Hey guys. I wanted to get a top five or a top ten list out since I love lists, but in memory of July 4th I’ll do a top four. I’ll be quick so that everyone can prepare to have drinks while handling excessively large amounts of explosives. You know, because that’s what the Founding Fathers would have wanted us to do, right?

1. The wrong email - How many times have we sent a great email, and we realized it was sent to the wrong person? How about a simple typo that changed the meaning of the whole blast? It is simple to send out a short apology paragraph. Just make sure to include the original ‘intended’ email. Oh, beg humbly for forgiveness for the SPAM. As much as I don’t like trying to decipher another person’s goof I really don’t get nervous about SPAM when I see another one from them quickly. Help set aside your recipients’ fears.

2. Lame or spammy subject - Email blasts are opportunities to keep in touch your client list. Abusing that privilege is counter-productive. Lame subject lines are not only a waste of your time, since they probably won’t be read, they’re also just as likely to get your client to unsubscribe. A lot of emails are vying for your users’ short attention spans; you have to stand out from the crowd. Spammy subject lines are guaranteed to get your emails blocked and possibly get you flagged in the future.

3. No alternative to images - I’ve seen many great emails sent to me that looked awful simply because my mail client wouldn’t automatically show images. Once I allowed the images from the particular emails they looked great. If your layout doesn’t look decent without images, create a text alternative at least or try another layout. Send yourself tests to different email clients to see possible examples.

4. Non-attention grabbing - Don’t make your readers scroll to see what the email is about. If you have an offer, tell them at the beginning. Put the headline right at the top. Many users only see the first few lines of an email in a preview pane, and they use this to find out whether they want to open the email fully. The subject alone is not enough. If you’re offering 10% off then let them know right away. They’re more likely to keep reading to find out how to get the 10% off from that point.