Eloqua Blog · Email Marketing
Email Bloopers, 5 Funny Stories And What To Do If It Goes Wrong
Five email marketing mistakes from the real world, plus practical steps for keeping bad sends under control.
📅 First published: Aug 17, 2021
⏱ Reading time: 10 minutes • 👤 Author: Greg Staunton • 🎯 Focus: email QA, Eloqua sends, apology emails, campaign mistakes
Email marketing is great. The chances are, if you are reading this, you work in email marketing. As you know, things can go wrong, and when they do go wrong they can go seriously wrong.
In this article I am going to give you five stories I have either done myself, seen at a company I worked for, or heard from someone else in the same industry.
What you need to take away
- Check your email before sending it to your client or boss.
- Have an email checking list.
- Have the email checked over by an independent set of eyes, with a proper sign-off.
- Do not assume seniority means you are still sharp at hands-on email build; skill fade is real.
- If something feels wrong, stop. Deadlines are less important than correct emails.
1. Check Your Email Before Sending It To Your Client Or Boss
An Eloqua agency used a developer to fix a button design. The program manager sent the task over but did not include the URL, assuming the developer would reuse the previous button link.
The developer changed the button, checked the design in Litmus and passed it back. The program manager sent a test to the client expecting glowing feedback.
The client came back furious after clicking the button. The placeholder URL was not harmless.
The button anchor pointed to xxx. The server treated that as a search and brought up exactly the kind of results you do not want a client seeing from a marketing email.
2. Have An Email Checking List
A client was assigned to a junior builder without a proper email checklist. They did not really know what they were looking for, which is exactly how mistakes make it through.
The email was built, a test was sent and the client signed it off.
The main call-to-action link was broken. The client had checked the copy, assuming the builder would not miss something as important as the CTA.
The replies came in asking where the link was. In Eloqua you can often change a tracked link after send, but no link at all is a different kind of pain.
3. Use An Independent Set Of Eyes
Even with a checklist, things can go wrong if you are the only person QA'ing your own work. A recurring newsletter with dynamic content kept going out with mistakes, so a second account manager sign-off was added.
The second account manager treated the new step as admin and signed the checklist without properly testing the email.
The email went out broken again. The client asked what had happened to the new process.
The second account manager ended up in HR for signing off work they had not checked. After that, emails were properly QA'd twice.
4. Senior People Get Skill Fade Too
A senior developer had to pick up email build for a week while a junior colleague was away. In his day he had been an email ninja and thought he could do it with his eyes shut.
He built the email quickly, sent himself a test and checked links, alt tags and personalization. Everything looked fine.
He had not checked the link tracking box, so none of the links were tracked. That broke the campaign logic that depended on click behaviour.
He owned the mistake and another email had to be sent to restart the campaign at a different point.
5. If Something Feels Wrong, Stop
A large energy supplier was launching a new online portal after a year-long project. The launch campaign included TV, radio, newspaper adverts and email to the customer database.
The account was handed over during holiday cover. One draft email had placeholders like %%first name%% and %%placeholder for dynamic content block%%. A second, properly tested email was later built.
Five minutes before send, someone found the old placeholder version and thought it was the correct email. Panic took over and the wrong email was set up for send.
The placeholder email went to the full customer database and hit the news. Deadlines are never more important than stopping when something feels wrong.
What To Do If Your Email Goes Wrong
When something goes wrong with a marketing email, an apology email can help you make amends with contacts and maintain a positive long-term relationship. First find out what went wrong, then assess how damaging it is.
Categorise The Error
- Minor errors: Unlikely to damage the business or client, but still worth learning from.
- Embarrassing errors: Technical faults that break the email but are easily corrected.
- Detrimental errors: Mistakes that affect customer experience, sales or reputation.
- Real issues: Errors that can harm income, image or customers over the long term.
Write The Apology Properly
- Own the mistake and do not make excuses.
- Respect your contact's feelings and use a sincere tone.
- Show what you will do to stop it happening again.
- Keep the apology simple, brief and direct.
5 Tips To Keep Your Apology Email Positive
1. Avoid Negative Subject Lines
Use a practical subject line such as "Retraction on our earlier email" instead of heavy apology language.
2. Avoid Extreme Adjectives
Words like "terribly ashamed" can make the apology feel more about you than the recipient.
3. Use Positive Language
Position the email around correction and next steps rather than panic and failure.
4. Do Not Blame Anyone
Do not blame an agency, intern or supplier. It makes the sender look weak and evasive.
5. Use Humour Carefully
A little humour can reduce tension when appropriate, but never at the recipient's expense.
When Not To Send An Apology Email
You do not always need to send an apology email. Typos, duplicate sends, wrong promo codes that can be fixed in the backend, and some broken links may be better handled quietly. With Eloqua, tracked links can often be changed after send because the platform uses redirects.
On an Eloqua implementation, it is worth prebuilding, testing and approving apology emails in advance so that if something goes wrong, the procedure is already in place and the response is calm.