10 Email Marketing Tips That People Forget
By Nine Hive Digital
After creating email marketing campaigns for over a decade, we picked up on 10 email marketing tips that often go unnoticed. So we compiled a list for you.
These are the 10 tips that are usually overlooked with email marketing.
1. Preview Text Is Important Too
While everyone obsesses over subject lines, the preview text (those 40-100 characters visible in the inbox) often goes neglected. This “second subject line” can be a powerful tool for increasing open rates. Instead of letting it default to the first line of your email, craft it to complement your subject line and tell a complete story. For instance, if your subject line poses a question, use the preview text to hint at the answer, creating an “open loop” that drives curiosity.
Example
Let’s assume that you’re a mortgage specialist and the interest rates just went down. You can have your subject line as, “The interest rates just dropped by 0.5%.” Then, you can elaborate on this to further interest your recipients by adding, “And here’s why this will help buyers” to your preview text.
2. Use The Empty Space
Most marketers pack their emails with content, but strategic use of emptiness can be more powerful. Incorporating significant white space around key messages or CTAs creates what psychologists call the “isolation effect” – when an item stands out because it’s alone, it becomes more memorable. Think of it like a single painting on a vast gallery wall; it commands attention precisely because there’s nothing else competing for it.
Example
Let’s say that you’re holding a webinar and your main purpose of the email is to get your contacts to sign up. Instead of crowding text around your call-to-action, you can simply leave some space around your button so that it draws attention. Be sure to use a bold color that’s different than the rest of your email.
3. An Unsubscribe Isn't Forever
Instead of hiding your unsubscribe button or making it a simple “yes/no” option, turn it into a preference center that actually helps retain subscribers. Offer options like “pause for 30 days,” “reduce frequency,” or “change content preferences.” Many subscribers unsubscribe not because they dislike your brand, but because the current relationship isn’t meeting their needs. Give them control, and you might keep them engaged.
Example
You are an educational brand that sells e-books. Instead of having an unsubscribe button that has them opt out of all your emails, you can provide options that they can choose to opt out of. For example, this list can be; Marketing Emails, Product Announcements, and Educational Tips.
4. Cuing With Negative Space
While everyone focuses on creating perfect hero images, the strategic use of negative space in email imagery can create powerful psychological effects. Images that show the product or subject looking toward your copy or CTA naturally direct the reader’s eye flow. This subtle directional cuing can increase reading time and engagement rates significantly more than traditionally centered imagery.
Example
What many email marketers can overlook isthe power of visually guiding a reader to the calls-to-action. Let’s pretend you sell smartwatches online. You can have one of your products tilted in a fashion that points toward your call-to-action. The product itself is the first thing that your reader will be attracted to, then the secondary object can be the CTA.
5. Follow-Up Email Psychology
Most automated follow-up sequences are linear and time-based. Instead, build behavior-based loops that respond to specific user actions or inactions. If someone clicks on a link about pricing but doesn’t purchase, your next email should address common pricing objections rather than moving on to the next scheduled topic. This creates a conversation that feels more natural and responsive.
Example
Let’s assume that you have an e-commerce brand that sells movie memorabilia. After sending out an email with your new product line-up, you can see that a certain percentage of people clicked through to your product pages, added a product to cart, but didn’t end up purchasing. What email marketing platforms can do is give you the opportunity to email this specific subset of your audience with a discount code if they seemed interested in a product but didn’t check out.
6. Stray Away From Templates
While templates are efficient, they can make your emails predictable and easy to ignore. Consider occasionally breaking your own design rules deliberately. An unexpected format, like a plain-text email from the CEO in the middle of a highly designed campaign, can jolt readers out of their autopilot and dramatically increase engagement. The key is to make it feel intentional rather than sloppy.
Example
With one of our clients, we see great responses with drip campaigns that have a maximum of 2 sentences. She is a real estate agent and conducts in-person first-time buyer workshops. The follow-up emails for her workshops are 2-liners. An example would be, “John, I’m looking at some stellar condos for sale in the city. Would you like me to send you a list?” It’s simple with no images. This engages the recipient on a deeper level, because it doesn’t seem like marketing, but rather a genuine and personal email.
7. Make It Multi-Sensory
Most email copy focuses on visual descriptions, but incorporating multiple senses in your writing can make products and services more compelling. Instead of just describing how a product looks, include tactile sensations, sounds, and even smells. This technique, borrowed from fiction writing, creates a more immersive experience that can increase desire and conversion rates.
Example
Your brand sells great fitting t-shirts. You can show your email contacts how great your products fit on models. But you can take it one step further by describing how it feels to wear the t-shirt. Elaborate on how soft the fabric feels or how comfortable it can be during a hot summer day. Have them truly imagine what it feels like to wear your t-shirts.
8. Steps To Commitment
Rather than always pushing for a sale, design emails that ask for tiny, almost trivial commitments. This could be as simple as “click to see which option fits you best” or “bookmark this for later.” These micro-commitments leverage the psychology of consistency – once someone has taken a small action, they’re more likely to follow through with larger ones.
Example
Let’s say that your brand sells athletic shoes. Rather than having a call-to-action that says, “Buy Now”, you can simply switch it to say, “Pick Your Comfort Level”. This emphasizes the fact that you have different types of shoes for customers looking for a different fit, as well as getting them more acquainted with your products.
9. The Strategic Error Email
Most brands try to hide their mistakes, but a well-crafted “oops” email can outperform regular campaigns by 3-4 times. The key is to be strategic about it. Occasionally sending an email with a minor, planned “mistake” (like a missing detail or broken link) followed by a correction can humanize your brand and create engagement opportunities. Just use this sparingly and make sure the “mistake” couldn’t damage brand trust.
Example
Don’t be too worried if a mistake gets sent out. Because perhaps sometimes you should do it deliberately. Let’s say that you have an upcoming webinar. You can deliberately have a different link on your call-to-action. Then, after an hour, you can address the mistake with the right link, with a clear admittance of your mistake in the subject line.
10. The Dead Zone Revival
Most marketers focus on peak engagement times, but there’s untapped potential in the “dead zones” – those times when inbox competition is lowest. Testing sends during unconventional hours (like 2 AM) can work surprisingly well for certain segments, especially global audiences or night owls. The key is to identify when your competitors aren’t sending and test these windows with small segments first.
Example
Recently, a client reached out to us about an email newsletter that had a mere quarter of the open rate that the brand usually gets. After some investigation, we figured out that majority of their emails got sent straight to the recipients’ spam folders. Simply because the email was sent out during the highest time that marketers usually send emails; Tuesday morning. During that specific day, there must have been more emails being sent out from the email platform than usual, which triggered the recipients’ email clients to automatically send the email to spam folder. This is why it can be more beneficial to send emails during unusual times.
Key Takeaways
Email marketing requires more nuance and psychological strategy than many marketers realize. The most effective email campaigns go beyond basic design and timing, instead focusing on subtle psychological triggers and user experience. Key insights include:
- Preview text is a powerful, often overlooked tool that can significantly boost open rates by complementing your subject line and creating curiosity
- Strategic use of white space and negative space can draw attention to critical elements like calls-to-action by leveraging the “isolation effect”
- Unsubscribe options should be more than a simple opt-out, offering subscribers flexibility like pausing emails or adjusting content preferences to retain their engagement
- Follow-up emails should be behavior-based rather than time-based, responding directly to user interactions like product views or abandoned carts
- Breaking away from standard email templates occasionally can interrupt user “autopilot” and create more memorable interactions
- Incorporate multi-sensory descriptions that go beyond visual details to help recipients more vividly imagine product experiences
- Design emails with small, easy micro-commitments that psychologically prime users for larger actions
- Even email mistakes can be strategically used to humanize your brand and drive engagement when handled transparently
- Consider unconventional sending times to reduce inbox competition and potentially improve open rates
By implementing these nuanced strategies, marketers can transform email campaigns from routine communications to compelling, psychologically engaging experiences that drive better results.
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