When it comes to email marketing, there’s no shortage of advice available for how to build and improve your campaigns.
From crafting subject lines to building a killer email, the advice seems to be never-ending … and even contradictory sometimes.
One source tells you that people want to read emails that are full of personality, while another says you should keep them buttoned-up and professional.
Who’s right?
The good news is that we’ve done the research and found some common patterns in email that audiences of all types respond to. From there, we’ll show you how to apply these patterns to your next email campaign and give you some examples of brands that are already doing it right.
1. Welcome
The welcome email is the very first message a new customer receives, usually delivered through tools like Lemlist alternatives. This is a fantastic opportunity to thank them for their business and give them an overview of what to expect from your email marketing.
You can also give new customers a special discount or offer in your welcome email. This provides an incentive for them to make another purchase and helps you start building a relationship with them.
Welcome emails are a great way to make a good first impression and increase customer loyalty.
2. Offer
A deal is a fantastic way to produce interest and drive sales. When you use a discount in your email marketing, make certain it’s the first thing your audience sees.
There are a few various ways you can offer a discount. You can use a percentage off or a set dollar amount off.
You can also use a discount to incentivize your audience to take a specific action. For instance, you can offer a discount to new subscribers or encourage your audience to make a purchase by offering a discount on their next order.
No matter how you choose to use a deal, make sure it’s front and center in your email marketing.
3. Announcement
Announcement emails are used to inform your audience about new products, features, or updates. They can be a great way to engage your audience and get them to interact with your brand.
Announcement emails are also great for upselling. For example, if you have a customer that recently purchased a product from your business, you could send them an email that recommends a similar or complementary product.
Announcement emails can be used to engage your audience and get them to interact with your brand.
4. Social
If you’re energetic on social media, your email viewers can get unique, behind-the-scenes appears at your profiles and posts.
This is a nice way to force visitors from your email listing to your social media profiles. It’s additionally an extraordinary way to exhibit off your social media profiles to new subscribers.
5. Survey
Surveys can be a great way to get feedback from your audience, but you can also use them to help you create more targeted content.
In this example, Grammarly uses a simple survey to ask their audience about their writing goals for the year. This information can be used to help them create more targeted content and offers for their audience.
6. Lead nurture
If someone downloaded a piece of your content or signed up for a webinar, you should be using email to nurture that relationship.
A lead nurture campaign is a series of emails that are automatically sent to a new lead over a period of time. The goal is to provide value to the lead in order to convert them into a customer. In B2B contexts, especially for teams selling AI agents for customer support, these nurture sequences help educate buyers over time and align messaging with real operational pain points.
Here’s an example of a very simple lead nurture campaign:
- Email 1: Thank the lead for downloading your content and provide them with a link to the content and some additional resources.
- Email 2: A few days later, ask the lead if they have any questions about the content.
- Email 3: A week later, send the lead a link to a webinar you’re hosting on a related topic.
- Email 4: A week after the webinar, ask the lead if they’d like to set up a call to learn more about your products or services.
You can make your lead nurture campaigns as simple or as complex as you want. You can also create multiple campaigns for different segments of your audience.
For brands running partner programs, ReferralCandy is often used to trigger email flows for referral, affiliate, and influencer marketing—welcome/activation emails for new partners, performance updates, and reward notifications that keep participation high without manual follow-ups.
7. Transactional
Transactional emails are usually automated and are sent to a user after they take a certain action. They can include order confirmations, shipping notifications, welcome emails, and more.
The example below is a shipping notification email from Sephora. It includes the order number, a list of the items in the order, and the shipping address. Notice how the email also includes a tracking number and a link to the carrier’s website where the recipient can track their package.
Sephora also includes a link to their return policy in the email. This is a great way to keep the customer informed and to encourage repeat business.
8. Abandoned cart
Cart abandonment emails are sent to people who have actually added items to their online shopping cart however left the site before completing their purchase.
An excellent cart abandonment email will advise the recipient what they left in their cart and provide a link for them to quickly go back to their cart and complete their purchase. You can also offer a discount code to incentivize the purchase.
9. Re-engagement
Re-engagement emails are a great way to connect with subscribers who haven’t engaged with your content in a while. This could mean they haven’t opened an email in a certain period of time or they haven’t made a purchase in a while.
Re-engagement emails can be a gentle reminder of your brand and what you have to offer. You can also use them as an opportunity to show your appreciation for your audience and their loyalty.
In this example, the retailer offers a discount to incentivize subscribers to make a purchase. The email also includes a message that shows appreciation for the subscriber’s loyalty.
10. News
If you’re a news website, you can send out an email each day that highlights the top stories.
This email from The New York Times is an example of a daily news digest. It provides a brief summary of the day’s top headlines and links to the full articles on The Times’ website.
11. Blog post
If you have a blog, you can send your subscribers a weekly or monthly email with your latest posts. This is a great way to keep your audience engaged and drive traffic to your website.
You can also include other content in your blog post emails, such as videos, infographics, and more. This will help you provide value to your audience and keep them interested in your emails.
Conclusion
Overall, your email marketing strategy should aim to send valuable, timely content to your audience. If you can achieve that, you’re likely to see consistent engagement and growth.
