Search

Lesson 10 of 10

Common copywriting mistakes

Beginner 10 min read Updated June 27, 2026
TL;DR

Use common copywriting mistakes to make one better email decision: who gets the message, why now, what they should do next, and how you will measure it.

  • Start with the reader, not the sentence.
  • Read it out loud. If you would not say the sentence to a real person, rewrite it.

What you need to get right

Your copy has to do a small job fast. The reader is busy, distracted, and probably reading on a phone.

For common copywriting mistakes, start with the reader's situation. What do they already know? What do they need to believe before they click? What would make them stop reading?

Good email copy is not about sounding clever. It is about making the next step feel obvious and worth taking.

Do this before you send

  1. 01

    Name the audience and lifecycle moment before writing.

  2. 02

    Write the business goal and the reader goal in plain English.

  3. 03

    Choose the message angle, proof, offer, or help that fits the moment.

  4. 04

    Draft the email structure: subject, preview text, opening, body, CTA, and follow-up logic.

  5. 05

    Review relevance, consent, mobile readability, tracking, and exclusions before sending.

See it in a real email moment

If you are working on common copywriting mistakes, use a narrow scenario. A new lead from a guide needs a helpful next step. A returning customer needs context based on what they bought. A dormant subscriber needs a reason to stay or a clean way out.

Your quick todo list

  • Write the audience, promise, and CTA before drafting.
  • Cut one paragraph that does not help the reader decide.
  • Read the email out loud and rewrite the sentence that sounds most corporate.

Check this before moving on

  • The audience is specific.
  • The email has one primary job.
  • The CTA matches the reader's stage.
  • The copy is readable on mobile.
  • Tracking is in place before launch.

Mistakes that quietly hurt results

  • Writing for the whole list when the message only fits one segment.
  • Adding more CTAs because the main ask is not clear enough.
  • Polishing copy before the audience, offer, and timing make sense.
  • Judging success from one metric without checking the downstream action.

Read these next