What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing involves promoting your products or services to a list of subscribers via email. This powerful digital strategy allows businesses like yours to accomplish four goals:

• To connect directly with their audience even after they’ve left your website or store
• To nurture leads with education about your products and services
• To make calls to action, like purchasing a product or registering for an event
• To build brand loyalty

Here at OptinMonster, we’re experts at Email Marketing. We’ve helped over 1.2 million small businesses grow their email marketing lists!

This guide to email marketing is your step-by-step plan, complete with strategies, tactics, and insider secrets.

• What is Email Marketing?
• What Are the Advantages of Email Marketing?
• What Are the Disadvantages of Email Marketing?
• How to Do Email Marketing Successfully: A 5 Step Guide
  • Step 1: Define Your Goals
  • Step 2: Choose an Email Service Provider
  • Step 3: Create an Optin Form to Build Your Email List
  • Step 4: Select the Type of Email Marketing Campaign To Send
  • Step 5: Track Email Marketing Metrics
• 5 Biggest Email Marketing Challenges (And How to Solve Them)
  1. How to Build an Email List
  2. How to Ensure Emails Are Delivered
  3. How to Improve Email Open Rates
  4. How to Boost Email Conversion Rates
  5. How to Scale Your Email Marketing Efforts
• Frequently Asked Questions About Email Marketing (FAQs)
• Email Marketing Case Studies

What Are the Advantages of Email Marketing?

Here’s what email marketing often looks like for different business types:

• For eCommerce businesses, email marketing lets you sell products, recover abandoned carts, and increase lifetime value.
• Small business owners can use email marketing to maintain brand awareness and build relationships over time.
• Email marketing is great for SaaS companies to turn subscribers into free trial users, and free trials into paying customers.
• Bloggers and publishers use email marketing to drive traffic to their websites and affiliate links, which means more revenue.
• Enterprise clients can scale their email marketing plan to reach thousands or even millions of customers at once.

There are many benefits of email marketing:

• People check their email a lot, up to 20 times a day.
• You own your email list and can email them whenever you’d like. This is unlike social media where algorithms control your reach and engagement.
• Emails can be personalized at scale.
• Email has an extremely high ROI (return on investment) of around 3600%. Calculate the ROI of email marketing and see for yourself.
• Email is 55 times more effective at customer acquisition than Facebook and Twitter put together.
• Shoppers who receive email marketing convert 3x more than those who don’t.

While the case for email is strong, there are a few downsides. We want to make sure you have a full understanding of email marketing, so we’ll go over these disadvantages next.

What Are the Disadvantages of Email Marketing?

Email marketing, despite its effectiveness, has several disadvantages:

• Spam: Emails marked as spam can lower open rates over time and hurt deliverability. Learn how to prevent emails from going to spam.
• Inbox overwhelm: Marketing emails can get lost in an inbox filled with marketing emails. Segment your list by their engagement, and maintain a consistent by not excessive mailing schedule to combat this.
• Design challenges: Emails that display inconsistently across devices or email clients can hurt the reader’s experience. Using your ESP’s responsive templates will usually prevent these challenges. Services like Litmus Email Tester can show how your emails perform on various devices and clients, too.
• Regulations and compliance: Privacy regulations like GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and CCPA require ongoing attention to avoid legal conflicts. Double opt-ins, and unsubscribe links in every email will help you comply with these regulations.
• List maintenance: Inactive and unengaged subscribers must be regularly removed from email lists.
• Cost: Email marketing service providers typically charge by subscriber, which means your cost increase as your list grows. Maintaining your list, and engaging with subscribers will help ensure every subscriber is worth your investment.

How to Do Email Marketing Successfully: A 5-Step Guide

Now that we’ve gone over the basics, we’d like to share a step-by-step guide to beginning email marketing.

To successfully get started with email marketing, do these five things things:

1. Define Your Goals
2. Choose an Email Service Provider
3. Create an Optin Form to Build Your Email List
4. Select the Type of Email Marketing Campaign To Send
5. Track Email Marketing Metrics

Step 1: Define Your Goals

Before you spend money on an email marketing tool or type out that first email, you must identify your goals. Ask yourself:

• What do I want these subscribers to ultimately do after joining my list?
• What will convince them to join your list?
• What will you share on a regular basis to keep them interested?
• What will convince them to buy what you’re selling?

Syed Balkhi, Co-Founder of OptinMonster says, “To write effective marketing emails, you need to know who you’re talking to. Are you reaching out to loyal customers or trying to win over new prospects? Understanding your audience’s age, location, interests, and buying habits will affect how you approach them in your messages. Once you know your target audience, tailor your message to them.”

With these goals in mind, you can now choose tools to use for your email marketing strategy.

Step 2: Choose an Email Service Provider

The first thing you need is an email service provider (ESP). An ESP will provide the tools you need to create, send, and manage email campaigns to your audience. Choosing the right email marketing software with the features you need can keep costs manageable. We’ll go over some cost-effective options for email marketing software below:

1. Constant Contact

Best for: Best email service provider for small businesses

Constant Contact’s user-friendly and powerful features help small businesses engage their audience with easy to use templates and automations.

Check out our full Constant Contact review or our tutorial for building a Constant Contact email form.

2. Brevo

Best for: Best marketing automation creator for small businesses

Brevo, formerly known as Sendinblue, is a versatile email service provider offers an all-in-one solution for small businesses. With Brevo, you can create beautiful email and SMS campaigns. Not every email platform offers SMS, so if text marketing is something you’re interested exploring, Brevo would be a good option.

Read our Brevo review for more details and learn how to create a Brevo (Sendinblue) popup.

3. Hubspot

Best for: Best email service provider for B2B businesses

Hubspot offers a comprehensive suite of marketing tools to help small businesses grow their audience and drive conversions. Hubspot’s CRM is also integrated with their email marketing service. This makes Hubspot a great choice for B2B and service-based businesses that have a longer sales process.

See the full Hubspot review to decide if Hubspot is right for you. If it is, we have a tutorial for how to add a Hubspot popup and other signup forms.

4. Omnisend

Best for: Best multichannel marketing for small businesses

Omnisend understands the needs of eCommerce businesses uniquely. Omnisend helps you create email campaigns, push notifications, and SMS messages that drive sales.

5. Drip

Best for: Best email service provider for eCommerce store owners

Drip was designed for eCommerce with advanced automation features that allow you to personalize your customer purchase journeys.

Read our full review of Drip and learn how to add an eye-catching Drip popup.

6. ConvertKit

Best for: Best email service provider for bloggers and digital content creators

Built specifically for bloggers and creatives, ConvertKit makes it easy to build and nurture your audience. With its intuitive interface and powerful automation capabilities, ConvertKit helps you deliver the right message to the right people at the right time. You can even use ConvertKit to sell simple digital products straight from the ESP dashboard.

For more details, check out our ConvertKit review and see how easy it is to create a ConvertKit popup form.

7. MailerLite

Best for: Best free email service provider for small businesses, bloggers, and startups on a budget

MailerLite is a user-friendly email service provider helps small businesses start using email marketing fast. They have a generous free plan and their paid upgrades are affordable.

Read more in our MailerLite review and check out how to make a MailerLite popup in minutes.

8. Mailchimp

Best for: Most popular email service provider, best for almost all types of businesses and content creators.

Mailchimp has been a go-to email service provider for small businesses for years. Mailchimp allows you to create email campaigns, automate your marketing efforts, and analyze your results.

Explore our in-depth Mailchimp review or learn how to create a MailChimp popup.

Once you pick an ESP, the next step is to create your first optin form.

Step 3: Create an Optin Form to Build Your Email List

An optin form is the place where visitors can subscribe to your email list. Optin forms are also known as signup forms or lead generation forms.

Every email marketing service offers basic optin forms, usually a popup and an inline form, with limited customization options. You can extend the functionality of those optin forms with OptinMonster.

At OptinMonster, we offer robust email optin forms with 1-click integrations to every major email marketing service on the market.

We offer different styles of forms, including:

• Inline forms embedded within your content
• Popup forms that appear over your main page content
• Widget optin forms in the header, footer, or sidebar of your WordPress site
• Floating bar forms that float over the top or bottom of your site
• Slide-in forms that scroll in from a bottom corner
• Coupon spin wheels and other gamified forms

All this without needing a coder or graphic designer, too. Our drag and drop editor makes it easy to build high converting email optins.

Not only is it easy to create optin forms, we make sure that your forms show up in front of the right audience at the right time. With OptinMonster you can…

• catch abandoning visitors before they leave
• target users by the page they’re visiting
• generate leads based based on geographic location
• and much more!

Don’t get stuck with boring, basic optin forms that need a developer to customize and use. Try OptinMonster today and unlock the full potential of your email marketing.

Get Started With OptinMonster Today!

After your optin form is set up, choose the type of email marketing campaign to send to your list.

Step 4: Select the Type of Email Marketing Campaign To Send

Every email marketing service provider comes with an email editor you can use to send emails to your subscribers. We’ve outlined seven types of email marketing campaigns you can send.

Check out the included links for more detail and examples to inspire you.

1. Welcome Emails

Send welcome emails to new subscribers or customers when they join your list. Use these emails to introduce your business and thank the reader for engaging with your brand. All this helps begin the relationship with your brand on a positive note.

This is an example of the first few paragraphs of the welcome email we send ourselves here at OptinMonster:

It includes a personal welcome from our co-founder, Thomas Griffin. It also includes links to documentation and directions for how to reach support. Likewise, your Welcome email should include the most important next steps a new subscriber should take after joining your list.

To learn more about how to write the perfect welcome email, check out the video below.

2. Newsletter Emails

Newsletter emails are regular communications sent to subscribers. Newsletter contain news, updates, tips, promotions, or curated information related to your business or industry. The goal of an email newsletter is to keep your audience engaged.

Here are some newsletter ideas you can use for your own list.

3. Lead Nurturing Emails

Lead nurturing emails are sent to potential customers who have shown interest in your offer, but haven’t bought yet. The goal is to build trust, educate, and overcome objections. Ultimately, you want to guide leads towards making a purchase decision.

Learn how to nurture leads with an email marketing funnel.

4. Promotional Emails

Promotional emails highlight new products, sales, or special events from your business. They create a sense of urgency and encourage recipients to take advantage of the promotion. You can send these one campaign at a time or automate a whole series of promotional emails.

Check out these promotional email examples if you need some ideas.

5. Seasonal Marketing Emails

Seasonal marketing emails include special offers, promotions, or content tailored to a holiday or season. The aim is to use the festive spirit to increase urgency and engagement.

 

Take a look at these seasonal marketing emails for Black Friday, Halloween, or Mother’s Day.

6. Transactional Emails

Specific actions or events trigger transactional emails. Customers might receive transactional emails for account updates, shipping notifications, or password resets. They provide information related to the transaction and ensure a smooth customer experience.

Learn more about how to write transactional emails that can grow your business.

7. Confirmation Emails

Confirmation emails verify or confirm an action taken by the recipient. You can send confirmations for subscribing to a newsletter, registering for an event, or buying a product. Confirmation emails typically contain details of the action. They may also provide other instructions or information.

Read about best practices and examples of outstanding confirmation emails.

No matter what type of email campaign you choose to send, there are a four important elements of an email campaign you should include:

1. Subject Line and Pre-header Text

This subject line appears first in your subscriber’s inbox and should give the reader a reason to open the email.

The pre-header text sometimes appears next to the subject line in the subscriber’s inbox. It is shown even before the reader opens the email, and is another opportunity for you to persuade your reader to open the email.

2. Content

Email marketing services provide a selection of ready-to-use, easily customizable templates. Or, you can choose a plain-text template if you’d like your email to appear more like it came from a single person, rather than a brand. We often use plain-text emails at OptinMonster to build relationships with our readers.

Whatever you send, make sure it’s concise, engaging, and relevant to your audience. Do this by addressing their pain points and highlighting the benefits of your products or services.

3. Call to Action (CTA)

Every email should share an action you’d like your reader to take after reading your email, called a “Call To Action” or “CTA.”

Some common CTAs include:

• Make a purchase
• Download a freebie
• Read a blog post
• Follow your brand on social media
• Forward this email to a friend

A good Call To Action can often make or break the success of an individual email. We teach how to create the perfect call to action in OptinMonster University (free with any OptinMonster subscription).

4. Subscription Management

At the bottom of every email, you should have a link to unsubscribe. Email marketing is a consent-based channel. It’s better to let uninterested subscribers leave your list than risk them sending your emails to the spam folder.

One way to reduce unsubscribe rates is to also include a link where people can manage their own subscriptions. Giving them a way to opt out of certain topics or hear from you less often shows that you value their experience.

This brings us to the last step in our guide: monitoring your progress.

5. Track Email Marketing Metrics

After sending your email, track and analyze key email metrics such as:

• Open rate: how many subscribers opened the email
• Click-through rates: how many subscribers clicked links in the email
• Conversion rate: how many subscribers made a purchase, filled out a form, or did some other conversion you want to track
• Unsubscribe rates: how many subscribers unsubscribed from an email
• Deliverability rate: how many subscribers received your email in their main inbox

Use this data to refine your future email campaigns and optimize your strategies.

We also recommend that you regularly clean your email list. Removing invalid or inactive email addresses improves deliverability. Keeping your list clean also ensures that you’re targeting an engaged audience.

Now that you know how to do email marketing, let’s take a look at some common challenges you might face and how to overcome them.

5 Biggest Email Marketing Challenges (And How to Solve Them)

Effective email marketing is relatively simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. There are a lot of different factors involved and, unfortunately, writing good emails isn’t always enough.

We have a full list of email marketing best practices you can read for more detail. Here are some of the most common challenges our customers have encountered, along with proven solutions.

1. How to Build an Email List

The first challenge is needing people to send emails to in the first place. Fortunately, this is perhaps the easiest problem to solve!

Even if you have no subscribers, you can build an email list from scratch with email signup forms on your website.

Solution: To get more signups, make sure that visitors clearly understand the benefits of joining your list.

• Adjust your call to action to focus on the benefits, such as “Get your free guide now!”
• Use social proof by showing off how many people have already signed up for your list.
• Add your optin forms to these high-converting places for email signups for best results.
• Take inspiration from high-performing email signup forms.

For more ideas, check out our top list-building tools and ways to build your email list for free.

2. How to Ensure Emails are Delivered

The most common challenge is making sure the emails you’re sending actually land in their inbox. Average deliverability rates hover around 81%, which means up to 20% of your emails may never even make it to your subscriber’s email client!

Solution: Follow email deliverability best practices to make sure your emails make it into the right inbox.

• Avoid spammy words that trigger spam filters. These might include words like “click,” “free,” “trial,” “cost,” “cheap,” “prize,” or unusual capitalization and punctuation.
• Clean your email list regularly to remove inactive subscribers.
• Segment your emails so that subscribers get content they actually care about.
• Provide ways for users to manage their own subscriptions instead of unsubscribing or reporting as spam.

3. How to Improve Email Open Rates

The average open rate for emails is around 21%. There plenty of ways that you can improve your email open rates.

Solution: Write and send high-quality emails. Everything from the email subject line to the email template design should be a valuable, pleasant experience for subscribers. If you can convince them to open one email, they’ll be more likely to open future emails.

• Make your subject line exciting and informative enough for people to click on. The job of the subject line is to get readers interested enough to open the email.
• Keep your subject line length short and easy to understand.
• Use preview text to provide extra insight into what’s in your email content.
• Improve your email copy by thinking back to your goal-setting. What information, skills, or products do your customers need to solve their problems? Deliver content that helps address those issues.
• Optimize your email design, especially for mobile devices. Use visuals wisely and make sure they show up well on different screen sizes. You can also make mobile optins that show up well on smaller device sizes.

4. How to Boost Email Conversion Rates

Let’s say you’re getting a healthy number of signups. Subscribers are receiving and opening your emails. But no one is clicking or buying.

You aren’t alone. The average email conversion rate in a study by Klaviyo ranged from just 0.1% to over 3%.

Solution: Improve your conversion rates by tuning into what your audience needs and wants.

• List segmentation means dividing your list into different groups. You can then send each group more targeted messaging that should improve your conversion rates. Learn about different ways to segment your email list and see what works best for your business.
• Personalized email content goes beyond saying, “Hey, FIRST NAME!” You could send product recommendations based on past purchases. Other personalization techniques include sending location-specific offers or content based on demographics. When subscribers receive personalized emails, customer loyalty is likely to increase.
• A/B testing your email newsletters can help you find the most effective subject lines, content, email templates, and CTAs. Many email service providers have split testing functionality built in.

5. How to Scale Your Email Marketing Efforts

What if your email marketing strategy is working pretty well, but takes more time than you have?

Creating personalized content for a few segments is one thing. But as you add more subscribers, offers, and promotions, your email marketing will get more complex. Fortunately, we have strategies and resources to help you scale.

Solution: Work smarter, not harder. Build on what already works in your own email marketing or strategies that others have proven.

• Add or expand email automation. For example, you could set up an abandoned cart email series that encourages shoppers to finish their purchases. There are plenty of email marketing automation tools to make this easier. Check out our complete guide to eCommerce email marketing automation for more information.
• Use templates, examples, and best practices. Use these email marketing templates, copywriting templates and formulas, and best sales email subject lines for inspiration.

And of course, you can use any of OptinMonster’s signup form templates to scale your email marketing quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions About Email Marketing (FAQs)

When is the best time to send a marketing email?

The best time to send a marketing email is between 9 AM to 12 PM on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, according to a HubSpot study. Test different times to find when your audience is most active and engaged.

What is a good open rate for email marketing?

A good open rate is between 15% and 25%, but it varies by industry. Focus on improving engagement and personalization.

How often should I send marketing emails?

Send emails at a consistent frequency without overwhelming subscribers. Start with once a week or bi-weekly and adjust the timing and number of emails based on feedback and engagement metrics.

What email metrics should I track?

Track open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, bounce rates, and unsubscribe rates. You should also track deliverability, spam complaints, and list growth rate.

What is the difference between single opt-in and double opt-in?

Single opt-in immediately adds subscribers to the list. Double opt-in requires confirmation via a verification email. Double opt-in ensures higher quality but may result in fewer subscribers. Consider your business goals, customer preferences, and local regulations such as GDPR.

Email Marketing Case Studies

Now you have all the knowledge you need to use email to grow your business! We’ve gone over:

• basic email marketing vocabulary and definitions
• different email marketing platforms you can use
• a step-by-step guide for how to do email marketing
• pro tips to take your email marketing to the next level

Email marketing isn’t something you set and forget, even with the power of automated workflows. You always want to be testing and refining your strategy. So we recommend bookmarking this page so you can come back later whenever you need.

Remember, the ultimate goal for every email marketing campaign is conversion. As long as your subscribers are clicking, converting, and making you money, that’s what we like to see.

Lack of conversions is one of the biggest reasons email marketing campaigns fail. That’s why we built OptinMonster.

It can help you increase conversions, just like it did for these real customers:

• How Nick Gray Increased Conversions by up to 1000% With Smart Opt-in Popups
• How PortraitFlip Converts Over 3% of Its Mobile Traffic into Leads
• How Medstar Media Increased Their Clients’ Conversions by 500%

There’s a lot of money to be made with email marketing. Whether you’re a blogger, affiliate marketer, an eCommerce store, or an online business, OptinMonster is here to help you succeed.

Get Started With OptinMonster Today!