Best Email Marketing Campaign Ideas To Get Inspired By

Best Email Marketing Campaign Ideas To Get Inspired By
06 May, 2022 • ...
Irene Dmitrieva
by Irene Dmitrieva

Email marketing is a vital part of your business that you can’t afford to neglect. You know the importance and value it brings, but even with all this hard work there are still times when coming up with new ideas for emails seems challenging.

Whether you’re going to keep your business top-of-mind, promote the high-value content on your website, nurture leads, or generate revenue, there’s an option for each case. In this article, we’ll take a look at some great email marketing ideas to make them more engaging.

What is an email marketing campaign?

An email marketing campaign is a series of emails that are sent out over a period of time with the goal of getting the recipient to take a specific action. This could be downloading a white paper, signing up for a webinar, making a purchase, etc.

Great email marketing ideas for different email types

When you’re sending out marketing emails on a regular basis, it can be tough to come up with fresh ideas that will capture your recipients’ attention and interest. To help you create email campaigns that are sure to engage your audience, we’ve put together a list of some effective email examples. Use these as inspiration for your next marketing email and see the results for yourself.

Welcome emails

With each new subscriber, it is important to send a welcome email. It is a great way to tell who you are, what you do, and what you can do to help.

Give a little-known fact about your business that sets it apart from other similar companies and share how you are able to help others.

In welcome emails, also include information on what kind of content will be in future messages (as shown in the example below). As well as when they can expect these updates from you next time.

Welcome email example
Source: Email Competitors

Newsletters

Your company’s email newsletter is a great way to keep your customers and followers up-to-date on what’s new with your business. You can use it to share blog posts, upcoming events, or even give a behind-the-scenes look at your company. If your company is undergoing changes that will impact customers, it’s a good idea to let them know via email newsletter. This could include anything from a change in management to a new product or service launch.

The New York Times periodically sends current and breaking news articles from the world of politics, art, etc. In this way, the news itself “comes” to its readers.

Newsletter type email example
Source: Email Competitors

Update emails

Your goal with these types of messages is not to promote yourself, but to show your subscribers that you are actively working to improve your product or service and provide a better user experience. These messages are necessary, but they may not be exciting. Bug fixes and updates to terms of service are examples of the type of message you would need to send.

For example, when it comes to security, it is important to keep readers updated through email. This way, they can be aware of any potential threats and take the necessary precautions.

The GOLF community has taken care of its members and sent a notice of changes to their policy:

Update email example
Source: Email Competitors

Special offer emails

A special offer email is sent out to a specific group of people in order to promote a particular product or service. This type of email usually contains some sort of discount or incentive to encourage recipients to take action.

Special offer emails can be an effective way to boost sales and generate leads. Making sure that the offer is relevant and targeted can help you reach your desired audience. Otherwise, it may do more harm than good.

Special offer email example
Source: Email Competitors

This email includes a special offer which stands out and is sure to grab attention. The online store offers a free gift with the first order, which is a great way to show appreciation to the customer. This freebie is sure to surprise and please them.

The survey emails

Customer feedback is essential for businesses to improve their products and services. Survey emails and feedback emails offer customers a chance to voice their opinions directly to the company. This feedback can help identify areas where the product or service could be improved. Following up with customers based on their feedback is a great way to show that you are dedicated to providing the best possible experience.

Here are three ideas for how you can use survey emails:

  1. Measure customer satisfaction. Use surveys to find out how happy customers are with your brand and what you can do to improve.
  2. Ask for feedback after an event. Get attendees’ opinions on their experience at your events like off-line webinars, and use that feedback to make your next event even better.
  3. Send post-purchase surveys. After each interaction with a customer, send them a survey asking about their experience. Massdrop does this by asking for feedback from every buyer after each purchase.
Survey email example
Source: Really Good Emails

Milestone emails

Many companies use milestone emails to celebrate their customer’s achievements or company successes. This could be a special event, such as a birthday or anniversary, or it could be a more general accomplishment, like reaching a certain number of subscribers.

Some common milestone emails include:

  1. Your clients’ birthday. These emails often contain promotions or discounts to encourage subscribers to celebrate their birthdays. For example, Runtastic gives a 50% discount on the premium package in honor of their subscriber’s birthday.
Milestone email example
Source: Really Good Emails
  1. A company milestone is something to celebrate. Just like people have birthdays, brands can celebrate their own company milestones. This is a great way to show subscribers that you are growing and evolving. Plus, it shows that you are proud of your company’s accomplishments. The co-founder of the Soon brand celebrates its founding by offering all products discounts.
The founder's birthday email example
Source: Really Good Emails
  1. Celebrate the anniversary of a client who has had business with your company for some time. User anniversary emails are a great way to show personalized data about past purchases or activity, and encourage them to keep it up.Grammarly celebrates customer anniversaries by offering a discounted upgrade to the premium package. This is a way to show appreciation for the customer’s loyalty, and it also provides an opportunity for customers to enjoy greater features at a lower cost.
Grammarly anniversary email example
Source: Really Good Emails
  1. Celebrate the anniversary of a product, a feature, or brand progress. This is a way of acknowledging how far the product or feature has come and marking its success.

Re-engagement emails

This type of email is used to re-engage your customers or subscribers who have not interacted with you for a while.

Your inactive subscribers may just need a little extra incentive to use your service. And depending on your profit margins, it might be better to give them a discount rather than lose them completely. You can opt for a giveaway.

Remind subscribers why they signed up by sending them an email that highlights what they’ve missed since they last used your service. Offer extra value in the form of discounts or giveaways to entice them back. Build interest by showing subscribers what they stand to gain by coming back.

An example of how you could use fear of missing out in your re-engagement campaigns is from Unsplash. They have a perfect capture of how re-engagement emails can be used to bring people back.

Re-engagement email example
Source: Really Good Emails

Confirmation emails

A confirmation email is a message sent to a customer after they have completed an action, such as placing an order, subscribing to a newsletter, or registering for a webinar. These emails serve to reassure the customer that their action has been received and is being processed. Sending confirmation emails is important because it provides instant feedback to the customer and helps to build trust between the customer and your business.

This email from Trade Coffee company features your latest purchase in a clean and modern way:

Confirmation email example
Source: Really Good Emails

Abandoned cart emails

If a customer has added items to their shopping cart but doesn’t complete the purchase, an abandoned cart email is sent as a reminder. This type of email usually includes information on what was left behind in the cart, as well as an incentive to encourage the customer to return and finish the purchase. For example, common customization is to include a coupon code in the email.

Other ways to customize these types of emails include adding product images, CTA buttons, and more. Ultimately, the goal is to get people back to the checkout page so they can finish their purchase.

Abandoned Cart email example
Source: Really Good Emails

Homes Alive sends out emails that are easy to read and understand, with a big button that says “Shop Now” and “Finish Checkout” to make it easy for customers to finalize their purchase.

Last chance sales reminders

Last chance emails are sent when an offer is about to expire. This could be a short-time promotion, a reduction on a limited selection of products, or a promo code with an expiration date. By sending a last chance email, you give your subscribers one final opportunity to take advantage of the offer before it expires.

The message from FSA Store announcing a 20% discount for a limited time only would certainly grab the attention of anyone looking to purchase eco-friendly products. The bright and catchy image, along with the visible button to start shopping, makes it an email that is difficult to resist.

Last chance offer email example
Source: Really Good Emails

Product recommendations

If a customer has already shopped with you, there’s no need for them to wait until their next shopping session. You can prompt additional purchases by recommending similar products or complementary items that pair perfectly based on what they’ve enjoyed in the past.

This email is suggesting products to the customer based on their viewing history and/or items they have left in their shopping cart. This is a great way to personalize the shopping experience for each individual customer.

Product recommendations email example
Source: Email Сompetitors

Subscription cancellation email

If a customer decides to cancel their subscription, you have an opportunity to learn from the experience and make sure it doesn’t affect future purchases.

Subscription cancellation emails should be respectful of the customer’s decision and include options for feedback and coming back at a later time. Creating a clear path back to subscription and offering something unexpected, such as free content or a discount, can help keep customers engaged. Finally, letting them know what they are missing out on may give them a reason to reconsider their decision.

For example, WP Stagecoach sends out a survey to canceled subscribers in order to learn more about why they decided to cancel their subscription. The email has a friendly tone without pressuring the subscriber.

Subscription cancellation email example
Source: Baremetrics

How to make your email marketing campaign ideas effective

The first step to getting your emails read is making them stand out. With so many emails coming in every day, getting noticed has never been so important. There are key strategies that can help you get recipients interested and take action. The following are some excellent best practices to keep in mind when planning your campaign:

Determine your goals

What do you want to achieve with your email campaign? Do you want to clean up your list, promote a new product, follow up on abandoned carts, or keep your audience top-of-mind? Knowing what you want to achieve will help you determine the best way to go about crafting your email.

Different email campaigns will produce different results, so you’ll need to use different strategies to get the results you want.

Segment your audience

Remember that you’re not just targeting an audience of people, but rather an individual. Segmenting your contacts lists means breaking them down into smaller groups based on specific interests or preferences so that the content you send will resonate better with those individuals who want/need it most. This will allow you to send targeted messages that are more likely to be opened and clicked on.

Always personalize

When you personalize an email, it means sending content that is relevant and useful to the subscriber. Depending on your audience, you may need to tailor the content more specifically. Basic email personalization involves using a subscriber’s name in the subject line. More advanced tactics can involve changing the content of the email based on a subscriber’s gender, location, or other information you have about them. Personalization is a great way to show that you are actually listening to your audience.

Write a catchy subject line

Your subject line is one of the most important aspects of your campaign mailing. It’s what will convince people to open your email, so it needs to be strong and interesting. Spend time brainstorming different subject lines for the messages you send out. This will help ensure that they’re not boring or too generic.

Try out A/B testing

With A/B testing, you can get an inside look into what makes your audience tick. By sending diverse versions of a message with differing groups, you can figure out which ones lead to more clicks and engagement — meaning less time spent guessing. This takes some initial work upfront but will ultimately result in better campaigns overall. Automation can help streamline this process by managing the distribution of your emails and tracking recipient behavior.

Be mobile-friendly

People like checking their emails on their mobile phones because it is more convenient and time-saving. To maximize the potential of your email campaign, it’s important to have a mobile-friendly design. This means that emails need to be designed in a way that makes them easy to view and engage with on mobile devices. A mobile-friendly email design is one that looks good on smaller screens and is easy to use.

To make your emails more mobile-friendly, keep the following tips in mind:

  • Keep your subject line short.
  • Include pre-header text.
  • Write a copy that is short and to the point.
  • Consider how images will look on a mobile device.
  • Make sure CTAs are prominent and easy to find.
  • Test emails on multiple devices before sending.

Speak your audience’s language

When you are communicating with your customers, pay attention to the tone and voice that you use. If you are too technical in your communications, you may not be as effective as you could be. Likewise, if your audience is techno-savvy, then you should adjust your own language to match theirs. If you are an IT company and need to communicate with high-level executives, then you need to make a strong case and use language that they will understand.

In addition, when you are speaking with customers, avoid using jargon or buzzwords that they may not be familiar with. This can cause your message to get lost and confuse your audience. Instead, focus on using language that they will be able to understand and relate to.

Provide a clear call to action

The clearer your CTA, the more likely people are to act. Your addressees should know exactly how you want them to proceed after reading through the message, whether it’s clicking on a link, signing up for a trial, or making a purchase.

Email marketing campaign ideas for different business types

E-commerce is all about selling products or services online. In order to be successful, there are ways to make sure your customers never lose sight of you.

Product-based businesses

Coming up with email marketing campaign ideas for your product requires an unusual approach. Don’t just focus on its functionality, but also how it solves problems and offers benefits that will interest potential buyers. You can make your email marketing campaigns more interesting by using these ideas:

  1. Introduce a new product with a special offer.
  2. Send a “best of” message.
  3. Run a contest or giveaway.
  4. Inform about your product to help customers use it more effectively.
  5. Share ideas or stories about how customers are using your product in unique ways.
  6. Show a behind-the-scenes look at your company.
  7. Provide customer testimonials.
  8. Provide answers to frequently asked questions about your products.
  9. Report the industry news that’s relevant to your customers.

Professional services business

When you’re selling a service, there are still plenty of ways that can help your business stay top-of-mind while promoting yourself. Check out the following email marketing campaign options:

  1. Showcase your work with a portfolio email.
  2. Offer a free consultation or audit.
  3. Introduce a new service or package with an exclusive offer.
  4. Share industry insights and tips in a helpful resource list.
  5. Get personal with a behind-the-scenes look at your business.
  6. Host a contest or giveaway that’s relevant to your services.
  7. Make a special announcement about an upcoming event or webinar series.
  8. Give clients and prospects a sneak peek of your new office space or location.
  9. Highlight a cause or charity that you support as a company.
  10. Share customer testimonials and success stories.

Conclusion

There are many types of email campaigns that businesses can send to boost sales and encourage customers to make a purchase. Each type of email has its own benefits and should be crafted carefully.

However, if you want your email campaigns to be truly effective, you can’t just send a few messages every now and then. You need to have a well-thought-out plan that takes into account various factors leading you to success:

  1. A/B testing can help you figure out which email campaigns are more effective with your audience.
  2. Make sure your email design is mobile-friendly to reach the widest audience possible.
  3. Pay attention to the language you use in your emails so that you can connect with your audience on their level.
  4. Use a clear call to action in your email so that people know what you want them to do.
  5. Make sure your subject line is catchy and interesting.
  6. Consider product-based and service-based email marketing ideas to keep your business at the forefront of your customers’ minds.

Email marketing is all about creating a connection with your audience. It’s how you promote sales and build a community around your brand. A successful email marketing campaign requires careful planning and optimization of every element, from the subject line to the content and call to actions.

06 May, 2022
Article by
Irene Dmitrieva
As a marketing copywriter, I have experience creating compelling content for websites and social media posts. My background in market research helps me ensure that my copy is both on-brand and data-driven. I am excited to bring my skills and experience to Selzy team and help drive success for this company.
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