Email Advertising

Email advertising is a type of marketing performed via email whereby the recipient has consented to receive promotional messages from a brand. In this form of advertising, marketers seek to gain permission from their prospective customers by giving them an option to opt-in before sending emails.

Email advertising is effective only if the recipients expect to hear from you. Achieve this by using opt-in or permission-based marketing. To be ahead of the game, marketers prefer double opt-in, which makes them sure that email campaigns are “welcomed” and “anticipated” by their subscribers. Unsolicited email marketing is already a thing of the past because it hurts the sender’s reputation. It is no wonder — recipients may not be open to receiving promotional emails they haven’t subscribed to.

An example of permission email advertising is an email newsletter sent to customers of a particular brand. Newsletters usually inform subscribers about new products, upcoming events, or promotions. Marketers tell prospects what they will receive after leaving their email address in a subscription form. This way, the leads are aware of what they subscribe to.
Today, many online marketers use services such as SendPulse Email to manage their opt-in contact information and send out advertising messages automatically using automation tools. Furthermore, they allow marketers to segment their advertising activities according to specific personal data.

Even with the tremendous growth of SEO, social media, and mobile marketing, email advertising remains one of the most profitable marketing strategies. In 2024, there are over 4.48 billion email users—nearly half of the global population—with an estimated 361 to 376 billion emails sent daily between 2024 and 2025.​ Therefore, advertising through email will present better business opportunities, as email use continues to increase. However, the decision to invest advertising dollars in this type of marketing should take into account the benefits that the business stands to gain.

So, what advantages can a brand enjoy when using email advertising?

It is cost-effective and fast

The cost of using email as a channel to advertise goods and services is quite lower than most of the other forms of marketing. The business does not incur printing costs as it would with posters or brochures. Also, there are no advertising or media hosting fees for sending advertising messages to the target audience. Moreover, through bulk email sending and automation, marketers can save time on their advertising efforts. With SendPulse, you can send up to 15,000 advertising emails for free every month.

Reach targeted audiences through segmentation

Email advertising solves the numerous shortcomings of non-targeted marketing, such as television ads and billboards. With email, the marketer has more control over who sees their messages by using segmentation. You can group customers based on location, demographics, stage in the sales funnel, etc. and send emails targeting their specific needs.

It is permission-based

The best thing about email advertising is that the recipients who receive the marketing messages are people who are genuinely interested in the goods or services that your business offers. Since you send emails to contacts who have given their explicit permission, your mailing list will consist only of prospects who are likely to convert.

Higher ROI

Email marketing delivers an impressive average return of $36 to $42 for every $1 spent. Therefore, email marketing is worth the investment, as it leads to increased sales and conversions. It is an effective strategy at every phase of the buying process. Moreover, less effort is required in this type of marketing, as email services like SendPulse are available to assist marketers with email advertising tasks.

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Easy to measure and compare

With email advertising, marketers can quickly assess the success of their ad campaigns. You can follow up on the performance of different emails and use the feedback to improve future campaigns. Moreover, you can compare your campaign results against email advertising benchmark reports in your specific industry. Benchmarking data can be found online. It helps marketers identify problems and make improvements.

It is instant and shareable

An email is delivered immediately, so marketers can see the impact in minutes after sending the campaign. Therefore, email advertising is ideal for persuading leads to take immediate action. For this reason, email remains the primary driver for customer acquisition. It is also easy for people to share advertising content with friends and family with email, hence, creating increased brand awareness.
Businesses can increase sales with email advertising with SendPulse using these steps:

1. Sign up to create an account
2. Create a campaign by choosing an email template, adding a subject line and text
3. Review the email and send
4. Track statistics and improve

Email Advertising Examples

Here are some excellent email advertising examples from different brands:

Chain Reaction Cycles offer free tires with selected wheelsets. Besides, they add clients’ reviews to make gain subscribers' trust.

Art.com offers 30% off Canvas art pieces and appeal to subscribers’ preferences. A discount is a great chance to sell overstocked goods.

Kate Spade uses email advertising to tell their clients about their new arrivals.

Below are some email advertising best practices every marketer should implement:

• Make the subscription process easy. Marketers should make the sign-up process straightforward and enticing so that people subscribe easily. Request only the information you can use to improve performance. For example, you can craft more personalized campaigns having the following data: name, age, gender, occupation, place of residence, etc.
• Identify the best timing. Before sending emails, test different times of the day for email delivery to find out when your target audience is most likely to open your promotional messages. With A/B testing, you can be sure that the open and click-through rates will be higher. It, in turn, contributes to the effectiveness of your email campaigns and the number of conversions.
• Use double opt-in. We recommend using a double opt-in process because it ensures customers provide their unwavering consent to receive marketing emails from a particular brand. The double opt-in email should be short, sweet, and focused on the confirmation button.
• Ensure law compliance. When sending email campaigns, it’s essential to comply with key laws, such as CAN-SPAM and GDPR, as well as any relevant local regulations. Adhering to these laws helps protect your business from having its email address blacklisted. In addition to ensuring legal compliance, ensure that your emails include a physical address, an unsubscribe link, and are sent on a permission-based basis. Incorporating these elements in every campaign is crucial for maintaining a positive brand reputation.
• Avoid spamming. Marketers need to be mindful when collecting email subscribers and engaging with them. Signing people up without their consent or buying email lists is a big no-no. When crafting emails, it's essential to focus on relevant content, avoid using all caps in subject lines, and maintain a user-friendly approach. Also, always include an unsubscribe option and a physical address in your emails. And here’s a tip: using a custom email domain not only boosts your professional image but also strengthens your brand identity, making your communication feel more credible and memorable.
• Keep an eye on performance metrics. Metrics are a crucial component of every email campaign, as they demonstrate the effectiveness and success of your promotional messages. When you understand your open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and the number of spam complaints, you can promptly react with optimization. All this data enables you to analyze the results and make adjustments to achieve better outcomes. You can always refine your marketing strategy based on these insights and bring subscribers what they are looking for.
• Incorporate automation. Email advertising is most effective when you send messages to customers at the right time. Using automated email campaigns enables you to deliver your content on schedule and helps prevent users from forgetting about your brand. You can segment your mailing lists to provide relevant information to each subscriber group. This ensures that all necessary updates, promotions, and sales reach subscribers at the proper moment.
• Perform split-testing. With split testing, marketers identify the content, subject lines, CTAs, send times, and more that resonate with their market segment. It's crucial to conduct split tests on new elements to ensure that your email marketing is effective.
• Ensure mobile-friendly design. Since most emails are viewed on smartphones, it’s essential to provide subscribers with the utmost convenience. Responsive design, short paragraphs, and large buttons are essential elements that every email should incorporate to enhance open and click-through rates. Additionally, you should pay attention to email loading times to prevent users from abandoning your emails due to slow speeds.
• Make your emails more personal. Generic subject lines and content won’t suffice when people are bombarded with emails daily. To grab attention, make your messages relevant and personalized for your audience. Utilize customer insights, such as abandoned carts and search history, to send targeted updates on products that matter. Offering exclusive promo codes or discounts on items they’ve shown interest in can also boost engagement and drive opens.

Email marketing is an effective way to reach your target audience and communicate your marketing message with minimal effort when implemented correctly. Eye-catching subject lines, personalization, a compelling copy, and segmentation are the elements that make your emails stand out among dozens of others. If you decide to use this technique for your business, be sure to check out our examples and best practices for even better results.

Last Updated: 27.05.2025