13 Top Email Marketing Strategy Examples

Segmenting your email list simply means dividing up your subscribers into smaller groups based on certain factors, such as demographics like age and geography, buying behavior, and personal interests.

Segmentation will help you tailor your messages to each group’s specific needs and interests, which leads to better open and click-through rates, as well as conversions.

For example, a clothing brand might segment its list based on geography, where its Seattle customers would receive offerings that included more items for rainy weather while customers living in Scotsdale, Arizona would receive sunny weather clothes and lightweight jackets for the air conditioning.

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• Struggling to grow your email lists? Our guide on How To Get Email Lists for Marketing can help with 10 actionable tips.

Your subject line is the first thing your subscribers will see in their inbox, and it can make or break their decision to open your email. It’s something that’s often overlooked, but it’s so important to create engaging subject lines that grab their attention and entice them to open your message. Having a good email subject line is just one way to increase email open rates, so it’s worth putting in the effort!

To create engaging subject lines, it’s best to include humor, personalization, curiosity, or urgency – or a mix of these. For example, “We Need to Talk About Your Closet” or “Your New Favorite Outfit is Inside” are both catchy and intriguing subject lines that might entice a clothing brand’s subscribers to open their emails. You can even experiment with using emojis in your email subject lines, but be careful about using them in the right way for your specific audience.

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Should you capitalize email subject lines? Or keep them lower case? It depends on your brand! We dig deeper into this in our full guide on Email Subject Line Capitalization.

Personalization will always help your message. Using your subscriber’s name, location, or other relevant information in your messages, can make them feel valued and increase the likelihood of them engaging with your content. Without it, marketing emails feel like spam because the same email could have been sent to hundreds of other subscribers.

For example, a fitness brand can level-up their emails by personalizing their messages by including the subscriber’s name and encouraging them to join a local workout group or class.

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• Learn more about personalization via Dynamic Content in our full guide which covers benefits, risks, types, and top tips for using dynamic content for your business.
• If you wat to extend personalization beyond just your email marketing, check out our guide on How To Create a Personalized Shipping Experience

Everyone knows that email marketing is important to your brand, but this only works if you give subscribers something worthwhile. Providing valuable content will keep your subscribers engaged, it will build trust for your website and brand, and establish it as one of expertise. Valuable content can include a host of offerings, such as educational articles, case studies, exclusive promotions and discounts, as well as classes and sessions.

For example, a health and wellness brand might provide subscribers with free workout plans or healthy recipes in their emails to keep them engaged and show that they care about their well-being.

Your call to action (CTA) is what prompts your subscribers to take action, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading a guide.

To create effective CTAs, make sure they are clear, concise, and compelling. It helps to include the benefit that the audience member would enjoy if they clicked through. Use action-oriented language and create a sense of urgency to encourage subscribers to act. Some examples of effective CTAs include “Buy Now,” “Download Now,” “Learn More,” or “Sign Up Today.” There are some tips and tricks you can use that include specific colors or placement – we would advise you research this before you use it though!

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• Read more about How To Write a Call To Action for five steps on how to write betters CTAs, as well as three top tips on formatting them effectively.
• Calls to action are particularly important for businesses selling products. Get more advice on your Ecommerce Email Marketing Strategy in our dedicated guide.

A/B testing is a powerful tool for optimizing your email campaigns. It involves creating two variations of your email and sending them to two different groups of subscribers to see which one performs better. This will take a bit of time and effort, but it’s always worth it.

You can test various elements of your email, such as subject lines, CTAs, sending time, or even the layout and design. By testing different elements, you can identify what works best for your audience. After all, their behavior tells you what they want, so the info is ripe for the taking.

Don’t be freaked out by unsubscribes either. It’s all part of the process. You can always write a win back email to get them back on your list down the line.

When it comes to sending an email, it’s important to know the best time to send it. You’ll want to send your emails when your subscribers are most likely to check their inbox, or have time to engage with your content (this is where segmentation will help with performance).

The best time to send your emails can vary depending on your industry and your audience. Some general tips include sending your emails during weekdays and avoiding weekends when people are less likely to check their inbox.

Experiment with different sending times and analyze your data to identify the ideal time for your campaigns.

Email automation allows you to send targeted messages to your subscribers based on their behavior and actions.

By setting up triggered emails, you can create a personalized experience for your subscribers and save time in the process. There are lots of websites (like Mailchimp) that are set up for automating emails.

For instance, you could set up an automated welcome series to introduce new subscribers to your brand and provide them with valuable content. You can also set up abandoned cart emails to remind subscribers about products they left behind, encouraging them to complete their purchase. Emails sent within the hour bring a 20.3% conversion rate compared with 12.2% when they’re sent 24 hours later.

Design plays an important role in the success of your email campaigns. Your emails should be visually appealing, on-brand, and easy to read.

Some tips for designing effective emails include using images and graphics to break up the text, choosing a color scheme that matches your brand, and using clear and readable font.

User-generated content (UGC) is content created by your customers, such as photos, reviews, or videos. Putting UGC into your email campaigns can help to increase engagement and authenticity.

On most occasions, it’s the best marketing there is- it’s free, it doesn’t take any time out of your schedule (except a little moderation and online praise).

For example, you can showcase user-generated photos or videos to show how your products or services are being used in real life. It’s also rewarding and thanking your audience for their work.

This is similar to UGC, but is a little more specific. Social proof is the concept that people are more likely to trust and follow the actions of others. In email marketing, social proof can come in many forms, such as customer reviews, social media shares, followers, endorsements from influencers or experts, and trust badges or seals. When you put social proof into your emails, you can build trust with your audience and this can increase conversions.

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• Learn How To Ask Customers for Reviews for our top tips on gathering social proof to use for your brand

Creating a sense of urgency can be a powerful motivator for your audience. By highlighting limited-time offers, countdown timers, and low stock alerts in your emails, you can create a sense of urgency that can help drive conversions.

For example, travel booking site Expedia often includes countdown timers in their emails to encourage customers to book their vacations before the timer runs out.

While segmenting your email list is crucial for delivering targeted and relevant content to your audience, it’s also important to segment your re-engagement campaigns. These campaigns are designed to win back inactive subscribers by sending them targeted messages that will rekindle their interest in your brand.

For example, you could segment your re-engagement campaigns based on email activity, why they left (if you know), preferences, or interests. By sending targeted messages to inactive subscribers, you can bring them back into the fold and rebuild engagement with your brand.

Email marketing can make or break an online business. The great news is that it’s fairly easy to get it right, and it’s even easier to avoid the mistakes others have made by following our list of tips.

When sending out marketing emails, it’s all about understanding your audience and creating tailored and engaging messaging that targets their specific needs and interests.

By following these email marketing strategy examples, you can create personalized and effective email campaigns that should resonate with your audience and increase conversions.

Remember to always follow email marketing best practices, and check out our list of inspiring email marketing campaign examples next to see some of these strategies in action!