Want to be successful at email marketing?
The road to success often means leveraging data and continuously refining your strategies.
We're here to guide you through the process.
In this article, we'll share five email marketing success stories and explore the case studies behind them.
By the end, you'll have the insights needed to start optimizing your own email marketing campaigns. If you're just starting out, don't miss our Guide to Email Marketing Basics to build a strong foundation.
Let's dive in!
5 Amazing Email Success Stories
Here are five very different email marketing success stories, inlcuding strategies you can apply to your own campaigns.
Women in Tech SEO - Using Community to Crush Open Rates
Women in Tech SEO (WTS) is a global community for people who work in search engine optimization, marketing, and related industries. It includes an active Slack channel, dozens of in-person and online meetups, and conferences in Europe and the U.S. WTS has also built a mailing list of more than 8,000 people.
The weekly email’s format varies, but tends to include a mix of curated content from around the web, content created by WTS members, and career interviews with other members.
While the newsletter’s contents may not seem groundbreaking in isolation, the magic is in the large, devoted community WTS has created.
Here’s a look at their strategy:
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Deliver consistent value: By bringing together content from an under-represented group (women in tech SEO), WTS’s emails deliver unique value.
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Build bonds: By creating spaces where people get to know each other, WTS has also built a very loyal and connected audience that is more likely to open its emails.
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Be consistent: WTS uses their emails in the way they use a lot of other platforms: to shine a light on community members. You’re more likely to open and share an email that includes content from someone you know, someone you admire, or someone who shares similar goals and interests as you.
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Provide personal touches: Emails are sent from WTS staff and often include personal messages. This makes them feel like something from a friend.
Here are a few snapshots from WTS’s newsletter.
The Results
- 55%+ average unique open rate, with some emails achieving an open rate of up to 70%.
- Nurturing and growing a community and business.
SparkToro - Winning at Thought Leadership
SparkToro is an audience research and intelligence tool. It’s targeted at marketers and aims to be a leader in marketing strategy. In other words, it needs to walk the walk.
SparkToro’s strategy is a little outside the box for a lot of marketers because it relies on what’s referred to as “zero-click marketing.” That means marketing that doesn’t rely on a click but instead aims to create extreme value and engagement for users.
Here’s how it works.
The Strategy
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Offer zero-click value: The newsletter is designed to be fully digestible in the inbox - no clicks required. This provides value and reduces the time it takes to consume the content, which makes repeat opens more likely.
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Follow a template: SparkToro has settled on a 3-3-3 structure that includes three audience research tips, three articles or resources, and three social media posts. This consistency lets the audience know what to expect when they open an email.
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Provide diverse and helpful resources: SparkToro knows its audience inside out. Its emails deliver a smart mix of rare educational resources, LinkedIn insights from industry leaders, and well-timed humor.
Here’s a sample of one of SparkToro’s bi-monthly emails:
The Results
- A loyal list of more than 60,000 email subscribers.
- Open rates that rarely dip below 40%.
Proximity Plumbing - $14,500 in Sales in One Month from Email
For a small service business, the right email at the right time can make all the difference. At Proximity Plumbing, the marketing team developed an automated email sequence that would trigger 11 months after the completion of every large plumbing job.
The email invites the customer to schedule their complimentary annual inspection, something Proximity provides as a helpful service.
The Strategy
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Frame customer retention as a helpful service: Rather than openly pushing for more business, Proximity works to maintain the relationship by providing a free plumbing inspection.
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Give it some time: Proximity triggers its automation 11 months after a large plumbing job. Leaving customers alone for a while can feel scary, but one well-timed email can outperform generic notifications and email blasts.
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Automation: Proximity automated emails to trigger automatically, making the whole process hands-off.
The Results
- Increased open rate from 15% to 33%.
- Generated $14,500 in follow-up maintenance work in the first month.
Helio Cure - Generating 22% of Monthly Revenue from Email
Helio Cure sells red light therapy devices designed to improve skin conditions, relieve pain and inflammation, and contribute to other health outcomes. But they were losing email subscribers—and customers—because people didn’t fully understand how to use the devices they sold.
The solution? A new email marketing strategy. Instead of sending everyone the same monthly marketing emails, Helio Cure’s marketing team built automated educational emails that are segmented based on the device a customer purchased, and what they want to use it for.
The Strategy
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Segmentation that makes sense: Helio Cure segmented emails in a way that would allow them to send the most relevant and useful information possible. This helped increase open rates—and customer retention.
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Educate the customer: Because many customers didn’t fully understand the product, Helio Cure focused its emails on education—showing how to use the product, what benefits to expect, and when. This increased the likelihood that customers would see real value in the messages.
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Upsell (just a little): Helio Cure didn’t want its emails to be too salesy, but they did include links to relevant accessories where it made sense.
The Results
- Increased email open rates by 42% in 6 months.
- Increased click-through rate for accessory purchases by 18%.
- 22% of the company’s monthly revenue now comes from these educational email sequences.
Instantprint - Winning with Automation
Instantprint is an online printer focused on small businesses. Craig Wassell, the head of its digital marketing team, made a relatively simple update to the way the company does email marketing: he created email marketing automation sequences.
In fact, his impact was much bigger than that. He moved much of the email work away from manual data entry to streamlined, automated workflows. This sounds simple, but the data suggests that only 63% of marketers use automation for email marketing!
The Strategy
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Determine triggers: Wassel’s team collated data from multiple sources to create various triggers, including order frequency, average order value, and other factors.
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Set up the right email marketing software: The change in strategy required an upgrade in email marketing software. The team prioritized options that would integrate with existing systems and had staff test it for fit. (Get some tips on how to do this yourself in How to Compare Software.)
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Craft sequences one by one: The team crafted email automation sequences to deliver personalized messaging and ensure every email had a purpose.
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Test and optimize: The team operates a perpetual cycle of testing and optimization to continue to enhance email effectiveness.
Here’s what their welcome email sequence looks like:
The Results
Since implementing email automation, Instanprint’s welcome sequence has:
- Increased second orders from clients by 10%.
- Improved client retention and loyalty.
- Created a more coherent brand message.
The email marketing software you choose can have a huge impact on your workflow and capabilities in email marketing. If you’re looking to make a switch, we have a handy tool to help you compare email marketing software. You might also want to check out:
Tips to Ensure Email Marketing ROI
If ROI is a priority in your email marketing campaign, it helps to design it with revenue in mind from the start. Decide what action you want your subscribers to take (make a purchase, book a demo, etc.) before you start. This will ensure your whole process is built around a business outcome. Then we recommend that you:
- Aim for relevance: Rather than newsletter blasts, set up automated sequences and behavior-based emails. This helps ensure your emails are timely, personal, and hit subscribers when intent is high.
- Segment your list: Email ROI drops fast when everyone gets the same message. Segment your list by lifecycle stage, behavior, product/interest, intent signals, or some combination of those.
- Lead with value: Campaigns that give more get more. Remember to provide something of value (education, case studies, how-to content, etc.) before asking for something in exchange.
- Test and iterate: Small changes can improve ROI. Always be testing subject lines, CTAs, timing and frequency (and just about any other element you think might move the needle!)
FAQ
What is the success rate of email marketing?
What is the success rate of email marketing?
The success rate of email marketing all comes down to execution. But here are some stats that speak to how well it can work.
- Email marketing generates $36-$41 for every $1 spent.
- 80% of marketers say email is core to their strategy.
- Email often drives about 27% of total digital revenue for ecommerce brands.
Do email campaigns really work?
Do email campaigns really work?
The examples above show that they certainly can! The key is to understand your audience, aim to provide something of value, and then test and iterate to determine what works best.
The most effective strategies for email marketing campaigns overall are subscriber segmentation, message personalization, and email automation campaigns. As a form of marketing, email marketing has lots of benefits!
What is the 60/40 rule in email marketing?
What is the 60/40 rule in email marketing?
The 60/40 rule in email marketing is a guideline for balancing value and promotion in your emails so subscribers don’t feel sold to. This means devoting at least 60% of your email to providing value and only 40% to promotion. Value can come from things like how-to tips, case studies, lessons, or other educational content. (That’s exactly the strategy a lot of the marketers above used!)
What is the 80/20 rule in email marketing?
What is the 80/20 rule in email marketing?
The 80/20 rule is a more conservative version of the 60/40 rule. Emails following this rule lean even more heavily on providing value like education and insights (80% of their content,) and devote even less space to promotion (20% of their content.) In this format, promotion tends to be one short CTA at the end of each email.
How can I increase open rates in my email campaign?
How can I increase open rates in my email campaign?
There are lots of ways to help improve open rates. Here’s a quick list:
- Use a recognizable sender. A real person often works better than a company.
- Write clear subject lines. Show people what they can expect and help them understand the benefit of opening your message.
- Segment your list. When people get email that’s more relevant to them, they’re more likely to open it.
- Send fewer, better emails. Relevance and quality beat quantity.
- Protect deliverability. Avoid spammy language, broken links, and image-only emails.
- Clean inactive subscribers. Inactive subscribers drag down open rates. Smaller lists of engaged subscribers perform better.
- Be consistent with timing. Send your emails in a regular cadence so people know what to expect.
- Provide value. If the last email was great, the next one’s more likely to get opened.
How can I use email marketing to increase revenue?
How can I use email marketing to increase revenue?
To use email marketing to increase revenue, you need to stop thinking of email as “campaigns” and start treating it like a revenue system that works every day, even when you’re not sending blasts. Here’s a quick overview of what to do:
- Focus on lifecycle emails first: Revenue comes fastest from emails tied to where someone is in the customer journey. High-impact flows include welcome emails, educational campaigns, intent-based emails (like abandoned cart emails), and other automations.
- Segment by intent: Revenue rises when emails match what someone is ready to do. That’s why it pays to segment by things like click behavior, pages visited, or product purchased.
- Lead with education: Emails that teach convert better than emails that pitch. Use how-to guidance, use cases, and customer examples to educate before you sell.
- Give every email a primary action: Build your email around what you want the subscriber to do and make a CTA to match. An educational email might prompt someone to try the relevant feature. An intent email might suggest the subscriber book a demo.
- Use automation: The best email campaigns run continuously. Automate flows that can quietly generate revenue 24/7.
- Track revenue: Open rates don’t pay the bills. Track the metrics that do.
- Reduce friction: Email can’t carry revenue alone. Make sure whatever pages your CTA sends people to are designed to convert.
- Optimize what already works: Revenue growth often comes from small improvements. Iterate elements that are working and keep testing.
How can I use automation to improve my email marketing?
How can I use automation to improve my email marketing?
Use automation to send emails based on what people do, not on a fixed schedule. Trigger emails when someone signs up, clicks, views pricing, buys, or goes inactive. Segment those users and adjust the message based on their behavior. This makes emails more relevant, improves engagement, and increases conversions without sending more volume.
