Email marketing campaigns: 10 types and when to use
Ten email marketing campaigns explained: the trigger each one fits, what to measure, and the sender requirements Gmail and Yahoo now enforce.
By Roozbeh Nazari · CEO
Most email marketing campaigns fail for a boring reason: the wrong type of message was sent for the situation. A discount goes to someone who signed up an hour ago, or a newsletter goes to a list that has not opened anything in a year. In our practice we start every email programme by naming the campaign type, the event that triggers it and the one number that tells us whether it worked. This guide covers ten types in that format, then the sender requirements that apply to all of them.
Why the campaign type comes before the copy
Each type answers a different question from the reader. A welcome email answers "did my signup work and what happens next?". A cart reminder answers "is my basket still there?". When the type is clear, the subject line, timing and call to action follow almost automatically. We covered the response-counting side of this in our guide to direct marketing in digital; here the focus is on which message to send and when.
Ten email marketing campaigns and when to use each
1. Welcome email
Trigger: a new subscription or account. Send it immediately, confirm what the person signed up for and how often you will write. Measure the click rate to the first action you asked for and the unsubscribe rate, which shows whether the signup form set the right expectation.
2. Onboarding series
Trigger: a first purchase, trial start or account creation. Use a short sequence in which each message teaches one step. Measure activation, meaning the share of new users who complete the key action, not opens.
3. Newsletter
Situation: you have something useful to say on a regular schedule. It suits content-led businesses and long sales cycles. Measure clicks per section, replies and unsubscribes per issue, and compare issues against each other instead of against outside averages.
4. Promotional campaign
Situation: a time-bound offer, a sale or a seasonal event. Send it only to people who opted in to marketing messages and segment by past interest. Measure revenue or leads per recipient and the complaint rate; a promotion that sells but raises complaints costs you later.
5. Product launch or announcement
Trigger: a new product, feature or location. Start with the customers most likely to care, then widen the audience. Measure visits to the launch page and conversions from it.
6. Abandoned cart reminder
Trigger: items added to a basket without checkout by a known, consenting contact. Keep it helpful: show the items and link straight back to the basket. Measure recovered orders and check that the reminder does not simply delay purchases that would have happened anyway.
7. Browse or post-purchase follow-up
Trigger: a viewed category or a delivered order. Use it for care instructions, complementary products or a review request. Measure repeat purchase rate and review submissions.
8. Re-engagement campaign
Trigger: no opens or clicks for a period you define. Ask plainly whether the person still wants your emails and offer a lower frequency. Measure how many reactivate, then stop writing to those who do not. Removing silent addresses protects your sender reputation.
9. Transactional email
Trigger: an order, a password reset, an invoice or a shipping update. These messages are expected, so speed and accuracy matter more than design. Measure delivery time and delivery failures. Keep them free of heavy promotion so they stay clearly transactional.
10. Lead nurture sequence
Trigger: a downloaded guide, a webinar registration or a quote request. It fits B2B and high-consideration services. Each email should answer the next question a buyer has. Measure qualified replies and booked meetings.
Sender requirements that apply to every type
Since 2024 mailbox providers have enforced rules that decide whether any of these campaigns reach the inbox. Google's email sender guidelines ask all senders to authenticate with SPF or DKIM, send over TLS, keep valid forward and reverse DNS records and keep the spam rate reported in Postmaster Tools below 0.3%. Senders of 5,000 or more messages a day to Gmail accounts need more:
- SPF and DKIM together, plus a DMARC record; the DMARC policy may be set to none.
- A From domain aligned with the SPF or the DKIM domain.
- One-click unsubscribe for marketing and subscribed messages, with a clearly visible unsubscribe link in the body.
Yahoo's sender best practices state very similar rules and ask bulk senders to honor unsubscribes within 2 days. The one-click mechanism itself is defined in RFC 8058, which adds the List-Unsubscribe-Post header. Google also recommends that recipients opt in and that you confirm each address before subscribing it.
Law sits on top of these technical rules. In the United States, the FTC's CAN-SPAM guide requires accurate header information, truthful subject lines, a valid physical postal address and an opt-out honoured within 10 business days. Transactional or relationship messages are exempt from most provisions but may not contain false routing information. Other countries add their own consent rules, so check local law before you import a list.
Email marketing strategies: what to build first
Good email marketing strategies are sequenced, not built all at once. We usually set up transactional and welcome emails first, because they reach every new contact. Next come onboarding and cart reminders, which act on clear intent. Newsletters and promotions follow once there is a list that expects them. Re-engagement comes last, when there is enough history to define inactivity.
Two things outside the inbox decide the result. The first is content: emails need something worth clicking, which is where content SEO and email support each other. The second is the page the click lands on. A cart reminder that leads to a slow or confusing checkout wastes the send, so we review email flows together with CRO and UX work.
Measuring without fooling yourself
Open counts are a weak signal, because some mail apps load images automatically. Prefer clicks, conversions, unsubscribes and spam complaints. Judge each type by its own job: activation for onboarding, recovered orders for cart reminders, reactivation for re-engagement. Where possible, hold back a small group that does not receive the campaign so you can see what it truly added. No agency can promise a specific result from email; what we can do is make each send relevant, permitted and measurable.