your audience’s tastes. Tiny tweaks, giant leaps!
Some A/B testing ideas for SaaS email campaigns include:
- Subject lines (length, use of personalization, emojis)
- Email layout (single versus multiple columns)
- Copy length and style (short versus long, formal versus casual)
- Call-to-action placement and phrasing
Remember to test only one variable at a time to ensure accurate results and follow best practices for sample sizing and statistical significance.
Mistake #4: Failing to optimize for mobile
We’ve all done it — checked our emails while pretending to listen during a meeting (wink wink). Checking emails on a mobile device has especially become a standard practice. In fact, 46% of all emails are opened on mobile devices, which only increases.
If your emails aren’t optimized for mobile viewing, you ignore almost half of your audience.
Statistics show that emails that aren’t optimized for mobile have a 15% decrease in click rates. Ouch!
- Make calls-to-action (CTAs) easily
- Poor user experience
- Higher unsubscribe and spam report rates
- Missed opportunities to reach mobile-dominant audiences
- Negative impact on brand reputation
- Reduced email marketing effectiveness
Mobile-optimized emails focus on concise and scannable content. This means the key message or call-to-action is front and center, making recipients more likely to understand and act on your message.
When users can easily engage with your email on their mobile devices, they are more likely to take the desired action, whether clicking a link, signing up for a trial, or making a purchase. This can lead to higher conversion rates and better ROI for your email campaigns.
To improve mobile optimization, consider these strategies:
- Choose a mobile-responsive email template
- Keep your design clean and straightforward with single-column layouts for easy readability
- Use large, easy-to-read fonts
- Test your emails on different devices and email clients to ensure compatibility
Imagine all the things you might miss out on if your emails end up looking wonky on a smaller screen! So, it’s no rocket science that your emails must be as mobile-savvy as your audience.
Remember, good-looking emails scream, “Read me!” on every screen size!
Mistake #5: Sending too many emails
No one, I repeat, no one likes an overflowing inbox. Email fatigue is real, people.
It’s easy to assume that the more emails you send, the more chances you have to catch your audience’s attention. However, this strategy can quickly become overwhelming. When people sign up for your emails, they want to hear from you, but not every hour or day.
Sending too many emails spells doom – it’s like walking your subscribers to the unsubscribe button.
Remember, your email marketing strategy reflects on your brand. If you’re seen as a company that bombards people with constant emails, it could harm your reputation. Subscribers may view your business as desperate or spammy, which isn’t the impression you want to make.
But then, how many is too many? Unfortunately, there’s no magic number since it differs based on your audience.
The key is to reach the sweet spot between staying top-of-mind and not annoying your subscribers. It’s not so much about quantity but quality.
Additionally, use these tips to manage email frequency:
- Create a preference center, allowing subscribers to choose how often they’d like to hear from you
- Prioritize and consolidate information to reduce the number of sent emails
- Monitor your open, click-through, and unsubscribe rates to identify potential fatigue
An email preference center allows your audience to choose what types of emails they want to receive, how often, and under what circumstances.
Read more: How Long Should My Automated Email Sequence Be?
Mistake #6: Neglecting email deliverability
Ever tried engaging in a conversation with someone who’s notoriously bad at texting back? That’s what it feels like when your email doesn’t reach your subscriber’s inbox.
Email deliverability is all about ensuring your emails land exactly where they should: the inbox. If your email can’t find its way to an inbox, it won’t convert. Period.
It measures how effectively your email is delivered to the intended recipient and how likely it is to be seen and read by the recipient. This is not as straightforward as it may initially seem, as many factors are at play.
Common deliverability issues include:
- High bounce rates due to inaccurate email addresses or technical problems
- IP/domain reputation issues
- Being flagged as spam by email providers
To improve your email deliverability, follow these strategies:
- Regularly clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers and invalid email addresses
- Use double opt-ins to verify subscribers’ interest
- Avoid spammy language and practices
- Authenticate your emails using DKIM, SPF, or DMARC
Mistake #7: Using generic subject lines
Your subject line is your first impression, the opening act, and the appetizer before the main course.
After reading the subject line, 69% of email recipients report emails as spam. So a generic, lackluster subject line is as appealing as cold coffee.
When your recipients receive generic emails, they may perceive them as mass-produced or automated, which can erode trust in your brand. Trust is crucial in the SaaS industry, as customers often rely on your product to solve critical business problems.
On top of that, generic subject lines miss the opportunity to communicate the value or benefit of your SaaS product or service. A well-crafted subject line can intrigue recipients and entice them to learn more about your offer.
Generic subject lines like “Check this out!” or “Our latest update” don’t give recipients a compelling reason to open your email. Check out these examples of effective SaaS subject lines:
- “Boost Your Productivity with [SaaS Tool] – Try It Today!”
- “Unlock New Features in [SaaS Tool] – Update Available Now”
- “Exclusive Invitation: Get Early Access to [New SaaS Product]”
- “Limited-Time Offer: 20% Off Your [SaaS Service] Subscription”
- “Join Our Community: [SaaS Tool] User Forum Now Open”
Follow these tips for crafting winning subject lines:
- Be clear and concise — no clickbait!
- Use language and phrasing that’s consistent with your brand
- Experiment with emojis, personalization, and urgency (when appropriate)
- A/B test your subject lines for continuous improvement
Alright, so we’ve chatted about the pitfalls of email campaigns, but here’s the kicker: even if you dodge all these mistakes, you’re flying blind without the right tools to measure your success. Think of it as trying to hit a bullseye in the dark.
Enter the world of email marketing dashboards. These bad boys are like the control centers of your email campaigns, giving you the lowdown on what’s hot and what’s not. From seeing which emails get the most love to understanding where you might be missing the mark, a dashboard is your ticket to email marketing stardom.
So, before you hit ‘send’ on that next campaign, make sure you’ve got the right tools in your arsenal to measure, analyze, and optimize.
Mistake #8: Neglecting call to action (CTA) optimization
Ever sent an AMAZING email but saw little to no conversions? Chances are it was because of a poorly placed or worded CTA.
In the competitive SaaS industry, every little advantage matters. A well-optimized CTA can set your email campaigns apart, leading to higher engagement and more conversions.
The primary purpose of a CTA is to encourage recipients to engage with your SaaS product or take a specific action. This could include signing up for a free trial, requesting a demo, upgrading their subscription, or simply exploring a new feature.
A compelling CTA should guide users on what to do next, and when designed rightly, packs a punch!
To avoid common CTA mistakes, keep these pointers in mind:
- Use actionable language that motivates subscribers (e.g., “Start Free Trial” or “Download Now”)
- Design your CTAs to stand out from the email content visually
- Position CTAs strategically throughout the email
- Test different CTA formats, colors, and text to find what works best
Just look at this fantastic CTA button from Todoist!
You know what’s so great about it? There are no fancy riddles, no second guessing. It simply tells you to click to add your most important task. Easy as pie, right?
It’s just the perfect fit for the email because what do people use Todoist for?
To keep track of all those pesky tasks! So, them suggesting you add your most crucial task is just like an invite to a dance, and the dancefloor is Todoist!
Mistake #9: Neglecting post-email engagement
Celebrating success as soon as the subscriber opens the email? High-five!
But getting recipients to click your email is just step one. What about step two? Converting emails into real, tangible growth is the endgame. Nurturing leads post-email is vital for SaaS growth. This engagement process creates a rapport and familiarity with your brand, which can influence their decision when they intend to purchase or subscribe to your service.
After interacting with your emails, provide them a seamless journey toward signing up, using your service, or helping them find value. Make it easy for customers to get in touch, ask questions, and capitalize on the excitement your email created.
Keep the communication channel open and nurture your leads consistently!
So, how can you keep the fire burning?
- Offer educational content
- Implement feedback surveys
- Relevant offers and promotions
- Encourage social media engagement
- Send abandoned cart email
You’ve got to see how nifty Notion is with their post-engagement email game!
People sure do love engaging with emails when there’s something cool in it for them, like a little goodie or benefit. And what’s Notion’s juicy treat?
Well, they teach you how to produce top-notch content and MORE using their platform. It’s a win-win, right?
And we’re done!
There you have it – the dreaded top 9 email marketing blunders that are easy to make but easier to avoid. If you’re nodding guiltily at some points, don’t sweat it. No one said mastering SaaS email campaigns was easy, but with these tips, you’re well on your way. Remember, every marketing journey begins with a single email. Write yours right, and watch your SaaS fly!
