Email Marketing

A newsletter is a mass email sent to your subscribers. Unlike social media, you're reaching people directly in their inbox—a more personal space, which helps build deeper, long-term relationships that can turn casual subscribers into loyal customers.

One big advantage is that subscribers have already volunteered their email address, so they're more likely to be receptive to your messages. Converting loyal readers into customers is much easier than converting random website visitors.

Also, emails often have higher visibility than social media updates—people check their inbox more frequently, and social platforms sometimes hide or filter your posts. With a newsletter, if you send an email, everyone gets it (barring spam filters).

Use your newsletter to share helpful articles and other valuable content. Even if you publish that same content on your blog, not everyone will see it—but if it's sitting in their inbox, subscribers are far more likely to open and read it.

Some people worry newsletters are "just spam," but that isn't true. Spam typically targets anyone and everyone, without permission or relevance. A newsletter is a permission-based channel that users opt into, delivering real value to people who actually want it.

Newsletters are also great for reminders. Regular announcements and updates keep you on your audience's radar. You can gather feedback too—ask subscribers what they think or how you can improve. They'll often be happy to help if you're genuinely interested.

You can also use newsletters for onboarding—welcoming and teaching new users how to get the most out of your product or service. For example, once someone signs up for your service, you immediately send an email explaining what steps to take next.

Plus, newsletters can be an effective tool to support upselling: If a subscriber bought a yoga mat, you could send them a follow-up article about other accessories they might need and how to choose them.

Finally, email marketing is affordable compared to other marketing channels. You can set up most of it yourself, and while you'll need to pay for email marketing platforms, they're fairly affordable. Even better, if your subscriber base is small, you can get by with free tiers.

That said, a newsletter is only as effective as the content you put in. If you bombard people with irrelevant promos, they'll unsubscribe quickly.

To send out emails, you first need a list of people who actually want to hear from you.

Warning: Never buy or scrape email lists. Those recipients did not opt in, so to them, your message is spam. Instead of gaining loyal clients, you'll damage your reputation and risk being flagged by email providers.

Reassure users you won't spam or share their email address with third parties, and that they can unsubscribe at any time. Once you have a list, you can segment it into categories like active leads, potential customers, and dormant subscribers, so you can tailor your messaging more precisely.

Their goal is to maintain or boost loyalty by providing genuine value. This is essentially content marketing sent directly to inboxes, so it's more likely to be noticed than if you only posted that content on your blog or social media.

Informational emails should be genuinely useful. But how do you figure out what your audience actually needs? You can ask them directly by including a survey form in an email or sharing it on social media. To encourage responses, explain why the survey matters and what it will help achieve. When people understand the purpose, they're much more likely to participate.

However, the best way to find relevant topics is by conducting several in-depth interviews with members of your target audience.

Once you've identified the topics that interest your subscribers, you need to determine how to present them. There are many ways to do this; below are the most popular ones.

Choose a format that resonates with your audience. For instance, a dance school's subscribers might prefer video demos over text guides.

These are triggered by specific user actions, so the subscriber knows exactly why they're receiving them. Their main purpose is to keep customers informed about a process or remind them of an important step they haven't completed (like making a payment).

Examples:

• Registration confirmation
• Order confirmation
• Payment received or canceled
• Payment confirmation
• Order updates
• Password reminders

These go out automatically based on a user's behavior, aiming to re-engage people or drive them back to the website.

Examples:

• Abandoned cart reminders
• Recently viewed products
• Incomplete order follow-ups
• Review requests after a purchase
• Subscription renewal notices
• Complementary product suggestions
• Reactivation invitations for inactive users
• Recommendations based on browsing history
• Thank-you notes for making a purchase
• Holiday greetings