email-marketing

name	email-marketing
description	Email marketing campaigns, automation sequences, newsletter optimization, and deliverability best practices.
allowed-tools	Read, Glob, Grep

Email Marketing

Master email marketing for nurturing leads and driving conversions.

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1. Email Types Matrix

Type	Purpose	Frequency	Key Metric
Newsletter	Nurture, value	Weekly/Bi-weekly	Open rate
Promotional	Sales, offers	As needed	CTR, conversions
Transactional	Confirm, update	Triggered	Delivery rate
Welcome series	Onboard	Automated	Completion rate
Re-engagement	Win back	Triggered	Reactivation rate
Abandoned cart	Recover sales	Triggered	Recovery rate

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2. Email Structure

Anatomy of High-Converting Email

Element	Best Practice
Subject line	6-10 words, curiosity/benefit
Preview text	Complement subject, 40-90 chars
Header	Logo, navigation links
Hero	Strong visual, headline
Body	Scannable, benefit-focused
CTA	Clear, action-oriented, above fold
Footer	Unsubscribe, address, social

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3. Subject Line Formulas

Formula	Example
Question	"Ready to double your traffic?"
How-to	"How to write emails that convert"
Number	"7 mistakes killing your conversions"
Urgency	"Last chance: 50% off ends tonight"
Curiosity	"The secret top marketers don't share"
Personal	"{{FirstName}}, your custom report is ready"
FOMO	"Everyone's talking about this..."

Subject Line Rules

Do ✅	Don't ❌
Keep 6-10 words	ALL CAPS
Use power words	Spam triggers (FREE!!!)
A/B test always	Misleading promises
Match content	Multiple punctuation!!!
Personalize	Start with "Newsletter"

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4. Email Automation Sequences

Welcome Series (5-7 emails)

Email #	Timing	Content
1	Immediate	Welcome, deliver promise
2	Day 2	Best content/resource
3	Day 4	Your story, mission
4	Day 6	Social proof, testimonials
5	Day 8	First offer
6	Day 10	Reminder/scarcity
7	Day 14	Transition to regular

Abandoned Cart (3-4 emails)

Email #	Timing	Content
1	1 hour	Reminder, cart items
2	24 hours	Benefits, overcome objections
3	48 hours	Urgency, limited time
4	72 hours	Final offer/discount

Re-engagement (3-5 emails)

Email #	Timing	Content
1	Day 1	"We miss you"
2	Day 4	Best content recap
3	Day 7	Special offer
4	Day 10	Last chance warning
5	Day 14	Remove if no response

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5. Segmentation Strategies

Segmentation Criteria

Criteria	Examples
Demographic	Age, location, industry
Behavioral	Opens, clicks, purchases
Engagement	Active, dormant, new
Lifecycle	Lead, customer, VIP
Preference	Content type, frequency

Common Segments

Segment	Criteria	Strategy
New subscribers	< 30 days	Welcome, educate
Engaged	Opens > 50%	Premium content
At-risk	No opens 60 days	Re-engagement
Buyers	Has purchased	Upsell, loyalty
VIP	High LTV	Exclusive offers

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6. Deliverability Best Practices

Technical Setup

Element	Purpose
SPF	Authorize sending servers
DKIM	Verify email authenticity
DMARC	Prevent spoofing
Dedicated IP	Reputation control (high volume)

List Hygiene

Practice	Frequency
Remove bounces	Automatic
Clean inactive	Quarterly
Verify new emails	On signup
Monitor complaints	Weekly

Avoid Spam Filters

Do ✅	Don't ❌
Authenticate domain	Buy email lists
Clean list regularly	Use spam trigger words
Honor unsubscribes	Hide unsubscribe link
Balance text/images	Image-only emails
Test before sending	Ignore bounce rates

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7. Email Metrics

Key Metrics

Metric	Benchmark	Formula
Open rate	20-25%	Opens / Delivered × 100
CTR	2-5%	Clicks / Delivered × 100
CTOR	10-15%	Clicks / Opens × 100
Conversion rate	1-5%	Conversions / Clicks × 100
Bounce rate	< 2%	Bounces / Sent × 100
Unsubscribe rate	< 0.5%	Unsubs / Delivered × 100

Health Indicators

Metric	Healthy	Warning	Critical
Open rate	> 20%	15-20%	< 15%
Bounce rate	< 2%	2-5%	> 5%
Spam complaints	< 0.1%	0.1-0.3%	> 0.3%
Unsubscribe	< 0.5%	0.5-1%	> 1%

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8. A/B Testing

What to Test

Element	Priority
Subject line	High
Send time	High
CTA button	High
From name	Medium
Preview text	Medium
Email length	Medium
Images	Low

Testing Rules

Rule	Reason
Test one variable	Clear results
Min sample 1000	Statistical significance
Run 2-4 hours	Capture behavior
Document results	Build knowledge base

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9. Email Design

Mobile Optimization

Element	Best Practice
Width	600px max
Font size	16px+ body, 22px+ headers
CTA buttons	44px+ height, thumb-friendly
Images	Alt text, max-width: 100%
Single column	Easy to scan

Dark Mode

Consideration	Solution
Logo	Transparent PNG or dark version
Images	Add white border/background
Colors	Test contrast in both modes

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10. Email Tools

Tool	Best For	Pricing Model
Mailchimp	SMB, beginners	Contact-based
Klaviyo	E-commerce	Contact-based
ConvertKit	Creators	Subscriber-based
ActiveCampaign	Automation	Contact-based
Brevo	Transactional	Email volume
Beehiiv	Newsletters	Subscriber-based

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Remember: Email is permission-based. Respect your subscribers, provide value, and they'll reward you with loyalty.