5 Email Marketing Best Practices That Help You Stay Out of the Delete Pile
Your audience’s inbox is already full, and “just checking in” isn’t the thrilling message they’re waiting for. But for growing businesses, email marketing is still one of the best ways to stay connected with leads, clients, customers, and past buyers. So how can you make sure your emails are being read and not just insta-thrown into the delete pile? Here are 5 email marketing best practices that can help you build trust and get the attention your business deserves.
Start With a Clear Purpose
When it comes to any type of marketing, you should start by figuring out your “why.” Why are you sending that email to begin with? After all, every email should have a job. Is the goal to:
Drive traffic to a blog?
Promote a service?
Announce an event?
Share a helpful tip?
Nurture a new lead?
Re-engage past customers?
Encourage someone to book a call?
Build trust through education?
Keep your brand top of mind?
If you don’t even know what you want your email to do, your audience isn’t going to know either. That purpose is going to shape everything else, from subject line to call to action. Before you write a single word of your next campaign, ask yourself: What do I want the reader to understand, feel, or do after reading this? Starting with that answer is the first step to avoiding the dreaded trash bin.
Write Subject Lines That Earn the Open
Subject lines are tiny but mighty. They’re the first thing people see when your email shows up in their inbox, and they ultimately determine whether your email is interesting enough to be opened, ignored, or deleted entirely.
Strong subject lines are clear and specifically tied to the content of the email. The last thing you want to do is clickbait your readers into opening an email just to find out the subject line was completely unrelated to your content! In the end, pulling a stunt like that can cause your audience to lose trust in your emails entirely.
Some good places to start for your subject line include:
Asking a question your audience already has
Highlighting a clear benefit
Creating curiosity without being vague
Making the email feel timely
Naming the problem your audience wants solved
Keeping it short enough to scan quickly
For example, instead of your subject line being “Monthly Newsletter,” try “Is your website making the right first impression?” Or instead of “Don’t Miss This Offer,” try “Need help planning your next campaign?”
You want to give your readers a reason to care, and a bit of curiosity or addressing their pain points from the start can show them the value of your email.
Make the Email Easy to Skim
We’re living in a world of goldfish attention spans, folks, and I say that with love. The truth is that most people aren’t carefully reading every word in your marketing email. Just like you and I, they’re skimming. They’re checking their inbox between meetings, school pickup, errands, customer calls, and about 17 other things. Your email needs to respect that if it even wants a chance at being read.
One of the most practical email marketing best practices you can take away from this blog is to make your message easy to scan. That doesn’t mean you need to dumb it down – it means you need to make the value easy to find by using:
Short paragraphs
Clear headings
Bulleted lists
Bolded key phrases when helpful
Simple calls to action
White space
A logical flow from problem to solution
You want to avoid anything that doesn’t meet these criteria, like giant text blocks, multiple competing messages, and long introductions before getting to good stuff. People are more likely to keep reading if the email feels approachable, and they’re going to click away if they have no clue what you want them to do or if you take too long to reach the point.
Speak to One Audience at a Time
I know it’s tempting to want to send emails to every single subscriber every single time, but the reality is that it just doesn’t work well.
Not every person on your email list needs the same message every time. A brand-new subscriber needs an introduction to who you are, while a past customer needs a reason to come back. A warm lead might need more education before they’re ready to book, or a loyal client may want a more personal update.
When you send the same message to everyone, you make the email feel irrelevant to more people. That’s why audience segmentation is so important.
Segmentation is when you group your email list based on shared traits, behaviors, interests, and stages in the customer journey. So, for example, you might segment a few groups by:
New leads
Current clients
Service interest
Location
Industry
Purchase history
Event attendance
Newsletter subscribers
People who clicked a specific link
You want to send more relevant emails to the right people because relevance is what keeps people engaged. After all, do you want to read an email that sounds like it was meant to go to someone else? No, and neither do I.
Give Readers One Clear Next Step
Every strong marketing email needs a clear call to action. What’s the point of your email if you don’t want them to do anything at all? Should they:
Read the blog?
Book a call?
Browse a service?
Claim an offer?
RSVP to an event?
Download a guide?
Reply with a question?
Follow you on social media?
Visit a landing page?
Your call to action should match the purpose of your email. So if the email is educational, the CTA may invite readers to learn more. If it’s promotional, it may invite them to schedule a meeting or make a purchase. The biggest mistake you can make here is to ask your readers to do too many things at once.
When one email contains multiple CTAs, like “read this blog” and “follow us on Instagram” and “check out our services” and “book a consultation” and more, the reader is going to choose the easiest option: doing nothing at all.
Keep the next step simply laid out for them. A few example CTAs you could use include:
Read the full guide
Schedule a consultation
Explore our services
Get your free estimate
Save your spot
Start your project
Reply and tell us what you need
See how it works
A clear CTA gives your email direction, so your reader can go from interest to action without having to guess what comes next.
Quick Checklist: Is Your Email Ready to Send?
Before you hit send, ask yourself:
Does this email have one clear purpose?
Is the subject line specific and honest?
Can the reader understand the main point quickly?
Is the message relevant to this audience?
Is there one clear next step?
Does the email sound like our brand?
Does it provide value beyond simply promoting something?
Is the copy easy to skim on mobile?
Are the links and CTAs working?
Would I want to receive this email?
That last one is humbling but helpful. If the answer is no, here’s a hint: your audience probably feels the same way.
Better Emails Start With Better Strategy
Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools in your digital marketing strategy, but only when your message is relevant and easy to act on. The brands that win in the inbox aren’t always the loudest. They’re the ones that understand their audience, respect their time, and show up with something actually important to say, and that’s what sets them apart.
At Glendie Creative, we help growing businesses create email marketing that feels strategic, clear, and human. From newsletters and nurture sequences to promotional campaigns and launch emails, we can help you send messages your audience actually wants to open.
Contact us to discuss your email marketing needs, or book a free call with us to get started.
Email Marketing Best Practices FAQ
How often should my business send marketing emails?
Your business should send marketing emails often enough to stay visible but not so often that they feel repetitive or unnecessary. Your frequency depends on your audience, industry, goals, and the content you’re sending. Our team at Glendie Creative can help you determine what’s best for your growing business.
What should every marketing email include?
Every marketing email should include a clear purpose, a relevant message, helpful or interesting content, and one primary call to action. It should also reflect your brand voice so the email feels recognizable and consistent with your website, social media, and other marketing channels.
How do you write an email people want to open?
To write an email people want to open, start with a subject line that clearly communicates value or curiosity. The email itself should deliver on that subject line with useful, relevant content that helps the reader solve a problem, learn something, make a decision, or feel more connected to your brand.
What is the biggest mistake businesses make with email marketing?
One of the biggest email marketing mistakes is sending emails without a clear strategy. When emails are random, overly promotional, or disconnected from the audience’s needs, people are more likely to ignore them. Strong email marketing should support a larger business goal while still providing value to the reader.
Is email marketing still effective for small businesses?
Yes, email marketing can still be very effective for small businesses because it gives brands a direct way to stay connected with leads, customers, and clients. Unlike social media, where visibility depends heavily on platform algorithms, email lets you communicate directly with people who have already shown interest.
How can I make my marketing emails sound more human?
To make your marketing emails sound more human, write like you’re speaking to one real person instead of a broad audience. Use clear language, avoid unnecessary jargon, focus on the reader’s needs, and let your brand personality come through naturally. Human doesn’t mean unprofessional, it just means clear, thoughtful, and easy to connect with.
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