Email Marketing Explained [2025]

Tips, tricks, tactics, and how-tos, the web has no shortage of email marketing content sharing all of the above.

So, if you were to ask me if the world needs another regular guide on email marketing, I’d have to be honest and say no. That is why, for this guide, I decided to cut through the fluff to share real, actionable insights that even beginners can understand.

Let’s dive in and see how you can make email marketing work for you!

What is email marketing?

Email marketing involves sending emails to an opted-in audience to build relationships, share updates, and promote products, services, or events.

As a cornerstone of digital marketing strategies, email marketing offers substantial benefits and impressive returns. Attesting to this claim are the statistics below, shared by OptinMonster:

As of 2024, there are over 4.5 billion email users worldwide, a number projected to grow to 4.8 billion by 2027.
A 2023 survey revealed that 88% of users check their email multiple times daily, with 39% doing so 3-5 times a day.
Email marketing delivers an average return of $36 for every $1 spent, equating to a 3600% ROI.
Approximately 59% of consumers say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions.
60% of consumers prefer to be contacted by brands through email.
Automated emails generate 320% more revenue than non-automated emails.

To implement email marketing big and small businesses as well as, independent entrepreneurs send sequences of individual messages to multiple recipients, commonly referred to as email campaigns.

And in the next section of this article, I’ll cover the different types of email campaigns and share some successful examples.

Types of email marketing campaigns (with examples)

When it comes to customer engagement, retention, and brand awareness, four types of email campaigns are fundamental – newsletter, seasonal, welcome, and re-engagement. And here is why:

Newsletter campaigns

Newsletters are a staple for keeping your audience informed and engaged. And according to Don Sadler, they are “one of the best marketing tools for practically any business”.

Newsletters allow you to share updates, valuable content, promotions, and industry news on a regular basis, thus building a consistent relationship with your audience.

Just take a look at this email newsletter from Airtable.

This is an image showing an Airtable email — Source: https://reallygoodemails.com/

Although fairly standard, the newsletter is effective, featuring relevant content, a visually appealing design, and clear calls to action.

In the newsletter, there are different types of content, such as event announcements, guides, and customer stories, catering to various audience interests.

And while it wouldn’t hurt to add a dash of personalization to it, the newsletter still gets the job done.

Seasonal campaigns

Seasonal emails leverage specific times of the year, like holidays, to offer timely and relevant promotions. These promotional email campaigns are highly engaging and capitalize on increased consumer interest, often driving higher sales and fostering a sense of urgency.

However, it should be noted that, due to their nature, seasonal campaigns require detailed planning months in advance – a topic covered in detail by email marketing expert Tanel Rand.

Big companies like Starbucks provide excellent examples of seasonal campaigns.

This is an image showing a Starbucks email — Source: https://reallygoodemails.com/

Starbucks, like with its seasonal coffees, takes a playful approach to its seasonal emails. The “Team Pumpkin” vs. “Team Apple” theme taps into individual preferences, encouraging recipients to align with a favorite flavor, which boosts emotional engagement.

The email also provides a clear call to action to explore and order, while the added Uber Eats discount creates urgency.

Overall, it’s a solid seasonal promotion that doesn’t bring much new to the table but gets traction.

Welcome campaigns

A welcome campaign is the initial round of communication a subscriber receives, setting the tone for your relationship with them. These first emails should introduce your brand, share what subscribers can expect, and provide a warm, personalized touch.

On top of that, a strong welcome campaign created using psychology-backed tips should increase the likelihood of future opens and engagement.

This is an image showing a Suds email — Source: https://reallygoodemails.com/

Suds’ welcome campaign email combines an engaging tone with incentives and clear brand values.

The message immediately offers a discount coupon as a “welcome treat”, encouraging recipients to make a first purchase.

It also highlights Suds’ unique selling points, giving new subscribers compelling reasons to try the product.

Re-engagement campaigns

Re-engagement campaigns are essential to revive interest and reduce list churn. With the help of CRM tools and email automation, these campaigns can encourage inactive subscribers to reconnect with your brand—often with a special offer or a friendly reminder— so you can retain valuable contacts and make the most of your email list.

This is an image showing a Strava email — Source: https://reallygoodemails.com/

Strava’s take on re-engagement emails combines urgency, personalization, and a clear presentation of benefits to nudge users to explore premium features.

With a straightforward “Become a Subscriber” call-to-action, Strava reinforces the offer without being pushy, while the visuals and well-organized layout keep the content easy to scan and appealing.

Besides the four campaign types I just covered, your email marketing efforts will need to include transactional messages as well. These messages provide essential, personalized touchpoints that enhance the customer experience and offer subtle opportunities for engagement.

To learn more about transactional emails, check out our dedicated article.

Advantages of email marketing

You’ve read the definitions and seen the examples, but you’re still not sold on the idea of doing email marketing or putting more focus on it than usual? In that case, reading the list of benefits below might help you make a decision.

It’s cost-effective

Email marketing is generally more affordable than other channels like ads, SEO, or SMM, making it a cost-effective way to reach your audience. Depending on your approach, it can range from free DIY campaigns to more advanced ones with higher costs. This flexibility allows businesses of all sizes to come up with solutions that fit their budget while still driving results.

It allows for personalization

Personalization can range from something as simple as adding a recipient’s name to advanced strategies powered by AI. This includes hyperpersonalization, where content is dynamically tailored based on user interactions, preferences, and behavior. It also involves granular segmentation, such as grouping audiences into specific cohorts based on shared characteristics or activity patterns.

It can drive sales

Email marketing can boost sales by sending abandoned cart reminders — for example, a follow-up email offering a discount to encourage users to complete their purchase. This is where the earlier-mentioned personalization and granular segmentation come in, allowing you to tailor the email to the specific products left in the cart or the customer’s browsing and purchase history, making the message more relevant and increasing the chances of conversion.

Its success is easily measurable

Email marketing platforms usually provide insights into analytics like open rates, click rates, and so on, enabling you to track performance and adjust campaigns based on real data.

It has a high ROI

With an average ROI of $36-$42 for every dollar spent, email marketing is one of the most profitable marketing channels. Unlike paid ads or social media, email marketing directly targets an already engaged audience, making it more cost-effective and less reliant on ever-changing algorithms.

It generates traffic for your website

Emails with links to fresh content or offers can help re-engage your existing audience and drive more visitors back to your site. Even though these visitors are people who are already on your list, they may not regularly visit your website unless prompted. By sending updates about new blog posts, product launches, or exclusive deals, you’re reminding them to check back in.

It reaches an already-engaged audience

Due to regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM, email marketing messages can only be sent to subscribers who have decided to opt in, making the digital marketing method highly effective as it targets people already interested in your business.

Disadvantages of email marketing

Quite an impressive list of benefits covered above, right? Well, now that you are aware of them, you should also be aware of the disadvantages that come with email marketing. Those disadvantages include:

High competition

Email marketing is crowded, with businesses often competing to reach and engage the same audiences. With strong email marketing strategies, big brands can overshadow smaller companies, making it challenging to stand out.

Plenty of spam laws to adhere to

Spam laws, which are both necessary and complex, vary across regions but apply to all email marketers. Failure to comply with these laws can lead to fines or even getting banned from sending emails.

Risk of being labeled as a spammer

Campaigns that are too frequent, irrelevant content, and failing to comply with email sender requirements all fall under bad email-sending practices. Following these practices can cause your emails to be marked as spam, reducing deliverability and harming your email marketing efforts.

Subscriber burnout

Sending poorly timed or excessive emails can frustrate and overwhelm your audience, leading to higher unsubscribe rates and reduced engagement. Over time, this diminishes the value of your email list, reducing its effectiveness and limiting your ability to reach your target audience.

Size limitations

Email size restrictions can impact the content you include, reducing your flexibility to use large images, attachments, or multimedia elements. Exceeding these size limits may result in emails being truncated, delayed, or even rejected by some email clients.

When to use email marketing?

Email marketing is ideal for businesses that want a cost-effective way to connect with an audience, drive sales, and increase website traffic. However, email marketing is most effective and worth the investment once specific conditions are met.

Here is a breakdown of those conditions, from entry-level to more advanced:

Entry level

You have a source of traffic or leads
Before diving into email marketing, you need an audience ready to opt in. This could come from SEO traffic, social media followers, YouTube viewers, or other channels that bring people to your website. Without a steady source of new leads, your email list will stagnate.
You have the budget and resources to invest
While email marketing is cost-effective, it’s not completely free. Whether you’re taking a DIY approach, outsourcing to an agency, or hiring an in-house team, it requires time and resources. The key is to view email marketing as a long-term investment that grows over time.
You have retention and re-engagement opportunities
Email marketing is most effective when you have ways to re-engage existing customers. For example, sending abandoned cart reminders can recover lost sales. Similarly, upselling or cross-selling services — like offering an SEO content strategy after an SEO audit — keeps customers engaged and increases revenue.
You’re ready to handle legal and deliverability requirements
Complying with legal regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM is essential to avoid fines and ensure your emails reach inboxes. Additionally, improving email deliverability by warming up domains, managing bounce rates, and maintaining a clean email list is key to long-term success.

Mid level

You have a product launch or new offering
Email marketing is a direct line to your existing audience and can be invaluable when launching new products or services. For example, Mailtrap’s expansion from an email testing solution to a full email delivery platform was supported by targeted email campaigns to our subscriber base.
You want to diversify your marketing channels
Relying solely on SEO or paid ads can be risky due to constant Google updates, rising costs, and evolving search behavior (like the rise of AI-powered search tools). Email marketing provides a stable, direct communication channel that isn’t subject to these fluctuations, allowing you to overcome these hurdles.

Advanced level

You need first-hand, unique customer data
As privacy laws tighten, relying on third-party data is becoming increasingly challenging. Email marketing allows you to gather first-party data directly from your audience, providing insights into customer behavior and preferences that can’t be obtained through other channels.

For a step-by-step explanation of how to implement email marketing, refer to the next section of this article.

How to do email marketing?

Considering how effective email marketing campaigns can be, it should come as no surprise that launching them is a multiple-step process. To familiarize you with all of the steps, I’ll now go through each one and explain what it entails.

1. Set clear goals/objectives

Regardless of whether you’ve already launched a number of campaigns or you have no prior experience, setting clear, achievable email marketing goals is crucial. For first-time email marketers, initial goals should be simple and open to change, as experimenting is part of the process.

These goals can include basic objectives such as

increasing subscribers, e.g., reaching 1,000 subscribers by the end of the quarter.
boosting engagement, e.g., achieving a 30% open rate and a 10% click-through rate.
improving customer loyalty, e.g., increasing repeat purchases or reducing churn.
learning more about audience preferences, e.g., gathering data through surveys or tracking user behavior.

If you’re struggling to come up with goals, you can make use of research by looking at case studies, observing competitor campaigns, or simply reading up on some online course materials or blog content, like this post from Constant Contact.

Lastly, do keep in mind that every email you send is an opportunity to learn, so collect data, make adjustments, and stay flexible with your goals. As you gain experience, you’ll be able to set more specific expectations that can guide future campaigns.

2. Segment your audience and build an email list

With your goals in place, most will say that the next step is defining your target audience. But for business owners, this step doesn’t really apply as you likely already have a good idea of who your ideal customers are. For example, eCommerce businesses often sell specific products to specific audiences, not to everyone.

So, instead of defining your target audience, at this stage, you can proceed to segment it to ensure you’ll be able to send messages tailored to different groups within and their specific interests.

Purchasing behavior, demographics, geographical location, engagement, past interactions, and lifecycle stage are just some of the list segmentation factors you can use.

Finally, to build an email list, you can use multiple methods – sign-up forms on landing pages or in popups, social media posts, downloadable resources, all sorts of lead magnets, etc. – but do bear in mind that this process will take time and effort as many people are hesitant to give out their personal emails.

3. Pick an email marketing platform

To run a successful email marketing campaign, you will need an email marketing platform (also referred to as an email marketing tool or email marketing service) that will enable you to reach your audience and achieve the goals you set.

Most platforms offer similar core functionality: list management, automation, templates, and performance tracking. So how should you go about choosing one? Test a few options to see which one meets your feature needs, integrates with your workflows, and offers the best price-to-quality ratio.

On the Mailtrap blog, you can find an overview of the top platforms to help you get started, so don’t forget to check it out here.

That said, as email sending isn’t as simple as it used to be, you’ll have to make sure the platform you choose can also handle challenges such as ever-evolving filters dictating inbox placement, restrictions from providers like Google and Yahoo, and so on. To do this, you’ll, of course, have to double-check platform customer reviews and do your own in-depth research.

4. Create the content/copies

Creating email content is maybe the step where most of your focus should be, as content is what speaks to the recipient and what will encourage them to follow through with a desired action.

In the content creation process, you will have to take care of the email subject line, preview text, and email copy for each segment of your audience.

This step can, of course, be done even before picking an email marketing platform. But, as most of these platforms nowadays offer an advanced content creation functionality, leveraging it can make the process much easier by removing the need to create email templates or copies manually each time.

If you need help coming up with email copies, check out this LinkedIn post featuring tips from multiple industry experts.

5. Schedule and launch

Once you have all the elements of your campaign ready, you’re just one step away from launching it. The last task is to pick a sending schedule.

Picking a sending schedule is very important as it allows recipients to know when they can expect to hear from you, adding a dash of consistency to your marketing efforts. But do keep in mind that your schedule shouldn’t exist only in your head. Instead, it should be implemented using the email marketing platform you decide to use, which usually comes with a built-in scheduling feature.

6. Monitor results

Campaign results are what is going to tell you how your audience is responding to your marketing messages and whether you are close to reaching your goals. They will also help you do data-driven email marketing, learn from your past campaigns, and build more effective future ones.

As mentioned earlier, these results should be directly available within the email marketing platform you are using and should consist of email marketing metrics such as open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, ROI, bounce rate, and unsubscribe rate.

Of course, you can choose to pay attention to other metrics, too; just make sure that the reports you generate contain information that is actually helping you understand how close you are getting to your goals.

Below, you’ll find a table in which I go over what each mentioned metric represents, how to calculate it, and satisfactory values you should keep in mind.

Metric	Definition	Formula for calculating	Satisfactory value
Open rate	The percentage of people who open an email belonging to a specific email marketing campaign.	Email open rate = (Number of opened emails / Total number of emails sent) * 100	20-30%
Clickthrough rate	The percentage of people who open an email and take action, like clicking on a hyperlink, CTA, or image within the message.	CTR = (Number of clicks on email links / Number of emails sent) * 100	2-5%
Conversion rate	The percentage of people who complete a goal action (purchasing, becoming a lead, etc.) after clicking on a link within an email.	Conversion rate = (Number of email conversions / Number of emails sent) * 100	10-20%
Return on investment	The net profit generated from an email marketing campaign.	ROI = (Revenue generated from the campaign* – Cost of the campaign) / Cost of the campaign 100	4000% (average)

*Net Profit = Total Revenue – Total Expenses
Cost of Investment = Original investment amount
Revenue generated from the campaign = Total revenue generated from conversions resulting from the email campaign
Cost of the campaign = Total cost of creating, designing, and sending the emails

7. Test and improve

Whether it’s because of the constantly evolving trends in the industry, minor errors in the creation process, or something completely different, your email marketing campaigns will never be perfect. And that is completely fine!

To get as close as you can to perfection, you’ll need to repeatedly test and improve your campaigns.

“But what should I test exactly?” you may ask. As many campaign elements as possible – design, layout, copy, subject lines, preview text, CTAs, etc. – and the best method to carry all this out is A/B tests.

This approach will allow you to test different versions of the same email and compare the results in terms of effectiveness. You can then apply these insights to refine future emails and consistently improve your results.

Cost of email marketing

Unless you know some tricks that I don’t, chances are, running email marketing campaigns will not come without a cost for you.

Even if you decide to go the DIY route, there are still expenses to consider — from paying for a domain and email hosting to investing in tools for managing your list, creating templates, and tracking performance. And while it’s cheaper than hiring an agency, DIY email marketing still requires time, effort, and some budget to get results.

That being said, the minimum investment, at least for email marketing on a smaller scale, is quite accessible and starts at around $20-$50 per month for basic tools and services. However, do keep in mind that email marketing costs can vary significantly based on whether you handle email marketing in-house, use an agency, or outsource parts of it.

Here’s a general breakdown of the costs:

In-house email marketing—In-house email marketing expenses include an email marketing platform subscription (around $20-$500/month, depending on the size of your list and features) and time investment from a marketing team member to create and manage campaigns. If you want to hire a full-time email marketing specialist, expect an annual salary cost as well.
Outsourced freelancers or specialists – Freelancers or contract specialists can handle strategy, content, and campaign management at a lower rate than an agency, usually around $25-$150 per hour.
Email marketing agency – An email marketing agency provides a full service, from strategy to execution, with costs ranging from $500 to $5,000+ per month depending on your needs, list size, and frequency of campaigns.

To calculate your estimated cost, you can use the following formula:

Total Cost = Platform Cost + (Hours Spent x Hourly Rate) + Additional Services

So, for example, if you’re using an email platform costing $50/month, dedicating 20 hours of in-house time (at $30/hour), and outsourcing some design work ($200), the total monthly cost would be roughly $850.

Neil Patel, the influential internet entrepreneur and marketing expert, discusses the cost of email marketing in depth in one of his blog posts, so make sure to check that out as well for more information.

Email marketing challenges

Even with a solid strategy and engaging content, if your emails don’t make it to subscribers’ inboxes, all your efforts (and money) go to waste. That is why maintaining good email deliverability is one of the biggest challenges and priorities in email marketing.

As several technical factors can affect deliverability, understanding them is essential to running an effective email campaign. Here are the most important of those factors:

Spam filters – Spam filters help keep unwanted emails out of inboxes but can sometimes send legitimate marketing emails to the spam folder. To prevent this, personalize your emails, keep your list clean, and avoid sales-heavy language.
Blacklists – ESPs (Email Service Providers) maintain blacklists of IP addresses or domains suspected of sending spam. To save yourself from blacklisting, regularly clean your email list, monitor your sender score, and take proactive steps to maintain a strong sender reputation.
Sender reputation – Your sender reputation is a score given by ISPs (Internet Service Providers) based on your past email activity. To maintain a good reputation and avoid being blocked or labeled as a spammer, send emails only to those who have opted in, skip buying email lists, and create relevant content.
List management – Sending to inactive or invalid addresses increases bounce rates, damaging your sender reputation. For optimal list management, regularly remove inactive subscribers, correct invalid emails, and use double opt-in methods for new subscribers.
Authentication – Authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC help verify the authenticity of your emails. Thus, to improve deliverability and prevent your emails from being marked as spoofed, it’s crucial that you ensure these protocols are correctly set up.
Content quality and formatting – Poorly formatted emails or those with broken links and images can trigger spam filters and hurt your reputation. For the best email performance, only send emails that are well-formatted and optimized for different email clients and devices.
Engagement metrics – ISPs monitor engagement metrics like open rates and clicks to determine email relevance. To improve engagement and prevent being filtered or blocked, send valuable, relevant content and use effective segmentation and personalization.

Email marketing best practices

Whew! A lot covered thus far, but the most important part might be the one left – email marketing best practices.

Regardless of what type of business you have or how you choose to go about your email marketing, the following best practices should increase your chances of running successful campaigns:

Never skip on personalization – Beyond addressing recipients by name, personalize your emails by using dynamic content tailored to each recipient’s interests and leverage your marketing platform to automate this process. Advanced platforms should be able to personalize using data like browsing history, birthdays, and purchase history. However, try to only use personalization if it genuinely enhances the email’s relevance.
Segment the audience – As you build your audience, begin segmenting it using basic factors like demographics and location. If you want to go even further, segment based on engagement, content preferences, and purchase history or browsing behavior. AI tools can assist you in this process by automating segmentation, making the process more efficient and precise.
Optimize the subject line and preview text – For your subject line, aim at a length of 30-50 characters that hint at the content without giving too much away. When it comes to the preview text, 40-140 characters should hit the spot. Also, avoid letting email clients auto-generate preview the text, and consider adding originality, relevant dates, or events to make things timely and engaging.
Use CTAs – In each email, include CTAs, typically 1-5 words, with direct, action-oriented language like “Sign Up Now” or “Get Started Today.” Ensure all CTAs are visually prominent by using a button or link with an eye-catching look that still aligns with your email’s overall design.
Make emails mobile-friendly – For a responsive, user-friendly experience, ensure your emails display properly on both desktop and mobile devices. So, before sending off any drafts, test and preview them on all popular screen sizes.
Avoid “No-Reply” email addresses – For non-transactional emails, skip the “no-reply” sender address and instead build a more personal connection with subscribers. To gather valuable feedback, also consider enabling replies.
Send emails at the optimal time – To increase open rates, time your emails based on research pieces like this one from CoSchedule. On top of that, test and analyze what works best for your specific audience to refine your sending times.
Regularly clean up your subscriber list – To protect your IP reputation and improve deliverability, remove unengaged subscribers and those causing soft and hard bounce issues. Alternatively, you can put inactive subscribers in a “less frequent contact” segment or try re-engagement campaigns to confirm their interest.
Make unsubscribing easy – As required by GDPR, ensure subscribers can easily find and use the unsubscribe option. Place the button clearly, avoid deceptive practices like tiny fonts, and don’t add unnecessary steps like a login or surveys.
Use double opt-in for email signups – To verify that new subscribers genuinely want to join your list, add a confirmation step, such as a confirmation email with a unique verification link or code that the subscriber must click or enter to start their subscription.

Wrapping up

In this article, I did my best to touch upon all of the questions a newbie email marketer might have. And although I didn’t go into too much depth and cover every type of email you could use, the information provided should enable you to kickstart your email marketing journey or at least serve as the basis for further research. Good luck!

If you’re interested in further reading on email marketing, consider checking out our other related articles:

Email Marketing for Beginners: A Complete Guide from Basics to Best Practices