In today’s crowded inboxes, standing out isn’t just a challenge, it’s a necessity. Video has emerged as one of the most powerful tools to boost engagement, increase retention, and drive conversions in email marketing. With the ability to visually communicate complex ideas, tell compelling stories, connect personally with your audience, and capture attention in a way that static images and text simply can’t, video is changing the way businesses connect with their subscribers.

Here’s why embedding video in your emails should be a core part of your marketing strategy, along with industry-specific ways to leverage this high-impact medium.

The power of video and its proven results

Adding video to your email campaigns isn’t just about looking modern, it delivers real, measurable results. Let’s take a look at just a couple of them:

Industry-specific ways to use video in email

The benefits of video speak for themselves. It is a great tool, but how do you incorporate it into your unique marketing strategy? Well, that comes down to your specific field. Here are some kickoff ideas that you can use to get started.

Non-profits: Inspire action and donations

Showcase impactful success stories with real-life testimonials from those your organization has helped.

Share video highlights from recent events to foster a sense of community and connection.

Feature animals available for adoption or in need of donations to create an emotional connection with viewers.

Education: Engage students and faculty

Provide sports highlights in school newsletters to keep the community engaged.

Offer free webinar previews to showcase learning opportunities and drive sign-ups.

Recap graduation ceremonies to share memorable moments with students and their families.

E-Commerce and retail: Drive sales with visual impact

Introduce new products with engaging video ads that showcase their best features.

Highlight customer reviews and testimonials to build trust and influence purchase decisions.

Create behind-the-scenes brand stories to foster authenticity and deepen customer relationships.

Design considerations for video in email

While video is a game-changer, its success depends on how well it integrates into your email’s design. Here are a few non-negotiables to ensure a seamless experience for every subscriber:

Let your ESP do the heavy lifting for you

Now you know what you want to focus on in your video content and what to keep in mind as you add it to your email marketing. Fortunately, embedding video in emails has never been easier, depending on your ESP. Make sure that yours has all the tools you need. For example, Delivra’s new video capabilities. Our intuitive drag-and-drop email designer allows you to:

Effortlessly embed video without the need for complex coding.

Customize video elements within your email design to align with your brand.

Host videos directly within Delivra, ensuring seamless playback without external hosting hassles.

Optimize engagement with fallback settings, including animated GIFs and static images for email clients that don’t support video.



Why video in email is a game changer (and how to make it work for you)

Email Marketing

The power of countdown timers in email marketing

Time is one of the most effective motivators in marketing. A countdown timer in an email isn’t just a visual element—it’s a psychological trigger. It creates urgency, drives action, and keeps your audience engaged. There are even examples of countdown timer use in emails causing up to a 33% increase in click throughs. Whether you’re running a limited-time offer, counting down to a big event, or setting a deadline for sign-ups, a ticking clock makes people act now rather than later.

Let’s dive into why countdown timers should be a staple in your email marketing strategy and explore how different industries can use them to boost results.

Why use a countdown timer in your emails?

Create urgency

A countdown timer reminds subscribers that time is running out. When people see a deadline approaching, they are more likely to act immediately instead of putting it off.

Increases engagement

Adding interactive elements—like countdown timers—can boost click-through rates. When a deadline is clearly visible, subscribers are more inclined to engage with your email.

Drive more conversions

From flash sales to event sign-ups, a countdown timer reinforces that now is the time to act. This sense of urgency leads to higher conversions compared to emails without a clear time limit.

Build anticipation

A countdown timer isn't just for last-minute pushes. It’s also a great way to hype up an upcoming event, product launch, or sale. Subscribers can watch the clock tick down, keeping your brand top of mind.

How different industries can use countdown timers in email marketing

No matter your specific field or business model, countdown timers can enhance your email strategy. Here are some industry-specific examples of how you can use them:

Ecommerce and retail

Flash sales and holiday promos – Let customers know exactly how much time is left to grab a deal.

Limited-time free shipping – Encourage shoppers to complete their purchase before the window closes.

Product launches – Build excitement for a new release with a countdown to launch day.

Education

Enrollment deadlines – Motivate students to sign up for classes before registration closes.

Scholarship applications – Remind applicants about upcoming due dates.

Event countdowns – Get students excited about graduation, orientations, or campus events.

Nonprofits and fundraising

Donation drives – Show how much time remains to reach a fundraising goal.

Event sign-ups – Drive last-minute registrations for a charity run, gala, or online auction.

Grant applications – Encourage applicants to submit their forms before the deadline.

Events and entertainment

Ticket sales countdowns – Remind people that ticket sales are ending soon.

Webinar and virtual event reminders – Get more attendees by reinforcing the event start time.

Early-bird discounts – Encourage early registrations before prices increase.

Travel and hospitality

Hotel and flight deals – Highlight limited-time promotions on travel packages.

Last-minute booking windows – Push last-chance reservations before rooms or flights fill up.

Seasonal getaways – Count down to peak travel periods, urging customers to book now.

These timers are actually useful to a lot of clients because let's face it, no one wants to miss something they were looking forward to or want to enroll in.

Making countdown timers work in your emails

When adding a countdown timer to your email, customization is key. You want it to fit seamlessly with your branding and campaign goals. When used correctly and incorporated seamlessly, the right timer can increase conversions by up to 300%. Here’s what to consider:

Remember you want your timer strategy to still fit within your branding and tone. It’s also essential to make sure they are accurate, or you could just create frustration with readers.

Bringing it all together with Delivra

At Delivra, we understand that creating urgency in email marketing isn’t just about what you say—it’s about how you present it. That’s why our platform makes it easy to embed and customize countdown timers, ensuring your emails drive action at just the right moment.

With custom styling and seamless integration, our countdown timer feature helps marketers create high-impact emails without the hassle. Whether you’re launching a sale, promoting an event, or setting a deadline, our tools ensure that every second counts.

Want to see how a countdown timer can boost your next campaign? Start using countdown timers in your emails today.

Level up your email marketing using countdown timers

Email marketing has long been a staple of digital marketing, but today’s inboxes are more crowded than ever. To stand out, marketers must go beyond traditional static emails and embrace interactive email—a game-changing approach that transforms passive reading into an engaging experience.

From clickable elements to dynamic visuals, interactive emails captivate audiences, drive higher engagement, and improve conversion rates.

That’s a relatively small change with big results. But what exactly is interactive email, and how can it enhance your marketing strategy?

Let’s dive in.


What is interactive email?

Interactive email allows recipients to engage with content directly within the email itself, without needing to click through to a website. This can include videos, countdown timers, image carousels, polls, quizzes, add-to-calendar buttons, and more.

By encouraging subscribers to take action inside their inboxes, interactive emails create a more engaging, memorable, and effective user experience.


Why interactive emails are changing email marketing

Why are so many brands moving toward interactive email? Because it gets the results that email marketers want.

So what can interactive emails do that static emails can’t? Well, on top of just being preferred by a lot of readers, they have been proven to:

Boost engagement – Interactive emails have higher open and click-through rates than static emails.

Reduce friction – Users can engage without leaving their inbox, making them more likely to take action.

Enhance personalization – Many interactive elements allow customized experiences based on user behavior.

Improve conversions – Interactive features create urgency, excitement, and convenience, leading to more purchases, sign-ups, and event attendance.

Stand out in the inbox – In a sea of text-heavy emails, interactive content grabs attention and keeps subscribers engaged.

These are only a few of the benefits, however, we want to go on to look at options for your interactive emails, since we know you’re itching to get started. Let’s explore the most popular types of interactive emails and how they can improve your marketing.

Types of interactive email

1. Countdown timers: Create urgency that drives action

A real-time countdown timer in an email taps into the psychological principle of urgency. When subscribers see time running out, they’re more likely to take immediate action—whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for an event, or claiming a limited-time offer.

Best for:

Flash sales and exclusive promotions

Early-bird discounts and price increases

Product launches and event countdowns

Why it works:

Triggers FOMO (fear of missing out) and encourages quick decision-making.

Reinforces deadlines by serving as a visual reminder that time is limited.

Boosts conversions because time-sensitive offers increase click-through rates significantly.



2. Videos in emails: Captivate and convert

Video content is one of the most engaging formats in digital marketing, making it an incredibly powerful addition to email campaigns.

Best for:

Product demonstrations and tutorials

Customer testimonials and case studies

Behind-the-scenes content and company culture

Why it works:

80% of video marketers say video has directly helped increase sales.

Video email marketing has a 22% higher open rate and a 100.95% higher click-through rate than non-segmented campaigns.

Adding video in email campaigns can lead to 80% of users saying videos help them make a purchase decision.

Adding video content to emails can potentially reduce opt-outs by 75%.



Example: A software company embeds a 30-second product demo in an email, showing key features in action, making it easy for subscribers to understand its value.



3. ‘Add to Calendar’ buttons: Maximize event attendance

No matter how engaging your event emails are, people get busy. An ‘Add to Calendar’ button ensures they won’t forget your event by adding it directly to their calendar with one click.

Best for:

Webinars and online training sessions

Virtual and in-person conferences

Product launches and sales events

Why it works:

Increases event participation due to the fact that subscribers who add an event to their calendar are more likely to attend.

Reduces no-shows thanks to automatic reminders from their calendar help them stay on track.

Creates a seamless user experience and saves yourself time, no need to manually enter event details.

Example: A webinar invitation email includes a one-click ‘Add to Calendar’ button, ensuring registrants get an automatic reminder before the event starts.



4. Polls and surveys: Collect insights effortlessly

Want to make emails feel more interactive and valuable? Adding a poll or survey lets subscribers share opinions and feedback without leaving their inbox.

Best For:

Customer feedback and satisfaction surveys

Market research and trend insights

Audience engagement and content preferences

Why It Works:

Turns email into a two-way conversation so that subscribers feel heard and valued.

Encourages engagement as people are more likely to respond to quick, in-email surveys.

Provides valuable data that helps brands tailor future marketing strategies.

Example: A beauty brand emails a one-question poll asking customers, “Which skincare product should we launch next?” and showcases the winning option in a future email.



5. Image carousels and sliders: Showcase more in less space

Interactive image carousels allow recipients to browse multiple images within a single email, making them perfect for showcasing products, testimonials, or promotions.

Best For:

E-commerce product spotlights

Real estate and travel industry promotions

Event highlights and speaker lineups

Why It Works:

Saves space so that subscribers don’t have to scroll endlessly.

Keeps emails visually engaging since a dynamic experience is more memorable.

Improves product discovery because users can explore multiple items in one email.

Example: A clothing retailer uses an image slider to showcase different colors of their new jacket, letting subscribers swipe through options.



6. Interactive menus and accordions: Organize content for better readability

Interactive menus and accordions help streamline content, making emails more structured and user-friendly. These features allow recipients to navigate different sections of an email or expand and collapse content as needed—without overwhelming them with too much information upfront.

Best for:

Newsletters with multiple sections

Product catalogs or feature breakdowns

Event agendas or multi-session schedules

FAQs or knowledge-based content

Why it works:

Enhances user experience by allowing subscribers to control what content they see.

Reduces email clutter and keeps long emails visually clean and digestible.

Increases engagement since subscribers interact with the email rather than passively scanning it.

Examples, (because this time one isn’t enough): A weekly digest email from a media brand features an interactive menu with sections like Top Stories, Industry Insights, and Upcoming Events, allowing readers to navigate to the content they care about most. Or a university email about enrollment includes an accordion with sections like Application Deadlines, Financial Aid, and Course Registration, making it easy for students to find what they need.



7. Gamification: Turn emails into interactive experiences

Gamification elements, like scratch-to-reveal discounts, spin-to-win wheels, or hidden rewards, make emails fun and interactive, encouraging higher engagement.

Best for:

Loyalty programs and exclusive rewards

Holiday promotions and special offers

Increasing brand awareness and engagement

Why it works:

Triggers excitement because users love the thrill of winning something.

Boosts click-through rates using gamified elements, which encourage more interactions.

Encourages repeat engagement as users anticipate future promotions.

Example: A spin-to-win wheel inside an email offers subscribers a chance to win discounts ranging from 10% to 50% off their next purchase.

How to get started with interactive email

Want to start using interactive emails but not sure where to begin? Here are a few tips:

✔ Pick the right interactive features and choose elements that align with your campaign goals.

✔ Keep it mobile-friendly to ensure interactive elements work seamlessly on mobile devices. 

✔ Use fallbacks for email clients because some email clients don’t support all interactive elements, so always include a fallback option (e.g., a static image for videos). 

✔ Test before sending to check how interactive features behave across different email platforms. 

✔ Measure performance and track clicks, engagement, and conversions to see what works best.



The future of email is interactive

Email marketing is evolving, and brands that embrace interactive emails will see stronger engagement, higher conversions, and a better return on investment. Consumers expect more than just static messages—they want dynamic, engaging experiences that encourage them to take action without extra steps.

By incorporating countdown timers, videos, add-to-calendar buttons, polls, and other interactive features, you can create emails that not only capture attention but also drive meaningful interactions with your audience.

If you’re looking for an easy way to bring interactive email into your marketing strategy, Delivra makes it simple. With drag-and-drop tools, built-in interactive features, and seamless integrations, you can design engaging, high-performing email campaigns without needing complex coding.

Ready to explore what interactive email can do for your brand? Learn more about how Delivra can help you create email experiences that stand out in the inbox. 🚀 Get started today.



Why interactive email is the key to engaging your audience

Diving into email marketing is a big, exciting step, but it can also come with a lot of questions. Where do you start? How do you make sure your emails don’t get ignored, or worse, lead to unsubscribes? The good news is, email marketing isn’t as complicated as it seems and when done right it’s one of the most effective ways to connect with your community, build relationships, and drive sales.

We’ll walk through everything you need to know to launch a successful first email campaign. You’ll get a breakdown of how to define your audience, craft compelling emails, ensure your messages look great on any device, and track your performance so you can continuously improve. Whether you are sending your first email campaign or looking to fine-tune your approach, these foundational steps will help you create campaigns that engage, convert, and foster long-term subscribers.

Step 1: Know your audience and goals

Before drafting your email, it's crucial to define your target audience and set clear objectives. Understanding who your audience is will help you tailor messages effectively.

First, define your target audience

Consider factors such as:

Demographics: Age, gender, location, job title, and income level. Ask yourself, who are you trying to reach?

Behaviors: Purchase history, browsing habits, and past engagement with your brand. What’s the best way to present content that will interest them?

Preferences: Topics of interest, preferred content formats, and communication frequency. How and how often do they want to hear from you?

Then, set clear objectives

Establish measurable goals to guide your campaign's strategy and assess performance. Base your goals on your reasons for starting an email campaign in the first place. What do you want to accomplish and how can you measure your success? When the going gets tough, returning to your overarching goal(s) gives you a way to look back at your progress or redirect if you aren’t getting quite the response you want. Measurable goals should have a clear success point and a time frame. For example:

Increase email-driven website visits by 25% within the next quarter.

Generate 50 conversions from email over the next 60 days.

Increase membership renewals by 15% before the next annual renewal cycle.


Step 2: Build a targeted email list

Email segmentation is the process of dividing email subscribers into groups (or segments) based on specific criteria. Email subscribers can end up in multiple segments, depending on factors like age, location, and behavior.

Segmentation ensures that subscribers receive relevant and personalized content. This leads to higher open rates, improved deliverability, increased conversions, and lower unsubscribe rates. A personalized approach also enhances customer experience and strengthens brand loyalty by proving to subscribers that you understand their preferences.

As a beginner, when should you segment? If your audience has different interests, behaviors, or engagement levels, segmentation helps send the right message to the right people. However, if your list is small or your campaign appeals to all your subscribers, segmentation may not be necessary yet.

Here are some examples of segments you can easily identify:

Purchase history: First-time buyers vs. repeat customers.

Geographic location: Targeting customers based on time zones or local events.

Sign-up source: Website subscribers vs. social media sign-ups.

Engagement levels: Active subscribers vs. inactive ones.

Step 3: Write and design with impact

Crafting compelling content and design is essential to capture your audience's attention. There are three key places you can focus on to get the best result from your first campaign.

Write an engaging subject line

Your subject line is the first impression, make it count by:

Keeping it concise (50 characters or less).

Using action-oriented language.

Personalizing with the recipient's name or past behavior.

Creating a sense of urgency (e.g., "Last chance to save 20%!").

Craft engaging and concise content

In the email body:

Address your audience's pain points and offer solutions.

Use short, scannable blocks of text

Incorporate bullet points to break up text.

Include a clear call-to-action (CTA).

Pro tip: once you’re comfortable sending manually, take a deeper dive into automation to learn how you can personalize every email with a subscriber’s name and offer tailored content that leverages contact data like purchase history, location, interests, or job title to further personalize content.

Design for visual appeal

Ensure your email is visually appealing by:

Using a clean layout with consistent brand colors and fonts.

Incorporating high-quality images, GIFs, or emojis balanced with text.

Employing responsive design that adapts to various screen sizes.

Step 4: Optimize for mobile

Optimizing email campaigns for mobile is essential because mobile has such extraordinary engagement rates—don’t risk missing out on valuable engagement because of a design glitch. To ensure a seamless experience, use responsive email templates that adjust to different screen sizes. The checklist below will help you cover your bases before hitting send.

Common mobile email mistakes

Avoid:

Using large images that slow loading times.

Creating lengthy subject lines.

Placing CTA buttons too close together.

Best practices for mobile-friendly emails

Use responsive templates that adjust to any screen size.

Keep subject lines short and readable.

Ensure CTA buttons are large enough for easy tapping.

Test emails on multiple devices before sending them.

Pro tip: most Email Service Providers (ESPs) will have a functionality that allows you to preview your draft campaigns on different email clients and device sizes. 

Step 5: Test, analyze, and improve

Continuous improvement is key to email marketing success. A/B testing allows you to compare different elements to determine what resonates best. If you start this from the beginning you’ll be more informed faster! At its simplest, the strategy is to send an email to half of your subscribers or a defined segment, then send another that tests a slight alteration and see which email performs better.

Before you launch into A/B testing, determine what your test objective is. For example, you may want to increase the number of people who open your emails.

Now that you know your objective, you can identify the key metric you’ll be observing. Attempting to increase the number of people who open your emails means your key metric is open rate: the percentage of recipients who opened your email.Here are some other examples of key metrics:

Click-through rate (CTR): Percentage of recipients who clicked a link.

Conversion rate: Number of recipients who completed the desired action.

Bounce rate: Percentage of emails that didn't reach inboxes (we want to decrease this one).

Next, pinpoint what element, or test variable, you’ll be swapping out between email A and email B. To identify how you can increase open rates, testing different subject lines is the perfect place to start.

You can A/B test anything between your emails, as long as you’re consistent. As a beginner, we recommend you only A/B test one variable at a time so it’s easy to pick a clear winner and understand which change made an impact.

Test variables could include:

Subject lines

For example, "Limited-Time Offer" vs. "Exclusive Deal Just for You".

Email layouts

For example, single-column vs. multi-column designs.

CTA wording

e.g., "Shop Now" vs. "Claim Your Discount".

Link placement

e.g., link in the intro vs. body text.

Although A/B testing sounds labor intensive it can be interesting…and enlightening. A/B testing shows you how to make every email count by pointing out exactly what does or does not land with your audience. Analyzing the results will help you refine future campaigns. By following A/B testing best practices, you’ll have a data-informed send strategy.

Use these strategies to jump-start your first campaign

Starting your first email campaign might feel like a big step, but with a little planning, it’s absolutely doable. Focus on getting to know your audience and setting clear goals from the start.

Build a segmented email list, create engaging and mobile-friendly content so you can reach subscribers effectively on any device, and keep testing and tweaking as you go. The key is to start small, apply these strategies early, and grow with confidence. By setting yourself up with a solid foundation, you’ll make continuous improvements much easier—and see better results right from the start!




Creating your first email campaign: a beginner’s guide

Imagine this, your next big campaign is in full swing. You’ve got a carefully crafted email ready to go—rich in detail, engaging visuals, and an irresistible call to action. But what happens when your audience misses it in their crowded inboxes? Enter SMS. With its immediate, attention-grabbing nature, SMS can be the perfect sidekick to email, turning a great campaign into an outstanding one.

When used together, SMS and email form a dynamic duo that can significantly increase visibility, open rates, and overall engagement. In fact, 48% of customers prefer communication from businesses to come from text messages. Let’s dive into how these channels complement each other and how you can harness their combined power.

The unique strengths of SMS and email

To really make the most of your strategy, it’s important to use both of these tools to their greatest advantage. Here’s a quick breakdown of when they both shine:

SMS: Quick, direct, and effective

SMS is your go-to for real-time updates, reminders, and CTAs. SMS has an average open rate of 98%, 5x that of email, and most messages are read within minutes. SMS is ideal specifically for:

Time-sensitive promotions (eg. flash sales, last-minute discounts).

Appointment or event reminders.

Urgent notifications like shipping updates or policy changes.

Email: Deep storytelling, connection, and detailed content

Email shines when you need to build a narrative, educate your audience, or showcase your brand’s personality. With more room for visuals, copy, and links, email is perfect for:

Product launches or detailed announcements.

Newsletters that engage and inform.

Nurturing long-term relationships through personalized content.

There's lots of nuance in email vs SMS marketing, and each has situations where they shine. However, while both have undisputed ROI, email and SMS are even stronger when they work together.



Why email and SMS work better together

The magic happens when SMS and email join forces. Think of SMS as the amplifier for your email campaigns. It’s the “push” that ensures your audience doesn’t miss what you’re sharing. Here are some examples of how email and SMS can engage readers without the overwhelm of only sending through a single channel. 


Don’t think about them like competitors! When you match the method of communication to the specific needs of that message you’ll start to see benefits. For example:


Boost visibility

If your email gets overlooked, an SMS reminder ensures your message isn’t missed. Also, some customers prefer communication via SMS, so give them the choice.

Increase engagement

Campaigns that use multiple channels see higher open and click-through rates. We’re talking about a jump in engagement of up to 166%.

Access and compare customer data

Use data insights from SMS to bolster your success over email, and vice versa. The more you know about a customer, the more personalized approach you can take (and the higher your chance at success)—if you can gather data from SMS and emails you have cross-compatible data sets which gives you just that much more information to work with.

Practical tips for SMS and email optimization

If you are ready to integrate SMS with your email strategy, or you just want to make sure you are getting the most out of your current setup, then here’s what you need to know:

Match the message to the medium

Use SMS for urgency and email for depth. For example, send an SMS for last-minute updates and use email for a comprehensive campaign overview.

Keep messaging consistent

Maintain a cohesive tone and branding across both channels to avoid confusing your audience. Ensure that your key message, style, and calls-to-action align across SMS and email, providing a unified experience that reinforces your brand identity.

Segment your audience

Use segmentation to target the right people with the right channel at the right time. Segmentation ensures that your audience only receives relevant and valuable communications, enhancing satisfaction and reducing opt-outs.

Use the right tools

Platforms like Delivra make it easy to combine email and SMS in one place, ensuring your campaigns are streamlined and effective. Check out our SMS and MMS capabilities to see how it works.

Test and optimize

A/B test your campaigns to find the perfect balance. For example, try sending an SMS 30 minutes before an email and measure engagement.

SMS may feel like a newer tool in your marketing arsenal if you’re used to email, but it doesn’t need to be intimidating. With the right SMS strategy, this channel becomes a powerful way to reach your audience where they are.

Harness the power of SMS and email together

SMS and email each have unique strengths, but together they create a fortified approach to customer engagement that no single channel can achieve alone. SMS offers immediacy, while email provides depth—and when used in harmony, they ensure your messages are seen, understood, and acted upon.

Whether you’re sending time-sensitive reminders via SMS or sharing detailed product launches through email, the combined use of these channels enables you to deliver a well-rounded customer experience with more opportunities to nurture subscribers and understand their preferences. Tools like Delivra make it even easier to coordinate and optimize your campaigns, allowing you to build stronger relationships, drive better results, and ensure your marketing efforts are always a step ahead.



Why SMS and email work better together

Coming back to work after the holidays can be really overwhelming, fortunately, there are strategies that can help you start strong and save time while increasing quality. Enter email automation: a powerful tool that helps you connect with your audience meaningfully while optimizing your time. Whether you’re welcoming new subscribers, following up on events, or re-engaging inactive customers, automation can supercharge your marketing efforts. Automated emails have a 76% higher open rate and a 152% higher click-through rate proving there are benefits beyond how much simpler automations make your job, but where to start. In this post, we’ll explore five essential email automation types—and show how the right ESP can help you execute them seamlessly.

Welcome campaigns to start strong

A welcome campaign is a series of 2-3 emails designed to introduce your brand to new subscribers. First impressions count, and engaging early helps build trust and sets the tone for future interactions. A well-executed welcome series ensures subscribers understand who you are, what you offer, and how you can add value to their lives. It can also arm you with valuable data moving forward based on what you’re seeing your subscribers interact with.

A good initial order to your welcome flow could look like this. To start out send an initial email thanking new subscribers, followed by a “getting started” guide and then a special discount for their first purchase.


Event follow-up to gather data

Event follow-up emails are sent after someone interacts with an event, such as attending a webinar, visiting your booth at a conference, or downloading an ebook. Timely follow-up maximizes the impact of your event, reinforces your brand’s value, and encourages further engagement. Shoot for 24 to 48 hours after the event, soon enough that it’s still fresh, but not so soon they’re exhausted.

Delivra’s automation builder makes it simple to set up triggers based on event participation. You can also use clickstream data to track post-event web activity and refine your follow-up strategy. This is a great way to touch base with attendees post-event so they truly feel valued…like it really mattered that they were there. Follow-up emails when used correctly can also be an effective tool to gather feedback and improve your process for future events. Talk about a win-win.


Re-engagement flows to reconnect dormant subscribers

Re-engagement campaigns are essential for reviving dormant subscribers and maintaining a healthy email list. By rekindling interest or gracefully removing inactive contacts, these campaigns improve your email deliverability and help convert unresponsive subscribers into loyal customers.

Inactive subscribers can harm your engagement metrics, but re-engaging even a small percentage can significantly impact ROI. These campaigns optimize your existing audience while protecting your sender reputation.

Strategies for effective re-engagement

Craft compelling CTAs

Use action-oriented phrases like “We miss you” or “Resubscribe with one click here” and ensure that subscribers can get their desired result with a maximum of one click (more on this later).

Focus on personalization

Reference past interactions and tailor offers using dynamic content because the best way to regain a subscriber’s interest is to be interesting to them specifically.

Lean on your preference center

Follow up within a week with a link to your preference center, allowing subscribers to adjust their interests or change frequency.

Offer exclusive incentives

Offer perks like free shipping or early access to sales as an added draw. This can also encourage wafflers to commit to that purchase they’ve been eyeing.

End with conscious consideration

Re-engagement campaigns are more than reactivating subscribers—they’re about showcasing value, improving list quality, and strengthening relationships. With the right approach, you can turn inactivity into a renewed opportunity. Remember if you leave someone with a good impression, they may still return later.


Renewal campaigns to stay relevant

Renewal automation reminds customers to renew memberships or repurchase time-sensitive products. Retention is more cost effective than acquisition, increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95%. Renewal campaigns help maintain a steady revenue stream while keeping customers engaged—it’s a fact.

To build an effective renewal campaign:

Start reminders 30 days before the renewal date, gradually increasing urgency.
Early reminders give customers ample time to act and reduce the likelihood of unintentional churn due to forgetfulness while gradual urgency helps guide the decision-making process. Starting with a friendly reminder and escalating to more urgent messaging ensures you stay top of mind without overwhelming the customer.

Encourage early renewals with discounts or perks. 
Incentives like discounts or exclusive perks create a sense of urgency and reward loyalty, making customers more likely to act early. Early renewals help smooth out cash flow and reduce end-of-period workload spikes on your end…everyone is a winner!

Include a clear call-to-action that takes customers directly to the renewal process.
A direct, user-friendly CTA removes friction from the renewal process, reducing drop-off rates. Customers are more likely to complete the action if they can access the renewal process with one click so make it clear and easy for best results. Emails with a single CTA increased clicks by 371% and sales by 1617%.

Upsell and cross-sell emails to increase personalization

Upsell and cross-sell emails recommend complementary or upgraded products/services based on customer behavior or purchase history. This automation strengthens customer relationships, increases revenue, and enhances satisfaction through personalized offers.

Look at it this way, try to be the solution to the problem your subscriber doesn’t know they have yet. After a customer purchases a camera, send an email recommending lenses or accessories. Later, suggest upgrading to a premium subscription for extended warranty coverage. Let’s face it, everyone knows the feeling of having a need or an issue and the relief of having the solution presented to them. Be that presenter!

Use these automation types to cover your bases

Email automation isn’t just a convenience—it’s a necessity for marketers looking to scale their efforts and deliver value to their audience. By implementing these five strategies, you can create meaningful customer journeys, increase engagement, and drive revenue growth. Automations, once in place, will also save you a lot of time in your day to day. If you’re inspired to dive deeper into automation The ultimate guide to building email automations is a great next step.

Or if you’re ready to elevate your email marketing game and your ESP isn’t supporting your endeavors explore Delivra’s automation features to see how we simplify complex workflows for busy marketers. For more insights, check out our blog on email marketing best practices.

Mastering email automation strategies to drive engagement and growth

When it comes to email marketing, the size of your email list isn’t everything. While having a large contact list may feel impressive, it’s the quality of that list that truly matters to your success. If your list isn’t actively maintained and full of contacts who genuinely want to hear from you, it can harm your deliverability rates, engagement levels, and even your deliverability. Your email list degrades by 22.5% every year. This isn’t something you want to sleep on.


One key way to address this is through proactive list management and engagement—ensuring your contacts still want to receive your emails and that they reflect the audience you want to engage. Regularly cleaning your email list ensures that your marketing messages reach the people who will act on them. Let’s walk through the importance of email list hygiene, how often you need to clean your list, and the steps you can take to make the most of your email list’s reach.

What is email list hygiene and why does it matter?

Email list hygiene is the practice of regularly cleaning and optimizing your email list to remove inactive, unengaged, or invalid email addresses. This should be an ongoing effort to keep your list updated with contacts who actively engage.

Why it matters:

Legal compliance

Poor list hygiene can lead to legal risks. Regulations such as GDPR and CASL (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation) require marketers to have consent from recipients, and keeping inactive contacts could inadvertently lead to compliance violations. CASL, for instance, requires explicit consent in most cases, with some limited allowances for implicit consent. Ensuring contacts on your list have given their permission—explicitly and recently—protects both your brand and your list.

And because we know you were wondering, U.S. senders must follow CASL rules when emailing Canadian contacts. CASL requires either express or implied consent from recipients and every message must clearly identify the sender and include a valid mailing address. Each email also needs an easy-to-find unsubscribe option, with requests processed within 10 business days. Take note! Keeping records of consent is advised, as proof may be required.

Improved metrics

Holding onto unengaged contacts might make your list appear large, but it also dilutes key metrics like click-through and conversion rates. A clean list means you’re sending to people who want to engage, which gives you a clearer picture of campaign success and helps you better evaluate strategy changes.

Deliverability & sender reputation

Allowing inactive contacts to accumulate can negatively impact your sender reputation, as engagement levels play a part in determining if your emails should land in the inbox or spam folder. Low engagement and high bounce rates signal to ISPs that your emails may not be relevant, increasing the risk that future emails end up in spam which, in turn, undermines your deliverability.

Email list hygiene can sometimes feel counterintuitive because the allure of a huge email list is so strong. But this is misleading for so many marketers and can actually land you in the spam folder…among other consequences of bad list hygiene you should avoid.

6 best practices for effective email list hygiene

A messy email list can undermine your entire marketing strategy, reducing engagement rates, increasing bounces, and impacting your sender reputation. Here are six best practices to implement today for a healthier, more effective email list:

Remove invalid and outdated email addresses 
Invalid addresses often stem from typos, inactive users, or defunct domains. These cause bounces, which waste resources and damage your sender reputation. Regularly track bounce rates, use email verification tools, and consider setting a specific day each month for list cleaning to stay proactive.

Make double opt-ins your best friend 
Double opt-ins ensure that subscribers confirm their interest by clicking a verification link. This helps filter out invalid addresses and reduces accidental signups. As a result, subscribers who go through this extra step are more likely to engage, leading to a more invested audience and higher engagement rates.

Say goodbye to unengaged subscribers 
Over time, some subscribers may lose interest. Holding onto them negatively affects engagement metrics, so set an inactivity threshold (for example, no engagement for 6 months). Run re-engagement campaigns to revive interest, but if they remain inactive, consider removing them from your list.

Make it easy to unsubscribe 
A prominent unsubscribe option isn’t just good etiquette—it’s essential for maintaining list integrity. It helps prevent frustrated recipients from marking your emails as spam, which can harm your sender reputation. Always include a clear unsubscribe link to make opting out simple and avoid spam reports. Plus, it’s now required by law in many regions.

Use the right tools for improved email hygiene 
Email list cleaning tools can automate the removal of bounced or spam-trap emails, helping you maintain a healthy list without manual effort. These tools also allow you to segment lists, track key metrics, and schedule cleanings, which streamlines list maintenance.

Regularly analyze email campaign performance 
Monitoring metrics like bounce rates, open rates, and unsubscribe rates provides valuable insights into list health and engagement. Keep an eye out for rising bounces (hello, outdated addresses!), dropping open rates (time for a re-engagement?), and a surge in unsubscribes (maybe ease up on the frequency!). These signs are little hints that your list could use some TLC to keep it fresh and happy. 

By implementing these practices you can ensure your email list remains active, engaged, and compliant—keeping your email marketing efforts effective and your audience genuinely interested. Now that we’ve covered the checklist for best practices, you can always dig deeper into how to effectively use email list cleaning tools.

How often should I clean my email list?

Email and marketing automation software like Delivra can do some of the list hygiene heavy lifting by automatically removing unsubscribed contacts and bouncing emails. However, there’s more that you can—and should—do. Let’s look at some tips for staying consistent:

Regularly scheduled cleaning:

 Develop a timeline that works for your business. For some, quarterly list cleaning may be ideal, while others may benefit from monthly reviews, especially if your business has seasonal fluctuations.

Embrace re-engagement campaigns: 

Schedule an automated re-engagement email for contacts who haven’t interacted with your emails within a set timeframe (e.g., 3 months, 6 months). If they don’t respond, consider removing them from the active list to prevent your metrics from being diluted by inactive contacts.

Avoiding “when there’s time”:

 List hygiene isn’t something that should be done only when time allows. Setting up an automated schedule ensures it’s happening regularly, optimizing your list and keeping engagement metrics strong.

How to clean your email list in Delivra

Using Delivra you can streamline list hygiene with a few steps:

Create an inactive segment
Begin by segmenting contacts who haven’t clicked an email within a specific time period (e.g., 6 months). This allows you to target unengaged contacts efficiently.

Craft a re-engagement email
Write an email encouraging recipients to confirm their interest. Include a prominent call to action (CTA) button, such as “Stay on the list,” to allow contacts to update their preferences easily. This lets you know definitively who still wants to receive your emails.

Automate the process
Use Delivra’s automation to send the re-engagement email. Set conditions so that if contacts don’t click the button or open the email, they are automatically moved to an “Expired” or inactive status.

Subscribers took action, now what?

Once your contacts have confirmed their interest, take the opportunity to personalize your communications further. Here are some ways to increase engagement with those who remain on your list:

Honor subscriber preferences
If you have a preference center, ensure you’re aligning with their choices, whether it’s frequency, type of content, or preferred topics. We already compiled all the details on building a truly engaging preference center, along with practical examples.

Personalize and segment
Use the data you have on your contacts to create dynamic, personalized content. Sending smaller, more strategic campaigns based on contact preferences increases relevance and engagement.

Tailor content strategically
Focus on sending content that reflects their specific interests, leveraging Delivra’s tools to fine-tune your messaging. The goal is to show that your emails are valuable to them, reinforcing their decision to stay subscribed. 

Effective email list hygiene is essential for maintaining a strong sender reputation, ensuring high deliverability, and maximizing engagement. By regularly reviewing and cleaning your list, you make sure your emails reach the people who want to receive them, leading to improved results and a healthier relationship with your audience. Remember, quality always wins over quantity in email marketing, and if you’re careful your ESP should offer the tools you need to keep your list healthy and thriving.

Email list hygiene is the key to better engagement and deliverability

One question that often arises for email marketers is whether to use a confirmed opt-in process or simply start sending emails to a list of subscribers. (You may have heard this referred to as double opt-in instead, rest assured it’s the same!) While it might seem easier to skip the extra step, using a confirmed opt-in strategy can save you from a range of deliverability and legal issues down the road. So, let’s look at what confirmed opt-in is, why it’s important, best practices to follow, and why it has benefits.

What is confirmed opt-in (or double opt-in)?

It’s hard to execute something when you aren’t entirely sure what it is, so just to be clear. A confirmed opt-in is a process that requires subscribers to verify their email addresses after subscribing to a list.

You know, you click “Subscribe” and immediately get an email saying the equivalent of “Happy you’re here, but please take 2 seconds to confirm you actually meant to do this”. The email then directs you to a confirmation link that you have to click to officially join the mailing list. Until this action is completed, you won’t receive further marketing emails.

The idea behind this is simple—confirm new subscribers genuinely want to receive emails, helping to filter out any mistyped addresses, bots, or uninterested users. It also builds trust (because you’re respecting subscriber preferences from the beginning) and keeps your list clean from the start. Nice and tidy.

Benefits of a confirmed opt-in email strategy

There are several key reasons why adopting a confirmed opt-in approach is essential for a successful email marketing strategy and how it can protect you from trouble in the future:

Improved deliverability:  Sending emails to unengaged recipients or invalid email addresses can significantly harm your deliverability rates. Email providers like Gmail and Outlook monitor how subscribers interact with your emails—if they consistently go unopened, get marked as spam, or get blocked, your sender reputation will suffer. Confirmed opt-ins help you avoid this issue by ensuring that your list only includes people who are actively interested in your content.

Legal compliance: Data privacy regulations like GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and CASL have strict rules around obtaining consent before sending  marketing emails. While single opt-in processes might meet legal standards, confirmed opt-ins go above and beyond by providing additional proof that consent was obtained. This can be useful if you ever need to provide evidence of compliance.

Higher engagement rates: When people take the extra step to confirm their subscription, it indicates a higher level of interest in your brand. This often translates to better engagement, higher open rates, and more clicks. These are the kinds of subscribers you want to be marketing to—those who are genuinely interested in what you have to say.

Improved list quality: One of the biggest benefits of confirmed opt-in is maintaining a clean, high-quality email list. Using confirmed opt-in guarantees that the email addresses added to your list are accurate, filtering out inactive or mistyped emails that can cause bounce issues, and that the owner of the address genuinely wants to receive communications. This reduces the chances of fake, mistyped, or malicious emails entering your list, improving engagement rates.

Is confirmed opt-in right for you?

While a confirmed opt-in strategy is generally a good idea for every marketer, it’s particularly important in two circumstances. It’s time to consider confirmed opt-in if your email collection methods are manual, such as sign-up sheets or email entries by cashiers. These processes in particular can lead to typos and invalid entries, so a confirmation step helps keep your list clean.

The other time confirmed opt-in could be a critical improvement is if you're experiencing deliverability issues, such as emails bouncing or landing in spam, re-confirming your recipients can improve list quality. This is especially important if it's been a while since you last obtained consent.

In short, confirmed opt-in helps ensure you’re communicating with valid, engaged recipients, making it a great strategy for improving list hygiene and deliverability





Best practices for using confirmed opt-in

If you’ve already set up a confirmed opt-in or if this is your intro, we want to make sure that you’re getting everything out of it that you can, here are some best practices to ensure you’re setting yourself up for success:

Set expectations early:  When someone signs up, let them know what to expect right away. Be clear about the fact that they’ll need to confirm their email before receiving any further communications from you. This reduces confusion and helps ensure they take action quickly.

Make it easy to confirm: Your confirmation email should be simple, concise, and easy to understand. The CTA should be prominent and the instructions clear. Avoid cluttering the email with too much information—stick to the essentials, a friendly message, and a clear link to confirm.

Send a follow-up if necessary: If someone doesn’t confirm after the first email, consider sending a polite reminder. This can be an automated email triggered a few days later, gently nudging them to confirm their interest. Be sure not to overwhelm subscribers with too many reminders, though.

Offer an incentive: If it aligns with your brand and business model, consider offering an incentive for subscribers to confirm their email. This could be a discount, access to exclusive content, or some other small benefit that encourages users to take the final step. A little extra value can go a long way in driving conversions.

Have safeguards in place: Like anything good on the Internet, bad actors have found ways to abuse confirmed opt-in systems. One example is list-bombing, adding addresses to unprotected confirmed opt-in sign up forms to flood the recipient with legitimate but unwanted emails to hide malicious activity. For this reason, you should always make sure that your forms are secured with a CAPTCHA.

These elements will get you off to a great and comprehensive start. Now that you’ve got the essentials down check out more on the hows and whys of best practices to build on that foundation.


How to implement confirmed opt-in in Delivra

If you’re using Delivra as your email marketing platform, implementing a confirmed opt-in process is straightforward. Delivra offers built-in functionality for creating a "Confirmed Opt-In" email campaign. Here's a quick overview of how to set it up:

Create a confirmation email: Start by designing an email that asks recipients to confirm their subscription. Be clear about the value they’ll receive by staying on your list and include a prominent confirmation link.

Manage unconfirmed contacts: Delivra will hold unconfirmed contacts in a separate segment, allowing you to track who has and hasn’t confirmed. This not only helps you see where you are losing people along the way but keeps things more organized.

Automate the process: With Delivra’s automation tools, you can easily create a workflow that sends confirmation emails automatically, saving time and ensuring a seamless process. Simply select your confirmation email from the drop-down list to automatically send the confirmation message.

Shape the future of your email list with confidence

In email marketing, the quality of your list is far more important than its size. By using a confirmed opt-in process, you ensure that you’re sending emails to people who actually want to receive them. This not only improves your deliverability and engagement rates but also helps you stay compliant with data privacy laws.

If you’re still debating whether to use a confirmed opt-in process, the benefits far outweigh the effort. Your customer experience team will thank you, and your email metrics will reflect the positive impact.




Why confirmed opt-in is essential for successful email marketing

Let’s talk email deliverability 101

Deliverability refers to an email’s ability to successfully land in a recipient’s inbox, bypass filters, and avoid the spam folder. It's not just about whether an email is sent or delivered—deliverability ensures the message reaches the intended inbox, while email delivery only guarantees that the receiving server accepts it.

Respecting subscriber preferences and focusing on deliverability are perhaps the two most important elements of email marketing. These two pillars ensure that you build a positive relationship with subscribers and they actually get your messages. Great, now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s explore practical steps to ensure that we are doing everything within our power to implement these important elements.

The core principles

1. Let subscribers initiate contact

Permission and relevance are the name of the game…or at least really should be. The golden rule is simple, only send emails that recipients have actively subscribed to and find valuable. Deviating from this—for example, sending irrelevant content or ignoring opt-in practices—can lead to deliverability issues and damage your brand's rapport with followers.

Where do you start when it comes to deliverability and subscriber preferences?

First, decide between single opt-in or double:

Single opt-in: A subscriber fills out a form and is automatically added to your email list. This is quick and straightforward, but it comes with risks, such as accidental or fake sign-ups.

Confirmed opt-in: After signing up, subscribers receive a confirmation email requiring them to verify their subscription. This additional step ensures a higher quality list by preventing fake or unengaged subscribers from joining.

So, what are the main considerations to keep in mind when deciding between these options? Confirmed opt-in is considered more reliable for building an engaged and compliant list. Many experts recommend it for better engagement rates and deliverability despite the allure of immediate simplicity. Although there is an allure to a simpler process, engaged followers are the MVPs of your audience, while inactive ones can be the root cause of complaints and demotions to the spam folder. This is one arena in which one-click convenience isn’t in your best interest.

2. Consent and transparency are key

Ok, they’ve signed up to receive your communications. That’s a great start! Now, we’re on to the crucial next step. Transparency is essential in this whole deliverability process. This practice helps set expectations and build trust, minimizing the chances of spam complaints later. This also helps ensure compliance with legal regulations, such as:

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in Europe, mandates explicit consent for collecting and processing data. If you are using a checkbox on your form to collect consent, it must not be pre-checked.

CAN-SPAM Act in the U.S. requires transparency in email content, sender identity, and a clear opt-out mechanism.

Clearly state what kind of emails subscribers will receive, how often they will receive them, and how their data will be used. (Even better, allow subscribers to make their own choices regarding these elements with just a few quick questions in a preference center).

3. Easy unsubscription is in your best interest

Having a clear and easy-to-use unsubscribe option is just as important as gaining opt-in consent. Not only is it required by most email regulations, but it also ensures that users who are no longer interested in your content can leave your list easily, reducing the chances of spam complaints. We’ve covered this before so we won’t dwell on the details of this point now, but it’s essential to remember as a part of your deliverability process so definitely worth mentioning.

Avoid pitfalls when switching email service providers (ESPs)

25% of companies are reviewing their tech stacks quarterly and they are doing it right. An annual review is a long interval and it’s important to be part of an email platform that is evolving and improving. Not to mention, it can take care of a lot of tedious jobs for you. The tricky part is the migration when you decide you need to part ways with your current ESP.

If you’re migrating to a new email service provider (ESP), it's vital to prepare carefully to avoid disruption in deliverability. This involves cleaning up your email list, reviewing your segmentation strategy, and setting a clear plan for IP warming—where you gradually send emails to small groups of active subscribers to build sender reputation. Neglecting these steps can lead to a drop in performance post-migration.

There are a number of ways a cutting-edge ESP improves deliverability, but we’ve collected some of the most key:

1. Better sender reputation management

By properly segmenting and sending to engaged subscribers first, you can avoid getting flagged as spam and build a positive reputation with services like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook.

2. Improved email authentication

An updated ESP can support advanced authentication protocols. These protocols help verify the authenticity of your emails, reducing the chances of being flagged as spam.

3. List hygiene and segmentation tools

With enhanced list management features, a modern ESP properly handles bounces of various types to make sure you’re not repeatedly sending to bad addresses. This improves list hygiene, which can increase open rates and reduce bounce rates.

4. Advanced personalization options

Updated ESPs allow for more specific segmentation based on user behavior, preferences, and demographics. The result is more relevant, targeted emails, which have higher engagement rates and are less likely to be marked as spam.

5. Analytics and deliverability monitoring

These tools allow you to track key metrics such as open rates, bounce rates, and spam complaints, enabling you to adjust your strategies quickly to maintain high deliverability.

Honestly, we could keep going, but the point is that incorporating these features into your email marketing strategy (which is a breeze when your ESP is handling it) can help ensure your messages reach inboxes more consistently and that engagement remains high.

Yes, in a lot of ways these migrations are hard and can be annoying, but when it comes to deliverability, making sure your ESP is up to date and doing as much of the lifting for you as possible, they make your life easier in the long term.

It’s about more than just tech

Email deliverability is more than just a technical concern—it's about respect for your audience and thoughtful execution. By prioritizing permission-based marketing, practicing transparency, maintaining list hygiene, and choosing the right ESP, you can significantly boost your deliverability rates while building trust with your subscribers. The goal is simple: send the right messages to the right people, ensuring they actually want to hear from you. Keep evolving, stay compliant, and remember that deliverability is as much about relationships as it is about technology.


Unlock high deliverability with key tips for email marketing success

Understanding email unsubscribe requirements

In the world of email marketing, compliance is key. One common source of confusion is whether or not an email must include an unsubscribe option—and what elements that option needs to have. The answer? If your email is commercial in any way, it's almost surely required by law.

Staying up-to-date with evolving regulations is crucial. Non-compliance can carry hefty penalties, never mind that it gets you on the bad side of your subscribers.

These guidelines can be intimidating because of their ever-evolving nature. But they don’t need to be! To shed some light on the matter, we’ve broken it down into a guide on when and how to include an effortless unsubscribe option that makes all the difference.

Benefits of including unsubscribe options in emails

Navigating the complexities of email deliverability can be challenging, but there's a simple step you can take to stay ahead: include an unsubscribe link in all your emails. It's more than just a legal requirement—it’s a powerful tool for enhancing your relationship with your audience and boosting your email performance. Here are 5 reasons why it’s so beneficial.

1. Boost deliverability rates

Email giants like Google and Yahoo have strict rules for email deliverability. Including an unsubscribe link in all your emails signals that your emails are user-friendly and compliant, which can improve your deliverability rates.

2. Simplify legal compliance

Remember to keep up with email regulation updates, because making unsubscribe options a standard feature in your emails helps you stay compliant. This simple step ensures that you’re adhering to international laws, avoiding fines, and protecting your reputation.

3. Build trust with your audience

Offering an easy way to unsubscribe shows that you respect your recipients' preferences. This transparency enhances your brand’s trustworthiness, leading to higher engagement, customer loyalty, and even the potential for re-subscribers.

4. Clean your email list

An unsubscribe link helps filter out inactive or disinterested subscribers, leaving you with a more engaged audience. This improves the accuracy of your data and reduces the risk of being reported as spam.

5. Enhance your brand's image

By respecting recipients' subscription preferences, you foster a positive impression of your brand, even among those who choose to unsubscribe. A user-friendly unsubscribe process can lead to recommendations and maintain a positive relationship with your audience.

By embracing the clear and simple unsubscribe link, you're not only safeguarding your email practices but also building a stronger, more trusted connection with your subscribers. It’s a win-win that ensures your emails are hitting the mark while keeping your brand’s reputation in top shape! Get the details from Gmail and Yahoo’s new 2024 commercial email requirements.


Core legal requirements for unsubscription centers

Don’t be intimidated. Laws governing email marketing around the world are continuously evolving, but not as difficult to comply with as they first seem. The guidelines you need to follow aren’t that convoluted. Here's a quick overview of key regulations for some major audiences:

CAN-SPAM Act (United States): Requires commercial emails to include a clear and conspicuous way to unsubscribe.

GDPR (European Union): Mandates that consent for email communications can be withdrawn at any time, necessitating an easy unsubscribe process.

CASL (Canada): Requires you to provide clear and specific instructions for how to unsubscribe, and requires consent before sending anything, unlike the US.

For more of the details on how these vary internationally explore The Ultimate Guide to International Email Law.



Differentiating commercial vs. transactional emails

While commercial emails must include an unsubscribe option, purely transactional emails are often exempt. Transactional emails are messages sent to individuals based on specific actions or transactions they have performed, such as order confirmations, password resets, or account notifications. These emails are typically automated and focus on providing information relevant to the recipient's ongoing relationship or transaction, without promotional intent.

In contrast, commercial emails are designed primarily for marketing purposes, aiming to promote products, services, or brands. These emails are often sent to a broader audience and include newsletters, promotional offers, and sales announcements, with the primary goal of driving engagement, sales, or brand awareness. Keep this in mind when you are confirming your unsubscribe options follow the guidelines.

How to implement an effective unsubscribe process

We’ve curated a quick and simple checklist to make sure you are implementing your process right. The following must-dos are the building blocks for unsubscription best practices and how to keep your email campaigns effective, compliant, and enjoyable for all.

Make it easy

Your unsubscribe link should be easy to find and use. Avoid hiding it in fine print or requiring multiple steps to complete the process. It’s a bonus if it only takes one click to unsubscribe—often the most user-friendly approach. This results in staying under a reported spam threshold.

Gather additional information

It could be a good idea to offer contacts the option to leave or select a reason for unsubscribing. A chance to gather data is never a waste…unless you don’t use it to improve.

Provide subscription options

Consider offering options instead of a simple unsubscribe. Allow recipients to choose the frequency of emails or the types of content they receive. This can reduce overall unsubscribe rates while respecting user preferences.

Monitor and adjust

Regularly review your unsubscribe rates and reasons for unsubscribes. This data can provide insights into how your email content is received and where you might need to make adjustments.


If you are looking for additional info about upcoming anti-spam regulations, you should be aware of the new Gmail requirements for bulk senders. Although our best practices above will help you comply with them, it can be a helpful resource to understand the nitty gritty. Bulk senders are now required to authenticate their emails, allow for easy unsubscriptions, and stay under a reported spam threshold.


Unsubscribe options don’t have to be complicated

Actually, it’s better if they aren’t. Including an unsubscribe option in your emails is not just a legal requirement but a best practice that enhances deliverability, builds trust, and simplifies compliance. The easier your unsubscribe process is to navigate, the better the farewell impression you make. As laws continue to evolve, staying informed and proactive in your email marketing strategies will ensure that you remain compliant and maintain a positive relationship with your audience.

By prioritizing clear, user-friendly unsubscribe processes, you demonstrate a commitment to respecting your recipients' preferences, which can ultimately lead to stronger, more engaged relationships with your subscribers.


Understanding email unsubscribe requirements

Email automation streamlines communication by sending targeted messages based on user behavior and preferences. Building automation involves setting goals, segmenting your audience, creating personalized content, and choosing the right triggers and timing. Our guide simplifies these steps, helping you enhance engagement, boost conversions, and save time, making your email marketing efforts more efficient and impactful.

Understanding the importance of email automation

First of all, why put in all this work? Email automations are designed to save time and streamline communication during campaigns. 49% of marketers save time with automation and 45% see improved ROI and overall efficiency. However, while building automations demands consideration and planning before launch, once you have your automations built,t they do the work for you.

Email automations do the heavy lifting for email marketers by sending the right message at the right time based on user behavior and preferences. This reduces manual effort and increases efficiency. For instance, automated emails generate 320% more revenue than non-automated emails.

Email automations enhance customer engagement, drive conversions, and foster lasting relationships. Yet, to achieve these benefits, marketers must understand the complexities involved and avoid common pitfalls.

Start with a specific goal

Before diving into the technical aspects of building an automation, it’s crucial to define a clear goal. Ask yourself:

What is the primary objective of this automation? Is it to drive purchases, encourage event sign-ups, or nurture relationships?

Will this automation be a one-time campaign or an ongoing process?

By keeping an intentional goal in mind, you can ensure that every step in the automation leads toward achieving your specific objectives. The more specific the goal the better, if you build too many objectives into one automation, you risk distracting or overwhelming your subscribers. You can always split extra ideas into a new automation series.



Create an MVP automation

One of the most effective ways to avoid getting overwhelmed is to start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) version of your email automation. An MVP allows you to launch a basic version of your automation and gradually build complexity into it. This makes starting the whole process more approachable and streamlines your work. This iterative approach helps you:

Test and validate your initial ideas.

Fix bugs before they are tied into the whole design.

Gather feedback and make data-driven improvements.

Avoid the risks associated with overly complex setups from the outset.

By setting up a simple workflow of triggers, evaluations, and actions and then building it out over time, you can ensure emails go to the right segments and everything is working as it should.

Plan ahead to save time later

Building an automation is an upfront investment of your time—don’t worry, you’ll earn back that time, plus more once it’s up and running. But it’s still worth planning ahead to be as efficient as possible when you’re actually building the automation.

Look over your existing customer journey and pinpoint potential triggers, touchpoints, and opportunities to reach out to your subscribers. Then, decide what content would be relevant and helpful to your audience at those points—and what action you want them to take next. When you start plotting out your automation, visualization tools can be incredibly helpful. They allow you to map out your workflows, visualize different paths, and identify potential bottlenecks or crossovers.

The key is to have a clear visual representation of your automation’s structure. Delivra uses a visual workflow builder that allows you to easily map out and visualize complex email sequences. Even when your automations become sophisticated, this visual map of your workflow makes it simple to double-check that each step in the customer journey is optimized for engagement and conversion. Easily drag and drop actions into the builder to set up triggers based on subscriber behavior, such as email opens, clicks, or website visits, to send personalized messages at the perfect moment.




Key considerations for effective email automations

It’s easy to overlook several critical details when building automations, which is exactly why we created this guide! To help you avoid these common, but time-wasting mistakes, consider the following:

Keep tabs on frequency and timing

Single-use vs ongoing: Determine whether your automation will be a one-time campaign or a long-term nurture cycle.

Data updates are essential: Ensure data and analytics on the performance of your automations is readily available through your platform, this will help you adjust send times and triggers for optimal performance.

Establish your optimal timing: Decide whether contacts should be added to the automation immediately when they match the criteria or at specific intervals.


Plan message coordination

Contact management: Consider if you will send other messages to contacts while they are in this automation or if they should be excluded from other campaigns.

Date considerations: Account for holidays, weekends, and other significant dates to avoid sending emails at inopportune times.

Optimize your content strategy

Dynamic content: Identify opportunities to use conditional or dynamic content blocks in your emails, it’s an easy and effective way to personalize all your automated emails. Goal alignment: Ensure that each action within the automation leads toward your ultimate goal, whether it’s a purchase, event registration, or relationship building.


To get more tips and tricks to keep in mind, check out this edition our newsletter, The Inbox that explores the ABCs of building and optimizing these flows.



Quality assurance for email automations

Testing is a critical component of building effective email automations. A robust QA process can prevent issues and ensure a smooth user experience. Here are some tips for QA:

Test your contacts: Create test contacts for every decision point in your automation.

Evaluate your data: Start your automation with an event and continuously evaluate criteria as your subscriber progresses through the automation. Implement split paths based on this data to customize user journeys.

Return to testing: Continuously test and refine your automation. Remember, the phrase “set it and forget it” does not apply here. Regular iterations with changes help fine-tune your strategy and address any unexpected issues.

Leverage pre-existing workflows and advanced features

When you have a few automations prepared, reuse pre-existing individual email templates or workflows to streamline the process. These templates can provide a solid foundation and help you get started quickly.

Once you’re feeling confident with single-channel automations, get SMS and email working together in the same campaign. Switch between SMS and email within an automation to increase touchpoints and vary your outreach.

If your marketing automation tool supports both communication channels, then adding SMS actions to your existing automations will be simple. For example, in Delivra, you just drag and drop to add SMS events to your automations.

Make sure your platform helps instead of hindering

Delivra streamlines building automations with features that minimize workload, including a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor and visual workflow builder, making campaign creation easy even if you don’t have technical expertise.

Delivra offers robust personalization options like dynamic content and conditional web forms so you can automate tailored messages without extensive manual input. Seamless integrations with CRM systems and e-commerce platforms facilitate smooth data flow, automated updates, and refined segmentation.

Building automations won’t be complicated if you have the right tools. Look for an email automation platform with a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop editors and visual workflow builders, robust personalization options, seamless CRM and e-commerce integrations, and comprehensive analytics to track key metrics and gain insights into subscriber behavior.

Follow your playbook for success

Clearly, building email automations is a nuanced process that demands careful planning and strategic execution. But, by starting with a clear goal, creating an MVP, and leveraging visualization tools, you can lay a solid foundation for your automations—and just keep building from there!

Pay close attention to timing, message coordination, and content strategy to ensure a seamless user experience. Finally, invest time in thorough QA and utilize all the features of your platform to maximize the effectiveness of your automation.

With these tips, you can navigate the complexities of email automation with ease and create impactful, efficient campaigns that drive results.






The ultimate guide to building email automations

Automation

Creating an effective email and SMS preference center is crucial for maintaining a positive relationship with your audience while ensuring compliance with data protection regulations. A well-designed preference center can significantly reduce unsubscribe rates by giving subscribers control over what they receive and how often they receive it—this is the basis of permission-based marketing: only send subscribers the content they want.

Let’s explore what a preference center is, why it matters, best practices for setting one up, and examples to guide you in creating your own.

The ABCs of preference centers and how they retain subscribers

A preference center allows subscribers to manage their communication preferences with your brand. This includes opting in or out of specific types of content, frequency of messages, and selecting preferred communication channels like email, SMS, etc.

Choosing how frequently they want to receive messages gives them control over what appears in their inbox and helps you avoid accidentally overwhelming them. But beyond those basics, an effective email preference center is a powerful personalization strategy. You can give your subscribers a way to communicate with you about what they find interesting and relevant.


Why does a preference center matter?


Improve subscriber satisfaction: Giving subscribers control over their preferences leads to higher satisfaction. Subscribers receive content that is relevant to them, which increases their brand loyalty.


Better engagement rates: When subscribers are happy with the content they receive, they are more likely to engage with your emails. Higher engagement rates can improve your email deliverability, ensuring that your messages reach more inboxes.

Comply with regulations: Compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA is critical. A preference center helps you stay compliant by allowing subscribers to manage their data and communication preferences easily.

Some marketers have a hard time letting go of the "I want everyone to see everything I publish!" mindset and that offering options in a preference center will limit their reach. However, the reality is that irrelevant content leads to higher unsubscribe rates. By respecting your audience's preferences, you build a more loyal and engaged subscriber base.



How to build an effective email marketing preference center

Start by understanding your audience. To provide relevant options within your new preference center, you have to understand your audience’s needs. What kinds of content will best serve your audience? What problems are they trying to solve? What would be helpful or interesting?

Conduct surveys or (better yet) analyze existing engagement data to identify what types of content your subscribers prefer and how they want to receive it. This insight will help you offer relevant options in your preference center.

Email preference center best practices

A preference center is meant to help your subscribers, so if you make the opt-in/opt-out process complicated or frustrating, you risk damaging your subscriber relationships. Here are some things to consider while you build your preference center (and to avoid popular pitfalls:

1. User-friendly design: Ensure your preference center is easy to navigate. Use a clean, simple layout and clear labels for each preference option.

2. Mobile optimization: Many users will access your preference center from mobile devices. Engage in testing and responsive design practices to ensure it is easy to use on all screen sizes.

3. Clear instructions: Provide clear instructions on how to use the preference center. This includes how to update preferences and what each option means.



How to structure your preference center options

The best preference centers combine clear instructions with user-friendly design, but there are a few different ways you can go about this. The most intuitive set up really depends on how you plan to structure your content preferences—whether that’s by topic, cadence, or channel. Here are examples of how you could communicate these personalization options to subscribers:

Content types: Allow subscribers to choose from different types of content (e.g., newsletters, promotional offers, product updates)

Frequency options: Give subscribers the option to choose how often they receive communications (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly).

Channel choices: Offer choices for different communication channels (e.g., email, SMS, push notifications).



Find more preference center examples and ideas on how to incorporate personalization messaging.

How to collect email subscribers' preferences

Permission-based marketing means it’s essential to collect permission and preferences straight from your subscribers. Include links to your preference center in key places:


Email footers: A link in the footer of your emails ensures subscribers can easily update their preferences.

Website: Place links in your website's footer and account settings pages.

Welcome emails: Include a link in your welcome emails to encourage new subscribers to set their preferences from the start.



Monitoring and optimizing your preference center

Regularly review your preference center data to gain insights into subscriber behavior and preferences. This will help you identify trends and make necessary adjustments to improve engagement.

If you’re using a platform like Delivra, creating and managing preference centers is straightforward. Delivra’s preference center is designed to be user-friendly and offers a variety of options for subscribers to tailor their communication preferences. It includes options for different content types, communication channels, and frequency settings.

Beginner-friendly forms: Use Delivra's forms to allow subscribers to opt in or out of different accounts. This is particularly useful for organizations with multiple accounts, such as universities.

Effortless segmentation: Apply tags to create segments based on preferences. This allows for more personalized and relevant communication.

There is also a lot of 1:1 support ready to assist you with crafting your unique center in Delivra. Helping you get the most out of building and maintaining your platform. It’s as easy as 123 with the resources, how-tos, and step-by-step advice along the way.



Preference center examples

Depending on your specific business type and brand identity there are a number of different preference center setups that could work best for you. A few common examples are below.

Retail and streaming companies: Many retail brands offer preference centers where subscribers can choose to receive updates on sales, new products, and special events. This way you avoid spamming them with offers from departments that they wouldn’t shop in at your store.

Educational institutions: Universities with multiple departments and communication needs often use preference centers to allow subscribers to choose updates from specific departments or areas of interest. Sending an arts student science course updates is a quick route straight to the dreaded unsubscribe. Harvard takes this to the next level by creating tailored preference centers for current vs potential students.

Professional development content: A preference center is crucial for a platform that sends out professional development content because it empowers subscribers to customize their experience, ensuring they receive relevant information. This not only increases the likelihood of content being read and valued but also fosters a stronger connection between the website and its audience, ultimately driving higher retention and participation rates. Take Delivra’s preference center as an example.


Bringing it all together for an effective email preference center

A well-designed preference center is a powerful tool for improving subscriber satisfaction, engagement rates, and compliance with data protection regulations. By understanding your audience and offering relevant options, you can create a preference center that benefits both your subscribers and your brand.

Regular monitoring and optimization will ensure it continues to meet the needs of your audience and supports your marketing goals. Really, it’s that simple, if your subscribers enjoy your content and its relevance, they stay. Think of a preference center as the frontrunner in your preference management strategies. It keeps everyone happy…and connected.


For more information on setting up a preference center or more demos for completing it in Delivra, check out our knowledge base articles.

Building an Engaging Email Preference Center: Best Practices and Examples

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In today’s crowded inboxes, standing out isn’t just a challenge, it’s a necessity. Video has emerged as one of the most powerful tools to boost engagement, increase retention, and drive conversions in email marketing. With the ability to visually communicate complex ideas, tell compelling stories, connect personally with your audience, and capture attention in a way that static images and text simply can’t, video is changing the way businesses connect with their subscribers.

Here’s why embedding video in your emails should be a core part of your marketing strategy, along with industry-specific ways to leverage this high-impact medium.

The power of video and its proven results

Adding video to your email campaigns isn’t just about looking modern, it delivers real, measurable results. Let’s take a look at just a couple of them:

Industry-specific ways to use video in email

The benefits of video speak for themselves. It is a great tool, but how do you incorporate it into your unique marketing strategy? Well, that comes down to your specific field. Here are some kickoff ideas that you can use to get started.

Non-profits: Inspire action and donations

Showcase impactful success stories with real-life testimonials from those your organization has helped.

Share video highlights from recent events to foster a sense of community and connection.

Feature animals available for adoption or in need of donations to create an emotional connection with viewers.

Provide sports highlights in school newsletters to keep the community engaged.

Offer free webinar previews to showcase learning opportunities and drive sign-ups.

Recap graduation ceremonies to share memorable moments with students and their families.

E-Commerce and retail: Drive sales with visual impact

Introduce new products with engaging video ads that showcase their best features.

Highlight customer reviews and testimonials to build trust and influence purchase decisions.

Create behind-the-scenes brand stories to foster authenticity and deepen customer relationships.

While video is a game-changer, its success depends on how well it integrates into your email’s design. Here are a few non-negotiables to ensure a seamless experience for every subscriber:

Let your ESP do the heavy lifting for you

Now you know what you want to focus on in your video content and what to keep in mind as you add it to your email marketing. Fortunately, embedding video in emails has never been easier, depending on your ESP. Make sure that yours has all the tools you need. For example, 

. Our intuitive drag-and-drop email designer allows you to:

Effortlessly embed video without the need for complex coding.

Customize video elements within your email design to align with your brand.

Host videos directly within Delivra, ensuring seamless playback without external hosting hassles.

Optimize engagement with fallback settings, including animated GIFs and static images for email clients that don’t support video.

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