13 Email Marketing Mistakes SaaS Companies Should Avoid
Email marketing remains a powerful tool for SaaS companies, but it’s easy to make mistakes that can hinder success. This article outlines critical email marketing errors to avoid, drawing on insights from industry experts. By understanding these common pitfalls, SaaS businesses can refine their strategies and achieve better results from their email campaigns.
- Test Lean Before Automating Email Sequences
- Prioritize Segmentation in B2B Nurture Campaigns
- Protect Sender Reputation with List Hygiene
- Simplify Emails for Better Engagement
- Tailor Onboarding Emails to User Status
- Implement Deep Customer Segmentation Strategies
- Balance Segmentation for Broader Appeal
- Establish Proper Email Infrastructure First
- Match Email Frequency to Value Delivery
- Lead with Educational Content, Not Sales
- Ensure Data Accuracy for Effective Personalization
- Write Emails Like Talking to Friends
- Focus on Customer Experience in Promotions
Test Lean Before Automating Email Sequences
At one point, we spent weeks building an intricate 12-step email automation for new trials. Every message had a purpose, the logic flows were clean, and we felt great about it. However, performance was weak. Engagement dropped after the first few emails, and the entire sequence failed to move users toward activation.
The problem was simple: we optimized before validating. We built automation around untested messaging, assuming what users needed instead of proving it. We corrected the course by pausing the automation, writing three new emails manually, and testing subject lines, positioning, and tone with smaller groups.
From there, we let performance guide us. If a message converted, we expanded on that concept. If it didn’t, we cut it. Only once we had proof of what worked did we build automation around it. That version saw a 3x lift in activation and reduced churn during the trial period.
SaaS marketers often think automation equals efficiency. But automation without validation is just scaling bad messaging. Test lean. Get feedback. Only automate once your content earns it.
Josh Bluman
Co-Founder, Hoppy Copy
Prioritize Segmentation in B2B Nurture Campaigns
One mistake that taught me a valuable lesson early on was underestimating the importance of segmentation in B2B email nurture campaigns. At the time, we were focused on getting the messaging out quickly—so we took a one-size-fits-all approach and pushed the same sequence to every contact, regardless of role, intent, or funnel stage.
The result? Engagement tanked. Open rates were fine, but replies and conversions told a different story. We were speaking to everyone and connecting with no one.
We corrected course by slowing down and getting laser-focused on segmentation. We mapped personas to buying stages, adjusted messaging based on behavioral triggers, and made sure each email felt like it was written for a real person with a real challenge. That shift made all the difference. Engagement and conversion rates jumped because we weren’t just pushing content—we were creating relevant moments.
My advice to others is simple: don’t skip segmentation. The time you save upfront will cost you later in missed opportunities and wasted effort. Thoughtful, persona-driven nurture is what turns email from noise into meaningful connection.
Brandy Morton
Founder & CEO, Brandy Morton Marketing Ltd. Co.
Protect Sender Reputation with List Hygiene
One email marketing mistake I made early on was not paying enough attention to list hygiene and sender domain reputation. We were sending too frequently to large lists without really segmenting or ensuring the content was valuable—and over time, that hurt our deliverability and trust with potential leads. It was a classic case of trying to push too hard instead of focusing on quality. We corrected it by cleaning our lists, removing inactive contacts, and only sending when we had something genuinely useful to share. My advice: treat your email list like a relationship—respect their attention, send with purpose, and protect your sender reputation at all costs.
Heinz Klemann
Senior Marketing Consultant, BeastBI GmbH
Simplify Emails for Better Engagement
One of the most valuable lessons we learned was that over-educating our audience through long, complex nurture sequences did more harm than good. Our emails became lectures instead of conversations—and ironically, turned into the inbox clutter we were trying to eliminate. Engagement dropped, and we realized we were broadcasting, not listening.
To fix it, we simplified everything:
- Moved to behavior-triggered sends
- Used plain-text emails with a single question
- Only followed up based on real intent signals
It took backend work, but it made a real difference.
Samanyu Marda
Digital Marketing Manager, Against Data
Tailor Onboarding Emails to User Status
One big mistake was sending the same onboarding emails to both trial and paid users. The idea was to keep things simple with one flow for everyone, fully automated. But that backfired. Trial users got overwhelmed with too much too fast, and paying customers felt like they were being re-sold something they already bought. So engagement dropped and cancellations went up.
To fix it, we split the onboarding into two tracks. Trials got shorter emails focused on setup and quick wins. Just enough to get value without friction. Paying customers received fewer emails with more depth. Things like best practices, integrations, and ways to level up. Everything was rewritten in plain language with a focus on helping, not pitching.
Because automation only works if you actually understand what people need at each step. If emails aren’t tailored to where someone is in their journey, they’ll feel generic and easy to ignore. So better segmentation and tighter messaging made a big difference.
Open rates don’t say much on their own. What matters more is what people do after they click. That’s where the real feedback shows up.
Josiah Roche
Fractional CMO, JRR Marketing
Implement Deep Customer Segmentation Strategies
We learned valuable lessons at Favouritetable by attempting a generic, mass promotional blast. Previously, we sent identical emails about new features or offers to our entire customer base, regardless of the user’s plan or specific needs, resulting in lower conversions and engagement. We corrected this approach by implementing deep customer segmentation and hyper-personalized content strategies using our platform’s intelligence about each restaurant’s size, booking volume, and feature usage.
For example, now a smaller user of FT FREE who is very close to their 30th booking might receive an email offer about upgrading to a pro plan. Meanwhile, a large FT Pro client might be informed about new premium memberships that scale to match their size.
My advice doesn’t differ significantly from what works: never send cookie-cutter emails. Invest in knowing and segmenting your audience, as the investment in crafting your message will pay huge dividends in deeper customer engagement, relationship building, and far greater conversion rates.
Manav Mathur
Marketing Manager, Favouritetable
Balance Segmentation for Broader Appeal
As a nurse turned digital marketing specialist who has managed campaigns for healthcare businesses for over 15 years, I learned this lesson the hard way with a small wellness clinic client.
I got caught up in hypersegmentation and created 12 different email segments based on age, treatment type, and visit frequency. The result was tiny audiences (some segments had only 8-15 people), and I spent hours crafting personalized messages that went nowhere. Open rates dropped to 11%, and the clinic owner questioned whether email marketing even worked.
I scrapped the complex segmentation and went broad with educational health content that anyone could benefit from—like “5 Signs Your Body Needs More Rest” instead of “Targeted Recovery Tips for 35-45 Year Old Athletes.” We kept it simple with just two segments: new patients and returning patients.
The broader approach boosted open rates to 28% within a month. The clinic started getting appointment bookings again because people actually read the emails instead of getting lost in over-targeted content that felt irrelevant to most subscribers.
Grace Ascione
Digital Marketing Specialist, Socorro Marketing
Establish Proper Email Infrastructure First
After scaling PacketBase from zero to acquisition, I made a brutal email mistake during our early SaaS client campaigns. I sent a batch of 5,000 emails using a single sender domain without proper warm-up, thinking our content was good enough to overcome deliverability issues.
Within 48 hours, our domain reputation plummeted, and we ended up in spam folders for weeks. Open rates dropped from 28% to under 3%, and one client lost $15K in potential pipeline because their nurture sequence wasn’t reaching prospects during a critical product launch window.
I rebuilt our entire email infrastructure using domain rotation and gradual volume increases over 30 days. We started with 50 emails per day per domain, scaling to 500 only after establishing sender reputation. The same campaigns that failed miserably suddenly achieved 34% open rates and generated 3x more qualified demos.
The lesson: Technical fundamentals matter more than perfect copy. You can have the world’s best email content, but if it never reaches the inbox, your conversion rates are meaningless. Always prioritize deliverability infrastructure before scaling volume.
Gary Gilkison
CEO, Riverbase
Match Email Frequency to Value Delivery
We launched an automated email sequence that was too aggressive—five emails in seven days to new subscribers. Our unsubscribe rate hit 40%, and worse, people started marking us as spam. The lesson was painful but clear: automation without consideration kills relationships. We restructured to one valuable email per week, focusing on helpful content rather than constant pitches. Our engagement rates improved 300%, and conversions actually increased despite fewer touchpoints. The key insight: frequency should match value delivery. Now we use AI to personalize timing based on individual engagement patterns rather than blasting everyone with the same schedule.
Vick Antonyan
CEO, humble help
Lead with Educational Content, Not Sales
After running digital marketing campaigns for over 10 years, I made a significant email mistake that nearly derailed our local foot clinic client’s campaign. We set up an AI chatbot email sequence that immediately hit prospects with appointment booking CTAs instead of addressing their actual pain points first.
The result? 4% open rates and numerous unsubscribes within the first week. People felt we were pushing services before understanding their foot problems. Our client was frustrated because they were paying for leads but getting no responses.
I completely rebuilt the sequence to lead with educational content about common foot issues, then gradually introduced the clinic’s expertise. We added personalized AI responses based on specific symptoms people mentioned. The same clinic that previously had 4% open rates suddenly jumped to 31% opens and generated 27 leads in 3 days, as I mentioned earlier.
The lesson: Even with AI automation, never skip the relationship-building phase. Your first email should solve a problem or answer a question, not ask for money. Lead with value, follow with the sale.
Shoaib Zafar
CEO, Digital Market Hero
Ensure Data Accuracy for Effective Personalization
A big mistake we made early on at PhoneBurner was over-personalizing emails based on limited data.
We were trying to make our outreach process feel ultra-personal, so we pulled in company names, job titles, as well as other variables into automated campaigns. The biggest problem from doing this was that most of the data was outdated or incorrect in our system. We had emails going out like: “Hi John, as the VP of Marketing at a company called {{CompanyName}}…” when the tag didn’t resolve properly. It hurt credibility and looked sloppy.
What we did to correct the issue was simplify the personalization and add more robust fallbacks in our email templates. Rather than try to fake intimacy with shaky data, we focused on high-value messaging, clear pain points, and trust building. We also improved our contact data hygiene practices, syncing only verified fields and testing dynamic content before launch.
My main advice would be that, in my eyes, personalization is extremely powerful, but only when you know your data is clean and consistent. I wouldn’t try to be as clever as we thought we were. Test your templates thoroughly before sending. And always preview your emails at scale to catch edge cases.
Chris Sorensen
CEO, PhoneBurner
Write Emails Like Talking to Friends
Early in our SeriousMD and NowServing journey, I made the classic mistake of trying to sound “professional” in our emails to doctors.
The mistake: I wrote formal, corporate-sounding emails thinking doctors would take us more seriously. Subject lines like “SeriousMD Platform Update: Enhanced Clinical Documentation Features” and opening with “Dear Healthcare Professional” – super stuffy stuff.
The result: Crickets. Open rates were around 12%, with basically no replies, and doctors telling us our emails felt like spam.
The lesson: Doctors are just people. They want to be talked to like humans, not as “healthcare professionals” by some faceless company.
How we corrected course:
I completely flipped our approach. Now I write every email as if I’m talking to a friend.
The transformation:
- Open rates jumped to 45%+
- Doctors started replying with questions and feedback
- We built genuine relationships instead of just broadcasting features
What I’d recommend others avoid:
Don’t try to sound like a corporation. Your users chose your SaaS because they want to solve a problem – they don’t need you to sound “professional,” they need you to be helpful and human.
My golden rule now: Before sending any email, I ask myself “Would I send this to a friend?” If not, I rewrite it.
Dennis Seymour
Head of Growth, NowServing
Focus on Customer Experience in Promotions
I made the mistake of sending our email list nothing but promotional emails every day. As a consequence, I experienced a high number of unsubscribes and received negative feedback. I learned early on that less is more. Now, I only send interesting content and use promotions sparingly, resulting in MUCH higher engagement and retention rates.
Ensure that you always focus on your customer’s experience, even when you want to pitch your product or service to your customers via email. Additionally, you should consistently reevaluate your approach to email marketing using data and input from your subscribers to guide you in the right direction. Don’t be afraid to try different strategies, but always prioritize what’s best for the customer.
Evan Tunis
President, Florida Healthcare Insurance
