What is Email Marketing? Everything You Need to Know
When it comes to essential marketing strategies, email marketing should be at the top of your priority list. Why? Because pretty much everyone has an email account.
Email marketing can help you build relationships with your target audience, promote your services or products, and create active brand advocates.
The biggest thing you'll need to worry about is how to create emails that your target audience loves.
There's a LOT of competition out there, and that means your emails need to go beyond traditional strategies. Find out how to turn your emails into lead generation and money-making machines in this post.
Is Email Marketing Dead?
Some people say email marketing is dead but don't believe the hype. In fact, it's still one of the most powerful digital marketing strategies in 2025. BUT (and this is a big but), failing to leverage it correctly means you won't generate lasting results.
If you can offer genuine value through email marketing, people are more likely to invest in your product or service. Take a look at these statistics:
Understanding the Basics of Email Marketing
Email marketing is a proven strategy that communicates commercial messages to new and existing customers. These messages aren't solely promotional; they offer educational and entertaining content to keep audiences engaged.
Email marketers are in a unique position to engage with a wide audience while personalising their content through segmentation.
Why Use Email Marketing for Your Business?
When executed correctly, your email marketing efforts can result in long-term brand loyalty, higher sales, and an impressive ROI. Let's take a look at the many benefits of effective email marketing:
Affordability: You don't need to spend a fortune on email marketing to generate high returns. It's actually one of the most affordable marketing strategies.
Direct Communication: Personalised content is key to connecting with your target audience, but blogging and advertising can be challenging. However, email marketing lets you create a direct line of communication between your brand and its target audience.
Automation: Email marketing platforms often have automation features that can help you plan your campaigns in advance and trigger different emails based on the audience's behaviours.
Measurable Results: Email marketing platforms offer analytics features that let you analyse open, clickthrough and conversion rates. These metrics can enhance campaign performance.
What Are the Different Types of Email Marketing?
Before you get started with email marketing, it's essential to understand the different types of emails. Not only does this help you to tailor each campaign, but it also means that you can identify the right email for your target audience's preferences.
Welcome Emails: It's customary to send a welcome email when a customer makes a purchase or signs up for your email list.
Promotional Emails: Only 20% of your emails should be promotional, but they're ideal for showcasing discounts, special offers, and new product releases.
Newsletters: Newsletters are ideal for entertaining your audience and providing them with vital information about your industry. These emails are highly beneficial for building stronger relationships with your customers and ensuring higher engagement rates.
Re-engagement Emails: It's common for customers to lose interest in your emails at some point, but re-engagement emails can encourage interaction.
Cart Emails: In an ideal world, customers would add items to their carts and complete the check-out process. However, this isn't always the case. Abandoned cart emails are reminders for your customers to check out.
Email Marketing Best Practices
So now you know what email marketing is and the types of emails available, it's time to reveal some best practices. The following email marketing tips will increase interest in your products and services, resulting in better conversion rates.
Never Buy Your List
Buying a list of email contacts might be tempting, but there are strict rules against this. The GDPR protects consumer data, and sending emails without express consent is now illegal.
Collecting email addresses can take time, but it's the best way to avoid having your emails flagged as spam. Instead of purchasing lists, focus on creating great content and offering lead magnets to your audience.
Activate Double-Opt Ins
Many people avoid using double opt-ins because they worry that it adds an extra hurdle for their audience, but this couldn't be further from the truth.
While your subscribers will have to take another step when signing up for your list, double opt-in ensures higher deliverability rates and avoids spam traps. It also shows that your subscriber has given their express consent.
Use Segmentation
Segmentation should be a key component of any email marketing strategy. It makes marketing automation easier and personalises content.
You can segment your list based on demographics, preferences, or purchase history, ensuring each email marketing campaign delivers the best possible results.
Personalise Each Email
Email personalisation lets your audience members know that they're not just faceless addresses; they matter to your brand. Think about when your audience is most active and what their preferences are.
You can also use each person's name in the subject line to ensure they know it's targeted towards them.
Focus On Email Deliverability
Your email campaign can only be successful if you optimise the account for deliverability. If the recipient's email service provider flags the email as potential spam, the success of your campaign can be impacted.
Clean your email list regularly to avoid low engagement rates and stay away from clickbait subject lines. Most importantly, always remember to add an unsubscribe option.
Use An Email Marketing Tool
Email marketing software ensures that you can build an email list, engage with your subscribers, and monitor engagement rates. The best email marketing tool for your needs depends on your budget and goals.
Email tools make it easier to track the impact of your email newsletter, send automated campaigns, or measure your conversions.
Final Thoughts
Whether you're getting ready to send your first email or have a dedicated marketing channel, following the tips in this post will get you started with the process. However, email marketing is complex, and it has numerous aspects to explore.
In future posts, I'll cover email marketing in more detail, including top tips for creating stand-out campaigns, how to improve deliverability with compelling subject lines and email copywriting advice.
Remember, email isn't going anywhere soon. So, stick around to brush up on your skills and enjoy creating successful email marketing campaigns.
FAQs
What is the Ideal Frequency for Sending Marketing Emails?
That depends on your audience, their preferences, and the type of emails you send.
Remember, if you're planning on advertising new products and services, only 20% of your emails should be promotional, with the other 80% providing information and entertainment.
The following sending frequencies are beneficial if you want to avoid overwhelming your audience while still maintaining consistency:
B2C Emails: 2-4 times per month
B2B emails: 1-2 times per month
E-commerce Promotions: Weekly or bi-weekly
Newsletters: Monthly or bi-weekly
Are Unsubscribes A Bad Thing?
Every email campaign will encounter people who want to unsubscribe. It's a natural part of the process and nothing to worry about.
However, if you notice a massive surge in people removing themselves from your list, it might be time to reevaluate your marketing strategy.
The content you're creating might cause a disconnect, or you could be sending too many marketing emails and not enough valuable content.
How Do I Comply With Email Marketing Regulations?
Your email marketing strategy Should comply with European and international laws, including the GDPR and the CAN-SPAM laws. Remembering the following guidelines can ensure you align with regulations:
Obtain Consent: Use double opt-in methods to ensure explicit consent before sending out any emails.
Provide a Clear Unsubscribe Option: Always give your recipients an opportunity to unsubscribe from the list.
Identify Yourself: Clearly state your business name and contact details in every email.
Keep It Real: Use your subject lines and messaging to display authenticity and let your subscribers know what they can expect.
Secure Your Data: Protect subscriber data and ensure compliance with data protection laws.
