Email Marketing / Email Marketing

Email marketing is a digital marketing strategy that uses email to communicate directly with an audience for the purpose of building relationships, sharing content, promoting products or services, and driving action. It is one of the most cost-effective and measurable channels for engaging subscribers, nurturing leads, and encouraging repeat engagement. Email marketing can be used for newsletters, product announcements, event invitations, drip campaigns and fundraising appeals.

Successful email marketing relies on permission-based communication, where recipients have opted in to receive messages. Campaigns are typically managed through platforms such as Mailchimp, HubSpot, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign or ConvertKit. These tools offer features like list segmentation, automation workflows, analytics and A/B testing. For example, a nonprofit might send a monthly update to donors, while a SaaS company could set up a sequence of onboarding emails for new users. Personalisation, clear subject lines, mobile-friendly design and strong calls to action are all essential for performance.

Key metrics for evaluating email marketing include open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribe rate, bounce rate and conversion rate. To maintain strong results, marketers must follow anti-spam regulations such as Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), keep lists clean and relevant, and provide an easy way to unsubscribe. For mission-driven organisations, email marketing can deepen donor relationships and mobilise action. For businesses, it supports the customer journey from awareness to retention. When used thoughtfully, email remains a powerful tool for delivering timely, targeted and valuable content directly to your audience.