It’s easy to think email might’ve faded out by now. But, with the number of global email users projected to reach 4.89 billion by 2027, it's still one of the most effective ways to build customer relationships, drive engagement, and increase sales.
However, just sending emails may not be enough. If you want people to open your emails, click on your link, or download your digital asset, you need a strategy built on proven email marketing best practices.
In this guide, I’ll share nine email marketing best practices that I’ve used to turn underperforming campaigns into high-converting success stories.
1. Segment Your Email List
The biggest mistake I see marketers make is sending the same email to their entire list. It comes across as impersonal and spammy. That’s why segmentation is one of the most effective email marketing best practices for better engagement.
I like to segment based on demographics, past purchases, pages visited, and engagement. For example, a customer who has purchased recently should receive a different email from someone who hasn’t opened your emails in a few months.
A good example of email segmentation is Duolingo, a language-learning app. It emails users who haven’t opened the app in a while, saying, “We miss you.”
Segmentation makes your message more personal, leading to higher open and click-through rates.
Source: Really Good Emails
2. Craft Attention-Grabbing Subject Lines
Writing a strong subject line is one of the most important email marketing best practices. You need to give your recipients a good reason to open your email.
“The first step to getting people to take action is that they have to open and read your emails… But until that happens, and to catch the “swing voters” who might or might not open your emails at any given time; you need a strong email subject line.”
– Ian Brodie, Author of Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience, Build Authority and Generate More Sales With Email Marketing.
Your subject lines should spark curiosity and promise value in under 50 characters (7-10 words). Anything longer might get cut off, especially on mobile. This means key information might not be visible to your email recipients.
For example, this subject line from Branch says, “Find your perfect fit.” It hints at the possibility of finding something satisfying, which makes you wonder, What’s my perfect fit? That curiosity will encourage the recipient to open the email.
Source: Really Good Emails
3. Personalize the Entire Email Experience
Email personalization is more than starting with “Hi [First Name].”
It extends to user behavior, preferences, location, and sending time. It’s one of the top email marketing best practices because emails that feel personal are more likely to get clicks.
For example, using product feedback software and location data, you can send weather-based product recommendations to your subscribers.
You can also set up automated workflows that trigger emails based on specific actions, like an abandoned cart or a recent purchase.
Tools like POWR offer a free abandoned cart popup maker, which you can use to create and embed popups. You can, for example, create a newsletter signup popup and send an automated welcome email as soon as someone signs up, making them feel valued.
This level of personalization helps you connect with your audience and creates a more engaging, tailored experience.
If you use an email ticketing platform for customer support emails, create templates for common responses that allow scope for personalization.
4. Optimize Content for Mobile
A survey found that 64% of respondents prefer opening emails on mobile devices. So, if your emails aren’t easy to read on a phone, you might be losing clicks.
Source: Zero Bounce
That’s why mobile optimization is one of my non-negotiable email marketing best practices. Here’s what I always do:
- Use a single-column layout
- Keep font sizes large (14–16px)
- Ensure buttons are easy to tap
- Optimize image file size for fast loading
Most email services, as explored in Attrock curated list, allow you to preview emails on desktop and mobile before sending. This gives you a chance to catch formatting issues or cut-off text.
A quick preview ensures a smooth reading experience, no matter what device your subscribers use. It’s a small effort that can lead to significantly higher engagement.
5. Use Social Proof to Build Trust
Including social proof in your emails is one of the most underrated email marketing best practices.
People are more likely to engage with content that others have validated. It’s a psychological principle that shows your subscribers they’re not alone.
Customer reviews, testimonials, or user-generated content can increase your click-through rates. You can also showcase badges and ratings—something as simple as “Rated 4.9/5 by 500 users” can be the social proof people need.
Check out how this skincare brand used a customer’s review as social proof in its email:
Source: Really Good Emails
6. Deliver Consistent Value in Every Email
Think of every email as a chance to earn your reader’s attention. Value should be at the core of your message, whether educational, promotional, or entertaining.
Your email should solve a problem for your target audience or share a helpful tip. It’s one of the most effective email marketing best practices that builds trust in the long run.
When people trust your brand, they’re far more likely to take action. The reader should feel like opening your email was worth their time.
7. Include a Clear, Compelling CTA
Every email you send should have a single goal, and your call to action (CTA) should guide the reader toward it. Don’t overwhelm them with five different buttons. Instead, focus on one strong CTA that’s actionable and visible.
Also, the color of your CTA button should stand out from the rest of your email content. This is one of the simplest email marketing best practices that’s often overlooked. If your CTA is not visible or legible, chances are they won’t take action.
In this McDonald’s email, the CTA color contrasts with the email body, making it more visible. It also uses an action verb, “Order,” to drive action.
Source: Really Good Emails
8. Re-Engage Inactive Subscribers
While most businesses have an email opt-in form on their websites, B2B companies may extract emails from LinkedIn or other sources to acquire more leads. While this can help grow your email list, ensure the emails are valid and active.
Invalid or outdated emails can bounce, damaging your sender reputation if that happens too often. Email service providers may flag your messages or limit deliverability.
Using EasyDMARC SPF lookup helps verify that your SPF records are correctly configured, improving your email authentication and deliverability.
To achieve a clean email list, use email verification software and try sending a re-engagement email to subscribers who haven’t opened emails after 60 to 90 days. Remove them from your list if they still don’t respond and remain inactive.
“Marketers confuse re-engagement campaigns with reactivation campaigns all the time, but they’re NOT the same thing… Re-engagement emails focus on fresh content, preferences, and re-establishing email value. Reactivation campaigns focus on incentives, pain points, and why they stopped buying… If you’re lumping them together, you’re sending the wrong message to the wrong people - and losing both re-engagement AND revenue.”
— Kath Pay, Founder, Holistic Email Marketing
9. Test and Analyze What Works
If you’re not testing, you’re guessing, which rarely works.
One of the advanced email marketing best practices I live by is constant experimentation. That’s because even the smallest tweaks can lead to big improvements.
That’s why A/B testing is so important. Try testing your subject lines, content length, CTAs, or design.
You can even experiment with send times and use those insights to improve your marketing and sales operations and boost overall campaign performance.
Tools like Powr make this process easier by integrating with popular data-driven email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and Constant Contact. You can track clicks, views, and conversions directly from your embedded popups or forms.
FAQ: Email Marketing Best Practices
1. What is the difference between click rate and click-through rate?
Click rate measures clicks per email delivered, while click-through rate (CTR) measures clicks per email opened. Click rate shows overall engagement with your email. CTR tells you whether your content was compelling enough for subscribers to click on specific links in your email to search for more information.
2. What is the best click-through rate for email marketing?
The average click-through rate ranges from 2% to 5%, depending on your industry, region, and the specific email campaign. According to the 2024 GetResponse email marketing benchmarks, the average CTRs were 4.16% for the arts and entertainment sector, 5.10% for retail, and 2.52% for the travel sector.
3. How to get a better click-through rate?
Do the following to get better click-through rates:
- Segment your audience
- Personalize the email content
- Use clear, action-oriented CTAs
- Keep emails concise and value-packed to encourage clicks
- A/B test subject lines, designs, and CTA placements
4. How to improve email open rates?
Here’s how you can improve email open rates:
- Write engaging subject lines
- Avoid spam triggers, such as excessive punctuation marks
- Send at optimal times
- Clean your email list to remove inactive subscribers
5. What is A/B testing in email marketing?
A/B testing compares two versions of an email element, such as the subject line, design, or CTA, to see which performs better. After testing the variables, analyze the results and apply insights to improve your open and click-through rates.
Final Thoughts
Improving your email open and click-through rates isn’t about luck but strategy. I’ve shown you nine email marketing best practices that helped me over the years.
If you do it right, you’ll see better engagement, higher conversions, and a stronger ROI. Which tip will you try first? Let me know in the comments.
Author Bio
Gaurav Sharma is the founder and CEO of Attrock, a results-driven digital marketing company. Grew an agency from 5-figure to 7-figure revenue in just two years | 10X leads | 2.8X conversions | 300K organic monthly traffic. He also contributes to top publications like HuffPost, Adweek, SingleGrain, Livechat.com, and more. Social Accounts: Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube & Facebook
