If you’re in marketing, you know how much work goes into creating messaging. Whether it’s a simple social media caption or a more complex long format such as email marketing, the process can be extensive. We know how it goes; hours of work, dedication, blood, sweat, and tears are all put into your marketing pieces… And it’s with quite a lot of pride when you send something off.
Then…
Oopsie daisy!
You see it.
There’s something magical about hitting that send button. Somehow, you managed to overlook a mistake in something you posted. We get it, it happens.
So, what do you do in a situation like that – especially when it comes to email marketing? Well, we’re here to help you with everything: from learning the best time to send an email to addressing mistakes in it, we’ll help you drive email marketing results.
Email marketing is such an impactful avenue in 2024 with more than 4.48 billion email users active globally, so chances are you have tapped into this resource. So, if you’ve just sent out a message with a mistake or are prepping to mitigate any potential errors, this article is just for you!
Let’s get started!
Why Acknowledging Your Mistake is Key
Nobody wants to be friends with someone they can’t trust. When it comes to business relationships, that saying also stands true. Acknowledging your mistakes, even for something as simple as a mistake in an email, helps build your brand’s credibility and trust.
If you’re trying to build your brand’s reputation and, subsequently, drive customer engagement, honesty is always the best policy. Plus, recent research shows that 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases from companies that offer excellent customer service. So, owning up to any mistakes, whether big or small, is key to your brand’s success.
3 Essential Steps to Sending Error Correction Emails
Whenever you catch a mistake in an email, it is time to act. The sooner you resolve the issue, the better. So, let’s take a look at the top 3 steps you need to take when sending out a correction email.
#1 Assess the Situation
The first thing you need to do is take a step back, take a deep breath, and assess the situation. You need to determine the nature and extent of the error sent out.
How you handle information on digital recruitment and digital marketing for lawyers will be completely different. So, you should handle the resolutions to any mistakes that are made the same way.
Here are some questions you should be asking yourself:
What Exactly Was the Mistake?
Understanding the full scope of the mistake is key. Was it a factual error, such as incorrect data or misinformation? Was it something smaller, like a typo or a grammatical error, that altered the message’s meaning, or did it not change the end message in any way?
Identifying the type of mistake will help you address it accurately in your correction email. Some pretty common mistakes that go out are factual errors like information about dates, time, and figures, spelling mistakes, contextual errors, and accidental omissions.
By pinpointing the exact nature of the error, you can tailor your correction message to provide the necessary clarity and corrections.
Who Was Affected by This Mistake?
Identifying who was affected is essential in crafting a relevant correction email. You should consider who received the information directly, such as clients, colleagues, and stakeholders, as well as who might be indirectly affected by the mistake, such as potential customers. Plus, you’ll need to factor in the scope of impact and how far-reaching the mistake was.
Understanding who was affected helps you address the correction appropriately, ensuring that everyone impacted receives the necessary information to avoid further confusion or issues.
How Significant is the Impact of This Mistake?
Assessing the impact of the mistake is important to determine the urgency and the tone of your correction email.
If it’s something like a minor typo that didn’t change the meaning of the message, your response should be different than sending out a follow-up email to larger issues. For example, misspelling something is not such a big deal as adding a few zeroes to a discount – catch what we mean?
#2 Own Up to the Mistake
Yes, we get it. Admitting a mistake can be rough, but it’s one of the most important steps to sending an error correction email and, honestly, one of the best ways to learn from your mistakes.
People want to build relationships with brands they can trust, and even if a mistake was made, they just want to know that you will address it.
If you’re at a loss for how to address and own up to a mistake in an email headline, check out these fun email headline examples below:
- Oops! We Made a Mistake – Here’s the Fix
- Correction Time! Let’s Set Things Straight
- Date Mix-Up Alert! Here’s the Right One
- Our Bad! Here’s the Right Info
- Oopsie! Sorry for the Mix-Up – Here’s the Correction
- We Goofed! Correcting Our Previous Email
- Oops! Addressing Our Error and Next Steps
- Yikes! We Made an Error – Here’s the Correct Info
#3 Maximize Your Reach
Fixing an error in an email marketing campaign is actually a really great time to maximize your reach.
Have you ever received an email correcting a mistake and clicked on it out of sheer curiosity about what happened? Chances are that you probably have! Whether it was an email on digitally requesting files or the best marketing workflow software to use, you probably wanted to know more about it. Curiosity gets the best of everyone, and generally, we just want to know what happened, how big a deal it was, and if we’re getting anything from it.
So, give your prospects exactly what they want: a discount! Open rates are generally high in correction emails, so it’s the perfect opportunity to maximize your reach and offer a unique discount as an apology.
Bonus: Quick Tip for How to Write an Error Correction Email
As we’ve said above, every mistake needs to be handled differently depending on the scope of the error. However, if there is one thing that every correction email should have in common, it’s that it must be concise.
There’s no need to go off on a tangent, thoroughly apologize, use an overly abundant vocabulary and fluff to fill out the email. Keep it simple, own up to the mistake, be chill and lighten up the mood, and maybe offer a fun discount just to build your brand loyalty.
3 Companies That Owned Up to Their Mistakes and What You Can Learn From Them
Everyone makes mistakes, even companies that have been around for a while and have full marketing teams. It just happens.
So, don’t feel bad if it happens to you. Just address the situation and move on. The fact that you are addressing the situation and immediately fixing it is what really matters and what your brand’s customers will value the most.
Let’s see how three companies owned up to their email marketing mistakes and what we can learn from them.
#1 Dunkin’
What happened?
Dunkin’ accidentally sent an email with an offer that did not apply to a specific area.
What was their response?
Dunkin’ kept the mood light, addressed the situation, and diverted customers to check out their app for other promotions that would apply to their region.
Takeaway
Dunkin’ kept their email short and sweet, just as we like it. There is no need for long, flowery emails; just address the situation and move on.
#2 Lilac St.
What happened?
Lilac St sent out a promotional email before they were ready for it to go live to the public.
What was their response?
They let customers know something was in the works and to keep an eye on their email. Plus, they motivated customers to build a wishlist of their products while they were waiting for the promo email — a cute remedy.
Takeaway
Lilac St identified a mistake and let customers know that a promotion was coming soon. Even though they didn’t go ahead and send out the promotion and make it effective that day, they probably did garner a good bit of attention with the email they sent out.
#3 Glamnetic
What happened?
Glamnetic mistakenly sent out a bad link in their email.
What was their response?
They had an interesting response because they didn’t even explain the error in the body of the email. They simply resent the same email with a headline informing their customers that the link had been updated.
Takeaway
Different mistakes call for different fixes. Glamnetic realized that a bad link was a really simple resolution: a fixed one. So, all they did was change the subject line, fix the link, and send it out again.
Error Correction Emails: Wrapping it up
Making mistakes is never fun, we know. Knowing how to address them and being prepared for when and if they happen is one of the best things you can do for your brand’s reputation.
By carefully considering what the mistake was, who was affected, and the significance of the impact, you can effectively assess the situation and proceed with a well-informed and targeted correction email.