4 Email Marketing Mistakes That Silently Kill eCom Brands

You ever find yourself in a room where you feel a little out of your league?

Last week I’m on a Zoom call with this private group I’m in for entrepreneurs.

It’s called TRIBE.

Honestly, it’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made.

Most of the guys in the group are big-time operators.

The kind who’ve scaled and exited multiple companies for 7 or 8 figures.

Some have capital firms, actively buying up brands or writing million-dollar checks.

And then there’s me.

The humble email guy.

So I’m just sitting there quietly while everyone’s tossing around terms like EBITA, SDE, holdco structure, quality of earnings…

I’m nodding along like I know what any of that means.

Meanwhile, I’m frantically Googling acronyms.

Then out of nowhere, someone goes:

“Hey Ben… question for you.”

My eyes go wide.

Oh sh!t, they’re talking to me.

“If you were buying a brand, what would you look for in the email marketing?”

And just like that…

… I’m the smartest guy in the Zoom.

They’re leaning in. Taking notes.

That’s when it hits me:

These dudes move millions of dollars around — but when it comes to email marketing, they have no clue what’s actually happening under the hood.

Because here’s the truth:

Most buyers — and brand owners — don’t really understand email marketing.

It’s a black box.

The flows are running. The campaigns are going out. Everything seems fine.

So they just… let it ride.

Meanwhile, the account’s quietly setting money on fire.

Here are five of the most painful, forehead-slapping email mistakes I’ve seen.

Sit up and pay attention.

1. Broken Integrations

A few weeks ago, I audited an 8-figure brand.

According to their top-line revenue, they were crushing it.

But their email account was an actual dumpster fire…

Their Klaviyo-Shopify integration had been broken for two years.

I literally couldn’t believe it. I thought maybe I made a mistake in the audit.

For two years, no new email pop-up signups or customer emails ever made it into their list.

And nobody noticed.

Can you imagine how much revenue was missed out on?

The cherry on top of that shit sundae was they also had ZERO automations set up.

LOL. LMAO, even.

2. Incorrect Automation Filters

I once had a client that had a post-purchase flow set up to exclude…

…..drum roll please….

….anyone who just made a purchase.

So for over a year, zero customers got the post-purchase series.

No product education. no upsells. No review request.

Nada

They thought the flow was running. I mean, technically, it was on… but it skipped sending emails to more than 20,000 customers.

FML.

3. Broken Links and Expired Coupons

A few months ago I audited a brand’s welcome series.

Looked fine at first… until I actually clicked through it.

The offer was 10% off. Great.

Except the code was expired…

And the product links? All broken…

Every single one dropped people onto a 404 page.

This is your first impression.

Your most opened email.

And you’re sending new customers straight into a digital dead end.

Honestly? It’s a miracle anyone came back.

4. No Segmentation for Campaigns

This one hurts because I still see it every week.

Brands sending every campaign to their entire list.

Including spam traps and people who have been on your list for two years and never opened or clicked an email.

And sure, for a while, it looks fine.

Until it doesn’t.

Your open rates start dipping.

Your clicks fall off.

Your emails start showing up in spam.

And by the time you notice, your list is scorched earth.

It’s the frog-in-boiling-water of email marketing.

Slow, steady, totally preventable.

If you’re even a little suspicious something’s off in your account…

If your welcome flow hasn’t been touched in years…

If you’re too scared to click into your automations…

Let me do it.

I’ll put on the gloves and see what’s growing in there.

Click below to see if we’re a good fit.

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