How to Craft a Successful Email Marketing Strategy [Examples + Template]

Email marketing is still one of the best ways to grow your business and make a good return. Many successful marketers use email as their main way to connect with people. Every day, more than 361 billion emails are sent, and this number will likely reach 376 billion by the end of 2025. Over time, email marketing has changed, and the way we use it has improved too.

The key to a good email marketing plan is building trust and real connections with your audience. Whether you’re running a small business or a big company, an effective email marketing strategy can help you reach your goals.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to build a strong email list, keep your subscribers interested, and grow your business using simple, effective email marketing steps. Let’s get started!

Here are some effective email marketing steps

1. Start with a helpful email marketing plan

To be successful, email marketing should be part of your overall business plan. It helps you connect with the right people, build relationships, and have conversations that support growth for both you and your customers.

But good email marketing doesn’t work alone. It needs to fit in with your full marketing strategy and focus on helping your customers.

Email is a great way to engage people and turn them into happy, loyal fans of your product or service.

Before you start a new email plan or improve your current one, here are a few key steps:

• Use the right tools. Choose email software that connects with your contact list. This way, you can track what people do and send them emails that match their needs.
• Think about the full journey. People don’t just read emails. They visit your website, follow you on social media, and talk to your team. Make sure your message fits where they are and what they need.
• Set clear goals. Know what you want from each email. Goals help you see if your emails are working and if people are taking action.

2. Create emails that perform well every time

Email marketing has a great return — around $38 for every $1 spent. But good results don’t just happen by sending any email. You need to give people something valuable.

Here’s how to do that:

A) Set a SMART goal.
Always know why you’re sending the email. A SMART goal is:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-based

Example: “In 6 months, increase trial sign-ups from lead nurture emails by 10%.”

B) Send the right message to the right person at the right time.
Let’s break it down:

• Right message: Make sure your email content makes sense to the reader.
• Right person: Use the right segment for each email.
• Right time: Send messages based on where someone is in the buyer’s journey.

For example, if someone leaves items in their cart, send a reminder email that fits their behavior — fun, helpful, and timely.

3. Organize and group your contacts the right way

Did you know that 77% of email marketing results come from emails sent to the right people at the right time?

Segmenting your email list means dividing your contacts into smaller groups. This helps you send useful, targeted messages, which builds trust and improves engagement.

But don’t rush into it. To create the right groups, follow these basics:

• Keep your list clean. Your database should include contacts, their info (like name and job title), and company info if needed.
• Collect helpful data. You need to know two things: who your contacts are (like their role and goals) and where they are in the buying process.
• Use both types of data. You need explicit data (what users give you) and implicit data (what you learn from their behavior, like what emails they open or links they click).

You should create different types of segments based on your business, but here are three helpful ones:

• Lifecycle segments. Group people as subscribers, leads, or customers based on where they are in your sales process.
• Persona segments. Group based on roles or industries, like marketers, salespeople, or small business owners.
• Database health segments. Exclude people who unsubscribed, bounced, or haven’t engaged in a long time.

4. Improve your emails to get better results

Once you know your goal, focus on getting people to open your email and click your link.

Here’s how:

• Get more opens: Write a strong subject line that shows value. Use the contact’s name or location if possible to make it personal.
• Get more clicks: Don’t trick people with clickbait. Be clear about what they’ll get. Include one clear call-to-action (CTA) like “Download now” or “Try it free.”

Typeform, for example, sends simple, fun re-engagement emails with a clear CTA that encourages users to take action.

5. Pick the right templates for your emails

Different emails have different goals — like promoting a product or sharing a blog post. That’s why you need different templates.

Good templates are:

• Clean
• Simple
• On-brand
• Easy to read

They help readers focus on the content and take action easily.

Strategies to make your email marketing work better and last longer:

1. Build Stronger Relationships with Lead Nurture Emails

Lead nurturing means keeping in touch with potential customers until they are ready to buy. The goal is to stay connected in a way that feels timely, useful, and personal.

Studies show that 39% of marketers find that sending emails automatically based on user actions is the best way to get better results. These are called automated behavioral emails, and they are based on what your leads do on your website or other channels.

Not sure what kind of emails to send?

Here are four useful types of lead nurture emails:

• Trust-building emails: These emails help your contacts feel more connected to you. Share helpful info based on what they’re already interested in.
• Emails with free resources: Share useful tools like ebooks, guides, or cheat sheets. These help your audience learn and show you what they care about.
• Call-to-action (CTA) emails: These emails invite your lead to take the next step—like booking a demo or chatting with your team.
• Break-up emails: These are polite final emails letting leads know you won’t be reaching out again unless they want to reconnect.

2. Make Sure Your Emails Are Delivered

In the past, writing non-spammy content was enough. Now, email services look at how people engage with your emails—like how often they open or reply.

Also, rules like GDPR and CAN-SPAM are stricter now.

To make sure your emails reach people, try these tips:

• Get permission first: Always ask contacts if it’s okay to email them. A simple checkbox on your signup form works great and builds trust.
• Watch for unsubscribes and bounces: If lots of people unsubscribe or your emails bounce, find out why and make changes.
• Send re-engagement emails: If some people stop opening your emails, try sending special messages to bring them back.
• Set a limit: If people don’t respond, it’s okay to stop emailing them for now. Let them know first. If they want, they can always resubscribe later.

3. Track and Improve Your Emails

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Watching your email results helps you see what’s working and what needs fixing.

Here are the main numbers to check:

• Delivered: Shows how many emails were accepted by inboxes. If this number goes down, review your email practices.
• Opened: Shows if people found your email interesting enough to open. A low rate? Try changing your subject line or preview text.
• Clicked: High opens but low clicks may mean your message is unclear. Focus on one clear goal in each email.
• Conversions: This tells you if someone completed the action you wanted (like signing up or buying). Make sure every part—from the subject line to the CTA—matches your readers’ needs.

4. Focus on a Good Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI tells you how much money your emails are making compared to what you spent.

Here’s a simple way to figure it out:

1. Subtract what you spent from what you earned.

   Example: $1,000 earned – $100 spent = $900 profit

2. Divide that profit by what you spent.

   Example: $900 ÷ $100 = 9

3. Multiply by 100.

   Example: 9 × 100 = 900% ROI

Want better ROI? Check your email stats, find what’s not working, and make changes to improve your results.

The Final Words

As your business grows, your customers’ and potential customers’ needs will also change. This means your email marketing strategy and the emails you send should grow and change too.

One of the best ways to keep your strategy working is to understand your audience better. Talk to your subscribers often and ask for their feedback. This will help you find new ideas, try fresh ways to connect with them and improve your emails based on what works.

While your email strategy may change over time, one thing should always stay the same a strong email marketing strategy is built on trust and creating real, long-lasting relationships.