Whether or not email marketing is already a part of your sales strategies, it’s hard to argue that emails are some of the most efficient channels to reach your target audiences. After all, 87% of marketers use emails to distribute content and brand information.
Smart and effective email marketing initiatives are an excellent way to establish trust, create lasting business relations, grow your revenues, and increase your bottom line.
However, you may wonder which email marketing types you should use for your sales campaigns. Questions, such as the following, may arise as you brainstorm your marketing tactics:
- Should you stick to regular newsletter send-outs?
- Should you use triggered email marketing instead?
- Are dedicated standalone personalized emails better?
The answer will vary depending on your email marketing goals. But it is recommended to use different types of email marketing. You can mix and switch them up.
Let us review the most widely used email marketing types and their advantages.
Table of Contents
- The Different Email Marketing Types for Your Sales Strategies
- Welcome Emails
- Lead-Nurturing
- Promotional Emails
- Digests and Newsletters
- Transactional Emails
- Re-Engagement Emails
- Targeted or Dedicated Emails
- Course or Challenge Emails
- Milestone Emails
- Wrap-Up: Why You Should Consider Varying Types of Email Marketing for Your Brand
The Different Email Marketing Types for Your Sales Strategies
While you do not need to utilize each email format, it is important to learn the most common email marketing types. This way, you can experiment and figure out which ones will work for your enterprise.
Each of the following email marketing types has its unique purpose and objectives:
Welcome Emails
Welcome emails are impactful and valuable email types. They influence your readers’ impression of your business and how you connect with them. With an average open rate of 68.59%, welcome emails are vital to your overall marketing program.
You send a welcome email to greet and express appreciation to your new subscribers. It sends automatically upon your receipt of a new registration or subscription.
The purpose of welcome emails is to kick off a warm connection with your audience. They will pave the way for larger marketing projects.
Email marketing pro tip: Instead of sending only one welcome email, you can send a series of automated emails—all of which are a part of welcoming your most recent subscribers. This series can stretch for the first few days after the signup. Ensure you do not overdo it and keep the content engaging and intriguing.
Here is what is expected from your welcome emails:
- Officially and cordially welcome your new email subscribers.
- Express and highlight your gratitude for their signup.
- Set definitive expectations around the content types you will send.
- Give an idea about the frequency of your emails.
- Offer a new subscription incentive.
- Include a quick note about your brand.
- Clearly state your contact details and if recipients can respond directly to your emails.
- Reaffirm your appreciation of your new subscribers to showcase their value to your business.
Lead-Nurturing
Lead-nurturing or nurture emails intend to move a prospective client down the marketing funnel—from the top-of-the-funnel (ToFu) or the initial engagement to the middle-of-the-funnel (MoFu) and then eventually to conversion and, ideally, to patronage.
This type of email is typically automated and usually linked to a lead magnet, i.e., an incentive you offer to people when they join your emailing list.
A nurture email is used to:
- Build brand awareness
- Educate audiences about your organization, what you stand for, and what you offer
- Encourage a sale
- Promote a new blog post on your company website
- Promote an upcoming event, like a webinar or in-person brand advocates gathering
A series of lead-nurturing emails should include:
- Targeted content based on generated leads
- Valuable free downloadable materials
- Exclusive promo offers, such as gift codes and discount vouchers
Promotional Emails
A promotional email is a broadcast or a one-off type of email marketing used to connect with potential clients and existing customers to advertise and further endorse a product, service, or a time-sensitive sale.
In essence, promotional email marketing types are a form of lead-nurturing emails.
Digests and Newsletters
Businesses in any industry can benefit from newsletters—from startup owners and big companies to creators and bloggers. They are a great consumer touchpoint. 81% of B2B companies leverage newsletters as a part of their content marketing projects and find this email marketing type a successful content distribution platform.
Get the most out of sending out a regular digest to your readers, and note the following tips:
- Keep your format simple.
- Stick to a uniform format to which your subscribers can grow accustomed.
- Test your format and ensure it is viewable on any device, app, and browser.
- Use a catchy subject line without being overselling.
- Entice your audience further with an appealing preview text.
- Character count matters, so keep your subject lines and preview texts limited so they fully fit their spaces in the inbox.
A newsletter or digest can include:
- Company updates
- Summary of and link to a new blog post or podcast episode
- Relevant industry news
- Curated news from credible sources
- Informative content
- Fun facts and trivia related to your niche
- How-to guides for product usage
Transactional Emails
You send a transactional email after a completed business deal with a client. Its purpose is to inform or confirm the receipt of a request submitted or an action taken.
Transaction email examples are:
- Account creation and verification
- Subscription confirmation
- Password reset confirmation
- Confirmation of email address and other contact updates
- Post-purchase confirmation or proof of receipt of an order placement
- Shipping notifications
- Delivery notice
- Refund or return updates
- Cart abandonment reminders
Transactional email send-out pro tip: Transactional emails do not have to be monotonous. Keep them interesting by infusing your brand personality into them. Use them to remind customers about your company mission, vision, and advocacies. Let them know how they, too, are supporting your causes by doing business with you.
Re-Engagement Emails
Re-engagement emails help remind inactive subscribers about the value your brand provides. These aim to convince readers to return to the habit of opening, reading, and engaging in your emails.
Consider the following content for your re-engagement campaign:
- A survey or poll seeking consumer feedback on your products or services
- An irresistible promotional offer
- A change in tone of voice, particularly your subject line and preview text style
Pro tip on re-engagement email marketing: While you should put your best foot forward to win back disinterested subscribers, it is advisable to weed them out of your emailing list, if your tactics do not work.
It can be beneficial to your engagement rate if you unsubscribe them, clean up your list, and focus on readers who engage with your content actively.
Targeted or Dedicated Emails
A targeted or dedicated email involves segmentation, i.e., the categorization of your subscribers based on their attributes, such as:
- Age group
- Income range
- Personal interests
- Previous transactions and purchases
- Actions taken from your recent emails
You can sort the email marketing types to disseminate to specific groups on your emailing list. In other words, this type of email marketing will not be for every individual on your subscriber list.
It will be for select readers who need the contained information—audience groups who will most likely be interested or benefit from it the most.
Course or Challenge Emails
Run a challenge via email to advance your reader’s interest. If you have interesting topics to discuss or an exclusive know-how, you can also start teaching a course and promote it through this type of email marketing.
For instance, you can run a product photography contest where great deals await the winner.
Announce the challenge and gradually disclose the mechanics via a series of challenge emails. Ask for photos of your products from your customers and reward them for it. You can use their submissions as social proof to boot.
Another example is to deliver a limited-time course and spread out its distribution into short, digestible videos. Email once daily or weekly. This can open opportunities for starting a full course or hosting a live value-adding webinar.
Milestone Emails
Be present in your subscribers’ successes via a milestone email. And share yours as well.
Celebrate their birthdays and gift them a VIP voucher or discount code they can use within their birth month. Remind them of how long they have been with you through your brand’s successes as an email subscriber and loyal customer.
This email type enables you to recognize consumer loyalty and accomplishments. It fosters brand affinity and makes your readers feel special and valued. Thank them for being part of your growth and cheering on your hard work.
Milestone email pro tip: Make your content shareable on socials.
Wrap-Up: Why You Should Consider Varying Types of Email Marketing for Your Brand
Grow your brand and get the most out of the different email marketing types. These different types of email marketing help hit your marketing goals.
While each email type has a distinctive purpose, they all get you to accomplish a singular objective: to create a genuine connection and relationship with your target market.
Whether your in-house team takes care of this marketing aspect or you prefer outsourced email marketing, ensure these key points are observed:
- Emails should reflect your branding.
- Emails should be visually appealing.
- Content should add value to your readers.
- Write a snappy subject line and captivating preview text.
- Make your subscribers feel appreciated.
