Marketing may be full of buzzwords and best practices, but some habits are just plain harmful. This growing list of marketing sins uses humor and satire to highlight real issues that can quietly ruin your results. The images may make you laugh, but the lessons behind them are serious. Review each one to make sure you’re not unknowingly guilty. And if you are, now’s the time to repent.
Marketing Sin #1: Using Click Here Hyperlink Text
Using ‘click here’ is lazy and ineffective. Instead, use descriptive text that tells visitors and search engines what to expect—don’t waste a valuable opportunity!
Marketing Sin #2: Using Acronyms Without Context
If your goal in communication is to be understood, meaning you adapt your message to your audience, this will likely never be a problem. But when acronyms get tossed around without context, especially outside your internal team, confusion kills momentum. Explain first, then abbreviate.
Marketing Sin #3: Using Images That Are Too Large
Is your website crawling because of massive image files?
Keep this in mind:
- Most images should be under 100 KB
- Use JPEGs for photos and PNGs only when transparency or sharp lines are needed
- Work with your designer to balance quality and size
Faster load times = better UX, better SEO, and better conversions. Don’t let bloated images sink your performance.
Marketing Sin #4: Expecting Immediate Results
Some of the most effective marketing work is the most unsexy. It’s rinse and repeat. It’s consistency.
SEO takes time. Brand awareness takes repetition.
And while you may be sick of your messaging, most of your audience is just starting to notice.
Results come from showing up again and again.
Patience is a marketing superpower.
Marketing Sin #5: Assuming Marketing Success is Paint By Numbers
Success in one campaign doesn’t guarantee success in the next.
Marketing isn’t paint-by-numbers. What worked once won’t necessarily work again without adjustment. Your audience may have changed. The market, the platform, the timing—even the mood of the world could be different.
Treat every campaign like it’s your first: with curiosity, context, and a fresh set of eyes.
Marketing Sin #6: Using Rebranding to Avoid Real Problems
Rebranding isn’t a magic wand. Too often, it’s used as a knee-jerk reaction to underperforming campaigns or leadership shakeups. While rebranding can be a powerful strategic move when done right, using it to cover deeper issues can be a costly distraction that doesn’t fix the root issue.
Marketing Sin #7: Letting Marketing Steal the Spotlight
If every post is about your product features or company milestones, you’re making yourself the star. Flip it—your customer is the hero. You’re the guide.
Educate 80%, self-promote 20%. Be the guide, not the hero. Your audience is here for value, not a one-way sales pitch.
Marketing Sin #8: Testing Too Many Things At Once
Stacking too many tests at once is like pulling five Jenga pieces at the same time. When it all crashes, you don’t know which move did it.
The goal of every test? A clear learning you can build on.
If you don’t isolate your variables, you won’t know what caused the lift (or the flop).
Test strategically. Learn something. Repeat.
Marketing Sin #9: Chasing Leads With a Leaky Funnel
More traffic won’t fix a broken system. Before you chase leads, fix the funnel.
- If you’re losing people after the click, it’s not a lead problem
- Scaling chaos just multiplies waste
- A healthy funnel boosts ROI without increasing ad spend
Got high traffic or engagement but low conversions? Seeing big drop-offs between steps? Leads not turning into customers? You’re likely leaking revenue at every stage.
Marketing Sin #10: Creating a False Urgency
Scarcity works, but only when it’s real. Faking urgency erodes trust fast. Even if customers don’t catch it right away, building relationships on hype instead of honesty is a losing game. Be real. Be clear. Be credible.
Which of these sins have you seen lately? Got one I missed? Drop a comment and let’s add it to the list.