As a teen, I was socially awkward. I guess it didn’t help much being young, naïve and only just beginning to learn the rules of social etiquette.

And it only got worse where my social life was involved…

Not understanding the types of social gatherings to which I was invited to, I consequently showed up dressed incorrectly, saying the wrong things and bearing the wrong gifts.

That girl who turned up at a posh dinner party in jeans and trainers? That was me..

Bringing a binge worthy bottle of vodka to a baby shower? Guilty.

You see, there’s a time and a place for everything. My problem was I somehow kept sending the wrong message in every situation.

And when it comes to your email marketing, despite your best efforts, you could end up looking like the odd one out too.

How? Simply by using the wrong tones – or sending the wrong type of message with your campaigns. There are so many different ways you can reach a lead, prospect, or a new customer in their inbox, and the ones you end up creating matter.

To really make your marketing work, you need to know what sort of emails to send and why.

What email do you need to master in order to grow your business, build a relationship, generate more leads, or make more sales?

Keep reading as we walk you through the essential types of emails you should be incorporating into your email strategy – which are guaranteed to keep your subscribers coming back for more.

#1 The Welcome Email

You’ve set up a meeting with an important new client, they come to the meeting, you let them in without a word, and go somewhere else leaving them waiting for the duration of the meeting. How uncomfortable do you think that client’s going to feel? Do you think they’re ever going to do business with you again?

Erm, probably not.

Ok, so maybe that metaphor is a tad extreme but it illustrates exactly how it can feel for a new subscriber on your email list if you don’t welcome them and let them know about your business and how things work. Ultimately that new subscriber is going to feel a little bit out of place not to mention – unwelcome.

Your welcome email is the email you send a subscriber within 24 hours after they opt in to your list.

Welcome emails are a crucial part of your email marketing, and here’s the thing, your subscribers expect a welcome email. Use a welcome email (better yet, a welcome email series) to thank the new subscriber, introduce your brand and let them know what to expect.

A welcome email is your chance to get to know the subscriber a little better too. Ask your subscriber questions about themselves such as their birthday or location, you could even ask that they select preferences for how often they’d like to hear from you and what sort of content they’d prefer.

#2 The Offer Email

A free offer email is a great way to get your customers invested in your product or service by offering a gift for free. This type of email aims to motivate subscribers to make a purchase and convert them to paying customers.

The offer email could include discounts, coupons or special deals as a thank-you to VIP subscribers.

You could also offer links to useful blogs, provide a free live training session or virtual downloads, such as whitepapers or software. Whatever you’re offering, it’s a great way to provide value to your customers who may feel inclined to stay subscribed to your email list if they know they can receive free products from it.

When sending out an offer email, don’t forget to segment your list which will allow you to offer personalised content based on their preferences and needs.

#3 The Survey Email

A survey email is a simple email that asks your subscribers to respond to certain questions around topics relevant to your product. Sending a survey email is a great way to receive valuable feedback from your customers and use that information to tailor your marketing efforts to their needs.

And, don’t forget it’s worth making it rewarding. Offer an incentive for those who complete and submit their opinions such as a discount or free entry into a contest.

In Mailchimp you have the option to create a detailed survey and share it from your social posts, emails, or anywhere on the web. You can also use the poll or survey merge tag to create a simple survey within your email or you can create a survey outside of Mailchimp and link it to your campaign with 3rd party integration.

Why not give it a try? you’d be surprised how many people really enjoy filling these out!

#4 The Milestone / Anniversary email

If you’re ‘down with your data’ in Mailchimp then chances are you’re monitoring key information about your customers, such as their birthdays or anniversaries. So why not put all of that data to use with milestone emails?

Celebrate your customers by sending them an anniversary email as a way to thank them for staying subscribed to the list.

These emails are also helpful in signifying important milestones for the email list in general. For example, you could celebrate a big milestone for your list in general such as hitting a certain number of subscribers.

#5 The Newsletter email

First things first, don’t fall into the trap of sending out a newsletter just for the sake of it. As a rule of thumb – if you don’t have anything to say, then don’t say it because boring and uneventful emails are the fastest route to getting your subscribers hitting that unsubscribe button.

A newsletter is a regular email sent to your customers with a consistent theme.

Newsletters are a great way to:

• Build a relationship with customers
• Inform customers of company and industry news
• Promote the values and culture of your brand whilst reinforcing your brand’s reputation
• Increase views on new content
• Increase sales
• Let readers know about offers
• Distribute new/popular content and blog posts to increase engagement and traffic to your website
• Increase awareness of a new product or service
• Increase social media followers
• Position yourself or your company as an authority in the industry

The primary goal here is to build brand awareness and loyalty, promote your products or services as well as increase engagement with your audience.

Meet these goals by making your newsletter interesting, helpful, well-structured, good-looking, and personalised.

Mailchimp has an array of pre-set newsletter template options available. You can also start from scratch and create your own template to match your branding and style which is pretty simple as Mailchimp gives you the option to drag-and-drop content blocks straight into your newsletter.

#6 The Value Email

A value email is where you simply provide value with no strings attached. By offering value, you’re showing that it’s not just making a sale but also building a long-term relationship with your audience.

This is YOUR opportunity to entertain, teach, inspire and encourage.

It could be a blog post, a dose of inspiration, a whitepaper, members only information or a simple tip. For example, a hairdresser could send trend alerts with styling advice, or a bookshop might send a round-up of book reviews.

Just remember your objective, to provide value rather than sell a product or service because let’s be honest, no one wants to be sold to all the time.

#7 The New Product Email

You’ve just launched a new product, service or offer, who should be the first to know? your subscribers of course! That’s just what the new product email is for… announcing your new product, service, or offer to your email list.

This type of email aims to describe and promote the offer with links sending customers to a targeted landing page to learn more. Use this type of email to:

1. Inform existing and potential customers about products or services
2. Offer exclusive content by giving a sneak peek before anything goes live on your website
3. Make feedback requests before the official launch

#8 The Lead Nurturing Email

Gently guide your subscribers along the sales funnel with targeted content by setting up a lead nurturing email or campaign. Your aim should be to convert readers into paying customers and ultimately to gain repeat customers.

We would recommend having segmented lists for prospects in each stage of the buyer’s journey to allow you to reach out to them with resources that answer their unique questions and needs.

To nail this type of email, start off with building a relationship with the subscribers first. It’s important to understand your customers to create emails that resonate with them.

Inspire your customers and encourage them to make a purchase by addressing the readers problems and offer a solution showing the benefits of your products or services. A subscribers’ interest in making a purchase should grow with every message.

Match the content of each email with the recipient’s place in the buyer’s journey,giving importance to a recipient’s interest, needs and pain points.

This will enable you to provide valuable content, offers and solutions that will encourage them to take the next step, help them get the maximum benefit whilst giving you the maximum ROI from your campaign.

#9 The Transactional email

Transactional emails are messages triggered as a result of a specific action done by your subscribers. The great thing about this type of email is that the click-through rates of these are usually high because customers anticipate these emails as a result of a completed action.

The objective of these emails is to provide the required information to your readers. You can send these emails to:

• Notify subscribers of any changes made to their account
• Provide subscription and payment confirmation
• Provide personalised post-sale product recommendations
• Remind subscribers of free trial expirations.

On top of providing need-to-know information, transactional emails are a great way to increase customer engagement and build trust.

#10 The Confirmation email

Confirmation emails are similar to transactional emails, except they usually don’t require any further action from the customer. You can use these types of emails as a confirmation that something has happened.

The three most common reasons for a confirmation email are:

• A list subscription confirmation
• A purchase confirmation
• A shipping confirmation

#11 The Re-Engagement Email

Are your subscribers ghosting you?If your reports show that a portion of your subscribed client list has been inactive, it may be time to send out a re-engagement email to re-establish contact and put you back at the forefront of your subscribers minds.

Asking for feedback is an excellent way to do this.. To make it work, try to find out why your subscribers haven’t been reading your emails.

The current frequency does not satisfy them? Offer them the option to change the frequency of emails they receive.

Your subscriber prefers other communication channels? Add social media buttons.

#12 The Launch email

The clue is in the title, these emails are used for a very specific purpose: to announce the launch of a new product, service, feature or offering. tease your launch ahead of time on your website or landing page and let visitors sign up for early updates.

#13 The Abandoned cart email

It’s pretty common for a customer to add a product to their cart and end up not purchasing it, they are so close to completing the sale so why not give them a gentle nudge? send an abandoned cart email to prompt them to finish the transaction.

Setting up an automatically triggered cart abandonment email campaign is an easy way to increase your conversion rate and make more sales.

Research from Moosend shows that abandoned cart emails have an average open rate of 45% – and an average clickthrough rate of 21%. Half of those people make a purchase.

Best practices for abandoned cart email include reminding the customer of the products they were viewing, showing the total price and the price of each item and adding a discount if possible.

Send these types of emails at different time frames, such as a few hours or a few days after the customer has left the website. Just remember, your abandoned cart email could be the difference between closing the sale and losing their interest for good.

Final Thoughts

Email marketing can be a powerful tool to boost your ROI as well as create long-lasting, quality relationships with customers, these are just a handful of the many kinds of emails available to you in your marketing strategy.

Some of these messages should sell or provoke interest in your product, others should create an exceptional user experience. By using a variety of email types to achieve your objectives, you’ll be able to engage your subscribers through all stages of the customer funnel. Because If you aren’t sending emails your audience finds relevant, they’ll disengage and possibly unsubscribe altogether,