8 Types Of Marketing Emails That’ll Help You

Email is a powerful tool in your marketing toolbox, but what exactly should you be emailing people about? The possibilities are virtually endless, but here are some good ideas to start with.

Send Thank You Emails

You’re constantly asking things of your subscribers and website visitors. Download this, sign up for that, fill out the other. The least you can do is thank them when they participate, whether they’re downloading an ebook or just signing up for the email list in the first place.

Automate your thank you email to send right after the action it’s attached to, so they make the connection in their head. This will act as a sort of confirmation email as well, showing them that their signup or download worked. You can even add a discount code, store credit, or other form of promotion to express your gratitude.

Welcome To The Family

If you get new subscribers, new members on your website, or new customers, welcome them to your company! Your welcome email should show them topics they might be interested in, relevant blog posts, or instructional videos for how to use the service they just signed up for.

This is also a good opportunity to set expectations. Tell them how many emails they’ll be receiving, and tell them to stay subscribed for promotions and early access to new content. You can even offer them a discount code for their first order. Make sure to honor your promises, too — if you told them they’d get a free ebook for signing up for the newsletter, now’s the time to send them that link.

Ask Subscribers For Feedback

We’ve emphasized the importance of user-generated content (UGC) before — posting positive reviews and testimonials on your site is a good way to attract new business. And emails are a great way to get that UGC in the first place.

Wait a little while to give your customers a chance to use the product or service they bought, then ask them how they like it! Provide a link to your review sites on Google, Facebook, or wherever else it’s relevant. Make sure to include contact info for customers who aren’t happy — you’d rather they call you than leave a negative review.

Keep Everyone Posted On Your Blog

If you’re running a blog — and you should be — you’ll want to show off new posts to the people most likely to be interested in what you have to say — your email subscribers. To the best of your ability, you should be segmenting your email list into various interests and demographics. That way, when a new blog post comes out, you can send it only to the people who are most likely to find it helpful and relevant.

Wish Users A Happy Birthday

If you’re gathering date of birth info, send out a happy birthday email to your users. Not only is it a nice gesture, but it’s a good way to get demographic info in the first place — add a note in your signup promising them special offers on their birthday.

Of course, if you offer a birthday present, you’ll have to deliver — a small gift, discount code, or store credit just for them.

If you don’t have demographic info, just send anniversary emails instead! Thank them for sticking with you for a whole year from their first purchase or first signup, talk about how much progress you’ve made, and tell them about what your plans are for the future to keep them interested.

Everyone Likes Facts And Figures

This won’t apply to every company or service, but if you can, an activity update email is a great way to interest your users and show them exactly how useful you’ve been to them. FitBit sends a weekly email with the user’s steps, calories, mileage, and sleep tracking from the previous week. Grammarly sends digests with users’ efficiency, spelling prowess, and number of corrections made.

Obviously, this idea won’t fit every business. But if you can provide a weekly or monthly snapshot of exactly what you’ve provided your customers during that time, you’ll keep demonstrating your value with minimal effort.

New Products and Features

Got a new product coming out? Maybe a new collection of products? Or maybe you’re adding a new feature to your software, or adding a service to your repertoire. Let your customers know! Telling them before everyone else find out will make them feel special, and you can even sweeten the deal by offering them early access.

Not only is the exclusivity attractive, but a soft launch to your existing customers and subscribers is a good way to judge demand and performance, as well as to solicit feedback that will help you attract new business.

Nurture Your Leads With Emails

Lead nurturing emails are a series of closely connected, carefully targeted emails designed to move leads down the funnel toward becoming customers. The exact nature and content of the emails will vary, depending on your business, but they should be focused on the particular visitor.

If a customer visited a pricing page, offer them an introductory offer or free trial. If they downloaded an ebook on your website development services, send them an email with links to the other things you’ve written on the topic. Each email should be closely related to what you already know about this lead in an effort to provide them with information they already want.

Don’t forget to call out why you’re sending the email. No one likes unsolicited emails, especially from companies they haven’t yet done business with. If you lead off with “We noticed you’re interested in our ebook on X, here’s some more information on X,” your emails won’t seem so out-of-the-blue and they’ll be more successful.