What Is Email Marketing? How Is It Done?

Email marketing is the practice of sending commercial or informative messages to prospective and existing customers by email. These messages can carry anything from new product announcements and discount campaigns to newsletters and company updates. It remains one of the most effective ways to communicate directly with customers and build a personal connection with them.

What are the advantages of email marketing?

Easy access to your target audience: With the right email list, you deliver your messages directly to the people you want to reach — people who already have an interest in your brand.

Low cost: Email marketing is considerably cheaper than methods such as print or television advertising, and it lets you reach large audiences on a smaller budget.

Measurable results: Measuring campaign success is straightforward. Metrics such as open rates, click rates and conversion rates show which campaigns work, so you can adjust your strategy accordingly.

Personalization: Email marketing allows you to send personal, customized messages. Even simple practices such as addressing people by name improve customer loyalty and conversion rates.

Stronger customer loyalty: Regularly sent emails keep you in constant communication with your customers.

High return on investment: Low cost combined with a segmented audience makes email one of the channels with the strongest return.

Segmentation and targeting: By dividing your list into segments, you can send each group messages that match its interests, which raises engagement.

What are the disadvantages of email marketing?

Risk of being marked as spam: When recipients encounter too many commercial and spam emails in their inboxes, they may mark your messages as spam.

Low open and click rates: Since recipients receive many emails every day, your open and click rates can stay low.

Unsubscribes: If you send too frequently, or if the content is not interesting to recipients, unsubscribe rates rise.

Keeping the list clean and current: Maintaining an up-to-date list takes time. Old or invalid addresses increase bounce rates and reduce the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Design and content challenges: For emails to work, they need both an eye-catching design and content that is genuinely valuable to the recipient.

What are the types of email marketing?

Welcome emails: Sent to new subscribers to welcome them and give short, effective information about your brand.

Newsletters: Regularly sent informative emails carrying company news, updates and blog posts.

Promotional emails: Sent to promote products and services, using discounts, campaigns, special offers and new product launches to attract attention. In e-commerce businesses in particular, they are a core part of the sales cycle.

Special-day emails: Personalized emails sent on customers’ special days, such as birthdays and membership anniversaries.

Which platforms are used for email marketing?

Mailchimp: A popular choice thanks to its user-friendly interface, automation features and comprehensive analytics. It serves everyone from small brands to large ones.

ActiveCampaign: An integrated platform for email marketing, CRM and marketing automation, well suited to personalized campaigns and automation scenarios.

Brevo (Sendinblue): Combines email marketing, SMS marketing and more in one place. It is especially widely used in Europe.

Constant Contact: An easy-to-use email marketing platform designed for small businesses.

Klaviyo: Built specifically for e-commerce sites, with fast integration into platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce.

GetResponse: A versatile platform offering email marketing, webinars, landing pages and automation tools, with options for businesses of every size.

HubSpot: A broad platform bringing CRM, email marketing, content management and sales automation together.

AWeber: A user-friendly platform suited to small businesses and startups, allowing you to send automated emails and newsletters.

Which metrics are measured in email marketing?

These are the core metrics used to measure and optimize campaign performance.

Deliverability rate

Measures whether the emails you send actually reach the recipient’s inbox.

Open rate

Shows how many of the emails sent were opened. It indicates how much interest your subject line and sender name generate.

Click-through rate

Shows the share of users who clicked the links inside the email, revealing how well the content holds your audience’s attention.

Conversion rate

Shows how many sales or desired actions your email campaigns produced.

Unsubscribe rate

Shows the percentage of users who unsubscribed after receiving the email.

Revenue per email

Measures how much revenue each email sent generates.

How does email marketing work alongside other channels?

Email is not a standalone channel. A large share of the traffic that grows your list arrives from search and advertising, so SEO work and Google Ads feed email marketing directly. Some visitors who arrive through ads subscribe to your newsletter, and subscribers who come back through email can buy again without further ad spend.

If you would like to discuss how these channels fit together, you can reach us through our contact page.