Email Marketing: Why You Should Add It to Your 2025 Strategy

Tracy Scheckel
Dec 12, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Mar 25

Don't overwhelm your customers with email marketing.

Whether you’re diving into a full marketing calendar for 2025 or just fine-tuning your existing efforts, if you’re not already using email marketing, it’s time to consider adding it. After selecting the right email platform and crafting a solid template, you’ll be able to send out a professional monthly email campaign in under two hours.

Best Practices for Successful Email Marketing

The internet is flooded with advice on how to optimize your email marketing. Here are three key elements to focus on:

1. Compelling Subject Lines – A strong subject line encourages recipients to open and engage with your email.

2. Engaging Email Content – Your content should be relevant, informative, and in alignment with your brand’s voice and design.

3. Optimized Send Times – Use consumer data to determine the best time to send emails for maximum engagement.

These elements are crucial to your campaign’s success, but before you get started, the first question to answer is: What do you want your email campaign to accomplish?

Defining Your Email Campaign Objectives

Email campaigns generally fall into two broad categories:

Brand Awareness: These emails aim to keep your brand top-of-mind when a recipient is ready to make a purchase. They can include company updates, news, tips related to your industry, or general content that doesn’t directly sell a product.
Call to Action (CTA): These emails urge the recipient to take immediate action, whether it’s to make a purchase, sign up for an event, or take part in a promotion.

While many campaigns combine both brand awareness and a CTA, it's important to segment your audience based on engagement levels and the typical sales cycle for your product or service.

Email Marketing "Rule of Three"

Once you’ve defined your campaign’s objective, it’s time to compose your email. The **Rule of 3** (not to be confused with the Rule of 7) is a time-tested principle from Aristotle’s *Rhetoric*, stating that people more easily remember things in groups of three. Think of phrases like "Stop, Drop, and Roll" or "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."

For a Brand Awareness Email:

Structure the email into three sections, such as:

A brief company update or news
Helpful tips related to your product or services
A contact form or other engagement tool to encourage interaction

For a Call to Action Email:

Focus on three core elements:

A compelling headline
A list of key benefits
A clear, distinct call to action (e.g., “Shop Now” or “Register Today”)

Timing Your Emails for Maximum Impact

Current industry best practices suggest that emails sent on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays tend to get the best engagement, especially for service-based businesses. For retail, weekends and holidays may be more effective. As for the time of day, emails sent in the early morning to early afternoon generally perform better—anything after 5 PM is considered too late. Ultimately, you should use a combination of industry data and insights about your specific customers to fine-tune your sending schedule.

Understanding the FTC’s CAN-SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), sets guidelines for marketing emails. Non-compliance can result in fines of up to $51,744 per email. The Act categorizes emails into three types:

1. Commercial Content

2. Transactional or Relationship Content

3. Other

If your email contains commercial content (advertising or promoting a product or service), it must adhere to these guidelines:

Don’t use misleading or false header information
Avoid deceptive subject lines
Clearly identify the message as an ad
Include your physical business address
Provide an easy way for recipients to opt out of future emails
Honor opt-out requests promptly
Ensure that any agents or consultants sending emails on your behalf are compliant

Email platforms like Mailchimp or Constant Contact make it easier to comply with these regulations, as they handle opt-ins, opt-outs, and best practices for send times.

The Golden Rule of Email Marketing

For me, the golden rule of email marketing boils down to: **Treat others as you would want to be treated**. Personally, here’s how I approach it:
A branding email every 4 to 6 weeks is ideal for me. If I want more frequent updates, I’ll opt into a more in-depth email list.
Subject lines that sound overly urgent or dramatic (e.g., "Act Now or Miss Out!") are a turnoff.
Emojis in subject lines or the email body make me unsubscribe immediately.
Receiving transactional or relational emails multiple times a day (looking at you, Amazon) is overwhelming.
When I unsubscribe, I want it to happen instantly and require no more than 3 clicks.

Improve Your Email Engagement

To further optimize your email campaigns, consider adding a simple feedback form at the end of each email. Ask your recipients if the email was helpful and how you can improve future communications. This will provide valuable insights into what resonates with your audience.