What is Email Marketing?
TL;DR
Marketing directly to customers and prospects through email, newsletters, promotions, follow-ups, and automated sequences. Email remains one of the highest-ROI marketing channels because you own your list (unlike social platforms that can change algorithms) and reach people who've explicitly opted in. Effective email marketing requires building a quality Email List, segmenting by interest and behavior, providing genuine value (not just sales pitches), and maintaining Email Deliverability. Common types include welcome sequences, promotional campaigns, educational newsletters, and Abandoned Cart Emails for e-commerce. The key mistake businesses make is treating email as a megaphone rather than a conversation, broadcast everything to everyone and watch engagement plummet. Strategic, segmented, valuable emails outperform spray-and-pray every time.
On this page
Frequently Asked Questions About Email Marketing
Why is email marketing still effective in 2024?
Email has 36:1 average ROI, higher than any other digital channel. You own your list (unlike social followers), reach people who opted in (high intent), and control your message. Unlike social algorithms, email delivery is in your hands.
How often should I email my list?
Depends on your audience and content value. Weekly works for most businesses, frequent enough to stay top-of-mind, infrequent enough to avoid fatigue. Test and watch unsubscribe rates. Quality beats quantity.
What's the biggest email marketing mistake?
Treating email as a megaphone, blasting everything to everyone. This kills engagement. Segment your list, provide genuine value, personalize when possible, and remember you're competing for inbox attention with everything else they receive.
What email platform should I use?
Mailchimp for beginners, Klaviyo for e-commerce, ConvertKit for creators, ActiveCampaign for complex automation. All handle basics well. Choose based on your specific needs, integration requirements, and budget.
Terms Related to Email Marketing
Email Automation
Emails that send automatically based on triggers, timing, or subscriber behavior, not manually written and sent each tim...
Read definition Email MarketingEmail Deliverability
The ability to reach subscribers' inboxes rather than spam folders or getting blocked entirely. You can write perfect em...
Read definition Email MarketingEmail List
Your collection of email addresses from customers and prospects who've given permission to receive your communications....
Read definition Email MarketingAbandoned Cart Email
Automated emails sent when someone adds products to their shopping cart but doesn't complete the purchase, recovering po...
Read definition Email MarketingClick-to-Open Rate
The percentage of email openers who clicked a link, Clicks ÷ Opens × 100. This measures how compelling your email conten...
Read definition Email MarketingDouble Opt-In
A subscription process requiring email confirmation before adding someone to your Email List, they sign up, then must cl...
Read definition