The Scariest Marketing Mistakes to Avoid This Season
Ghosts? Creepy. Clowns? Terrifying. Sending out a campaign with the wrong promo code? Absolutely bone-chilling. If you’re a marketer, business owner, or anyone trying to capture attention in Q4, you already know the stakes are high this time of year. Everyone’s inbox is packed. Ad space is crowded. Consumers are over it. So the last thing you want is to let a careless mistake haunt your marketing strategy. Before you hit “publish” on that next email blast or launch your spooky-season sale, here are some of the scariest marketing mistakes to avoid this fall — and what to do instead.
1. Ghosting Your Audience
It’s spooky season, but your brand shouldn’t be the ghost. Disappearing for weeks at a time only to suddenly reappear with a “Buy Now!” post is the marketing equivalent of jumping out from behind a corner yelling BOO! And it’s just as annoying.
What to do instead:
Stay consistent. You don’t have to post every day, but showing up regularly builds trust, familiarity, and—gasp—actual engagement. Give people a reason to stick around, not unfollow.
2. Draining Your Budget on the Wrong Channels
Putting all your money into one marketing channel that doesn’t convert? That’s like inviting a vampire into your house. It’ll suck you dry. Whether it’s dumping your ad budget into Facebook without testing creatives or going all-in on a social platform your audience doesn’t even use, it’s a costly mistake that could bleed your budget.
What to do instead:
Review performance often. Be ruthless with what’s not working. Run small tests before scaling big. And don’t forget to ask: Where does my audience actually hang out?
3. Zombie Content (It’s Dead. Stop Posting It.)
If you’ve been recycling the same tired content since 2018, it’s officially undead. And no one’s engaging with it because, well, it’s lost its soul.
What to do instead:
Inject some fresh life into your content strategy. Try new formats. Reframe old ideas. Answer the questions people are actually asking now. You can repurpose, yes—but update it so it doesn’t feel like it’s crawling out of the archives.
4. Forgetting Mobile Users
If your website still looks like it was built during the MySpace era or your emails require users to zoom in just to read them—yikes. That’s a conversion killer.
What to do instead:
Always preview your campaigns on mobile. Responsive design isn’t optional anymore—it’s the baseline. Make your CTAs thumb-friendly, your forms short, and your load speeds fast.
5. Treating Everyone the Same
Sending the same email to your entire list? Showing one ad to all users regardless of behavior? That’s not just lazy—it’s ineffective.
What to do instead:
Segment. Personalize. Automate based on actual user behavior. It doesn’t have to be fancy—sometimes just using someone’s first name or showing them a product they previously viewed is enough to boost conversions.
6. Skipping the Spooky Details (AKA: No Proofreading)
There’s nothing scarier than an email with a misspelled subject line. Or a link that goes to a 404 page. Or a Halloween promo that says “25% off pumpkins” when you actually meant “products.”
What to do instead:
Slow down. Double-check everything before launch—subject lines, links, grammar, offer codes, and expiration dates. Better yet: have someone else proof it. You’ve been staring at it too long.
7. Not Measuring Results (RIP ROI)
If you’re not tracking what worked and what flopped, how are you supposed to improve? It’s not just spooky—it’s a total waste of your time.
What to do instead:
Set clear goals before the campaign goes live. Monitor metrics throughout. And do a full post-mortem once it’s wrapped. What worked? What flopped? What needs to be buried and never spoken of again?
Final Fright: Ignoring the Long Game
Sure, it’s tempting to chase clicks and quick wins in Q4, but the best brands build relationships that last longer than a seasonal sale. Don’t lose your head chasing short-term tricks—focus on the long-term treats, too.
Happy haunting, marketers.
Contact VitalStorm Today!
Want help avoiding any of these terrifying marketing mistakes? We’re here to be your ghostbusters. (Minus the jumpsuits. Probably.) Contact us today for all your digital marketing needs.