Author: Erin Ridley

Picture a different kind of sales experience: one in which you walk into a store, and instead of a pushy salesperson trying to close a deal immediately, you’re greeted with helpful tips, personalized recommendations, and just the right amount of attention. You feel seen. And that’s exactly what lead nurturing emails do—minus the awkward small talk.

Lead nurturing emails help businesses build relationships with potential customers over time, offering the right kind of value at every step of their journey. Whether someone just discovered your brand or is on the verge of making a purchase, the right email at the right moment can make all the difference. 

This may sound easier said than done, so today we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to make it happen.

What Is a Lead Nurturing Email?

A lead nurturing email is a strategic message sent to potential customers to guide them through the buying process. Rather than pushing an immediate sale, these emails educate, engage, and build trust, ensuring leads stay interested and move closer to conversion.

Think of it like dating: You wouldn’t propose on the first date (hopefully). Instead, you build a connection, earn trust, and show why you’re the right match. Lead nurturing emails work the same way by offering valuable content, addressing pain points, and keeping your brand top of mind.

How to Write Lead Nurturing Emails

Lead nurturing emails form an important part of email marketing. They follow the email customer journey, ensuring that leads (that is, potential customers) receive the right information at the right time. So prior to creating high-impact lead nurturing emails, you need to understand how leads progress through your sales funnel and how each email fits into each stage. 

Let’s explore how to do email lead nurturing, step by step.

1. Map Out Your Sales Funnel

Before drafting a single word, map out your sales funnel and its email touch points—you’ll want to slot in one (or several!) emails at every stage. Indeed each stage requires a different approach—and a different message!

Consider these common email stages and examples based on the customer journey:

• Awareness stage – Educate leads on their problem and introduce your brand. (Example: Welcome emails)
• Consideration stage – Help them evaluate solutions and see why your product is the best fit. (Example: Product tutorials, case studies, comparison guides)
• Decision stage – Nudge them toward a purchase with incentives or social proof. (Example: Discount offers, testimonials, abandoned cart reminders)
• Retention and loyalty – Keep customers engaged and encourage repeat business. (Example: VIP offers, new product announcements, surveys)

Think about your customers and the journey they take from awareness to purchase and beyond, and then which lead nurturing emails you can send to them to nurture their interest and move them through each step. 

2. Segment Your Email List Thoughtfully

Assuming you’ve generated leads and built your email list, then the next important part of sending lead nurturing emails is to segment your list. This ensures each lead receives relevant content based on their interests, behavior, and position in the funnel—and it’s an essential part of keeping people moving through the funnel.

 Let’s examine how you might organize your leads, and how this might work in practice:

• Acquisition source: Website sign-ups, webinar registrations, free resource downloads, landing pages, etc.
  • Example: If a lead downloaded an eBook on SEO, send a follow-up email with an SEO case study rather than a generic company introduction.
• Behavioral data: Browsing history, email engagement, past purchases.
  • Example: If a lead frequently visits a product page but hasn’t purchased, send an email with customer testimonials or a limited-time discount.
• Demographics: Industry, job title, company size.
  • Example: A small business owner might receive content about budget-friendly solutions, while an enterprise lead gets insights on scalability and integrations.

3. Create a Lead Nurturing Sequence

You’ve got a lead nurturing journey, and segments to target, and now you need to put it into action. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by implementing an email sequence. 

This basically entails sending a planned series of emails (discussed in step one) based on the recipient’s behavior, engagement, or stage in the customer journey (which we discussed in step 2). Each email is designed to provide value, build trust, and guide potential customers toward a decision, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a service, or taking another key action.

Manually managing a lead nurturing sequence is impractical, especially as your list grows. The good news is that many tools allow you to set up email automations. This ensures consistency, saves time, and allows you to scale your efforts effectively.

4. Personalize Your Emails for Maximum Impact

Segmentation lays the groundwork, but personalization makes your emails truly engaging. It’s more than just adding a first name—it’s about making each message feel relevant to the individual.

Ways to personalize your emails:

• Reference past interactions: Mention a resource they downloaded, a product they viewed, or an event they attended.
• Use dynamic content: Customize email content based on location, preferences, or purchase history.
• Tailor subject lines and CTAs: Adjust messaging based on where the lead is in their journey.

The more your emails feel like they were written for an individual rather than a mass audience, the more likely they are to resonate and drive action.

5. Track Performance and Optimize

Once your emails are live, monitor key email marketing metrics to see what’s working and what needs improvement. Important metrics include:

• Open rates – Are your subject lines engaging? Consider implementing email subject line best practices to improve their performance.
• Click-through rates (CTR) – Is your content relevant and compelling? Make your calls to action aren’t strong enough? Tweak for future emails and track the results.
• Conversion rates – Are leads taking the desired action? Maybe people are clicking through from your email, but sales don’t reflect that. Make sure your emails, calls to action, and desired conversion all align, and that the process is smooth and intuitive.
• Unsubscribe rates – Are you sending too many emails or missing the mark? If you notice more people drop off after a certain email, you might want to consider the cause behind that. Or if you notice a gradual decline, think about changing up your email frequency to see if that makes a difference. 

When in doubt, A/B test. That is, if you just can’t figure out the cause for a certain metric’s behavior (whether it’s increasing, decreasing or staying the same), then experiment with different subject lines, content formats, and CTAs to see how performance changes. Just remember this email marketing best practice: test one thing at a time so that you know exactly what is working and what isn’t. 

Types of Lead Nurturing Emails and Great Examples

Now that we’ve covered how lead nurturing emails work, let’s examine some of the different  types of emails you might send during this process. Some introduce your brand, others provide helpful resources, and a few give that final nudge to convert, among other objectives. Here’s a breakdown of the essential types of lead nurturing emails and how they keep potential customers engaged:

1. Welcome Emails – Make a Great First Impression

A welcome email is your chance to introduce your brand and set expectations. It should reinforce why the lead signed up, provide helpful information, and encourage engagement. This is a great opportunity to share your brand’s mission, direct them to key resources (such as blog posts or product pages), and invite them to follow you on social media. A well-crafted welcome email helps establish a positive relationship from the start.

The above lead nurturing email example warmly welcomes recipients as their “journey begins” and adds the bonus of 15% off, which is always a nice incentive for new subscribers to convert straight away.

2. Discount Offer Emails – A Gentle Push Toward Conversion

Sometimes, a little incentive is all it takes to turn a hesitant lead into a paying customer. A discount offer email provides potential buyers with a time-sensitive promotion, making it more tempting to take action. These email campaigns work especially well for first-time buyers, seasonal promotions, or re-engaging inactive leads. To maximize effectiveness, highlight the savings clearly and create a sense of urgency. You may even wish to include this offer in your welcome email in order to encourage the purchase right away.

This lead nurturing email campaign example from Crate&Barrel incorporates a couple top email marketing tips: the conversion-driving discount, as well as the classic “sense of urgency.” Throw in the fact that the discount is for furniture faves, and there’s a good chance the recipient will be more likely to move along to the next step in the lead nurturing process.

3. Product Tutorial Emails – Show, Don’t Just Tell

If a lead has shown interest in your product but hasn’t purchased it yet, a product tutorial email can help them see the value firsthand. These emails provide step-by-step guides, feature breakdowns, or video demonstrations to showcase how the product works and why it’s beneficial. For service-based businesses, these emails might include FAQs, onboarding instructions, or use case examples to help potential customers feel more confident in their decision. 

On the other hand, for those who have already made a purchase, a product tutorial email helps them maximize the value of their new item—increasing both satisfaction and the likelihood of repeat business. It also keeps them engaged with the brand, strengthening the relationship and driving long-term loyalty and conversions.

The below coffee-making tutorial email is a great lead nurturing email example of helping the customer better learn how to use and enjoy the product more, and hopefully continue to buy more as well.

4. Personalized Recommendation Emails – The Right Fit at the Right Time

Based on a lead’s behavior—such as past interactions, browsing history, or perhaps quiz results—personalized recommendation emails suggest relevant products, services, or content. These emails create a more custom experience, making the recipient feel understood while increasing the chances of conversion. The more relevant the recommendation, the more likely the lead is to engage. We’ll discuss how to make this happen shortly.

In the following lead nurturing email example, Audible tackles personalization from a few different angles: they address the lead by name, they add in the shiny new credit, and then follow with a personal book recommendation.

5. New Product Announcement Emails – Keep Leads in the Loop

When you launch a new product or feature, announcing it through email is a great way to generate excitement and momentum. These email campaigns can highlight key benefits, share exclusive first looks, or invite leads to pre-order or join a waitlist. Even if a lead isn’t ready to buy, keeping them informed strengthens brand awareness and ensures they think of your company when the time is right.

The below email newsletter example teases the launch of a new Starbucks line of drinks. The colorful image evokes summer and delivers on the idea of something refreshing—and it hopefully inspires the recipient to stop by a shop for an icy drink.

6. B2B Lead Nurturing Emails – Build Trust and Drive Conversions

B2B lead nurturing emails share similarities with other marketing emails we’re discussing here but have a key difference: they involve a longer sales cycle due to the nature of selling to companies rather than individual buyers. With multiple decision-makers involved, these emails need to nurture relationships and provide valuable insights, case studies, and industry expertise to guide potential clients toward informed decisions.

Unlike consumer-focused emails that often highlight limited-time offers or impulse-driven purchases, B2B nurturing emails take a strategic, trust-building approach. This makes them especially effective for SaaS companies, professional services, and high-ticket B2B sales where buyers need ongoing engagement before committing.

The email below is a prime example of B2B lead nurturing best practices. It delivers valuable, industry-specific insights that establish Zendesk as a trusted authority in the customer experience (CX) space. By featuring interviews with CX leaders and sharing unique perspectives, Zendesk strengthens its credibility, builds trust with subscribers, and strategically guides leads further down the nurturing path.

7. Exclusive & VIP Access Emails – Make Them Feel Special

People love feeling like insiders, and exclusive access emails tap into that desire. These emails invite leads to be the first to try a product, join a beta test, or get early access to a sale. By offering something not available to the general public, you create a sense of exclusivity and urgency that encourages engagement. This strategy works particularly well for luxury brands, loyalty programs, and membership-based businesses.

This lead nurturing email campaign from Organics Ocean is a good example of offering early access with exclusive savings. Insider perks abound, making it hard to resist in the lead up to Black Friday.

8. Survey Emails – Engage and Learn from Your Leads

Asking for feedback not only helps you improve your offerings but also shows leads that their opinions matter. A survey email encourages potential customers to share their thoughts, preferences, or experiences. Whether you’re seeking input on new product ideas, customer pain points, or overall brand experience, these emails create a two-way conversation that fosters engagement and brand loyalty.

We like how the below lead nurturing email example has a playful and friendly tone by saying “it’s your turn to do the talking,” but it also throws in an incentive: a free machine. Customers feel heard and rewarded, which are a couple of the best ways to nurture leads on their path to conversion.

9. Abandoned Cart Emails – The Gentle Reminder

Leads often get distracted or hesitate before making a purchase. Abandoned cart emails serve as a friendly reminder, encouraging them to complete their transaction. These emails can include a recap of the items left behind, highlight product benefits, and even offer an incentive (like free shipping or a small discount) to motivate action.

The below email example entices the potential buyer to come back and complete the purchase by offering 15% off. So if the recipient was on the fence, this extra discount might help seal the deal.

10. Win-Back Emails – Reignite Their Interest

Not every lead converts right away, and some may disengage over time. Win-back emails—or re-engagement emails, as they are often called—are designed to re-engage cold leads and remind them why they were interested in your brand in the first place. These emails can highlight recent updates, offer an exclusive deal, or simply check in with a friendly message. By making an effort to reconnect, you increase the chances of bringing inactive leads back into the sales funnel.

Below, Venmo’s lead nurturing email taps into user FOMO in hopes that they’ll want to update their app and see what’s new. With a scannable QR code, this is a great example of how to make moving to the next step extra easy.

The Future of Your Email Marketing Lead Nurturing

Lead nurturing is an ongoing process, not a one-time strategy. As technology advances, automation and AI will make it easier to personalize emails and predict customer behavior. But no matter how sophisticated your tools become, the key remains the same: send relevant, timely, and valuable emails that guide leads toward a decision.

Refine your approach, track what works, and keep your audience at the center of your strategy. The more intentional you are, the more effective your email marketing will be.

Great marketing doesn’t have to come from a big-budget team or a decade of experience. With the power of ChatGPT, anyone—whether you run a small family business or are part of a growing brand—can create marketing that feels polished, engaging, and effective. The secret to success? Mastering ChatGPT prompts for marketing. By learning how to prompt the tool effectively, you can tap into its full potential and craft everything from attention-grabbing social media posts to strategic email campaigns. 

In this guide, we’ll reveal some of the most impactful and creative ways to use ChatGPT for marketing, and also show you how to craft the perfect prompts. Ready to elevate your marketing game? We’ve got you covered with ideas and tips to make ChatGPT prompts for marketing work for you.

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What Is a ChatGPT Prompt for Marketing?

A ChatGPT prompt for marketing is a specific instruction you give to ChatGPT to generate marketing-related content, such as ad copy, social media posts, blog articles, email campaigns, or strategy ideas. When used effectively, ChatGPT marketing prompts can help you streamline your efforts, create more content in less time, and enhance the quality and effectiveness of your campaigns—helping you market smarter, faster, and at scale.

The Importance of a Good ChatGPT Marketing Prompt

The key here, though, is the quality of those prompts. The best ChatGPT prompts for marketing can make all the difference when it comes to getting results that truly benefit your efforts. By crafting a clear, detailed, and focused prompt, you set the AI up to provide high-quality content that speaks to your audience, reflects your brand voice, and aligns with your marketing strategy. Long story short: it saves you time and improves your results.

To get the most out of AI, structure your ChatGPT prompts for marketing by using a formula that includes certain key elements for clarity and precision. Here are the most important elements to consider as you develop your prompt formula:

• Context – Provide background information about your brand, audience, or campaign to give ChatGPT a clear understanding.
• Task – Clearly state what you need, whether it’s a blog post, ad copy, social media captions, or email subject line ideas.
• Format – Specify how the output should be structured—bullet points, paragraphs, headlines, or even a script.
• Examples – Share samples of the style, tone, or structure you want ChatGPT to follow for consistency.
• Role – Assign a perspective, such as “act as a digital marketing strategist” or “write like a social media expert.”
• Tone – Set the voice—professional, conversational, witty, persuasive—so the response aligns with your brand.
• Constraints – Define word count, key phrases, or any specific requirements to keep the output focused.
• Goal – Clarify the purpose of the content, whether it’s increasing engagement, driving sales, or educating your audience.
• Refinement – Adjust and iterate based on ChatGPT’s responses to fine-tune the results.

If you follow this structure, you’ll generate more accurate and effective content for your marketing needs—and more quickly.

ChatGPT Prompts for Website Content

Now that we’ve got a handle on the basics, let’s take a journey through all the most important ways ChatGPT prompts can help you with your marketing—starting with the ever-important website. It’s your brand’s home base, and it’s where first impressions are made, customers are won over, and the sales hopefully come rolling in. 

Every page should work hard for you, but it can be hard to know how to make this happen. That’s where AI can really hook you up, helping you clarify your messaging, craft thoughtful copy, and fuel your blog with content that connects. 

Here are a few ways to really extract the most out of your ChatGPT prompts for website content:

1. Define Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

Before you start creating your website, you’ve got to get your UVP dialed, because it’s the core reason customers will choose you over competitors. And, if you’re struggling with how to define yours, AI can help.

Provide details about your business—who you serve, what problem you solve, and what makes you different—and get crystal-clear UVP suggestions that instantly communicate your value. You can use the UVP as a foundation for website messaging, as well as in marketing materials, and even in ad copy. 

Here’s a good example of what a UVP prompt might look like: 

Pro tip: As is the case with all of these prompts, if you don’t like the options ChatGPT gives you, simply tell it why and ask it to go back to the drawing board. Just keep giving it feedback until you receive the perfect content.

2. Nail Your Web Page Copy

Every page on your website has a job to do—maybe it’s to inform potential customers about your mission, or perhaps it’s to provide contact information, or, of course, to close a big sale. So you’ve got to get the copy just right.

So, let’s say you want to create an About page that really conveys your story and message. Just share your brand story, key facts, and the tone of voice you want. AI can generate polished copy that captures your personality and resonates with your audience. 

3. Keep Your Blog Fresh and Relevant

A well-maintained blog builds trust, increases SEO, and keeps your audience interested (in part because you always have content to share and repurpose!). But coming up with ideas and writing consistently can be a real pain. AI makes it easier.

Get help brainstorming topics, outlining posts, crafting introductions, and fine-tuning headlines. Have a specific style in mind? Share an example, and AI can match the tone and structure. Notice the precision of the below example, which includes the context, task, goal, format, tone, and even an example for style.”

Of these five ideas, you can narrow in on one that you like, and then just ask ChatGPT to elaborate on the topic by giving you an outline.

From refining your brand message to building your content, AI is the secret weapon for a website that works harder for your business—and makes your life a whole heck of a lot easier.

ChatGPT Prompts for Marketing Campaigns

Running a marketing campaign, never mind a successful one, can easily feel out of reach. Where does one start? What if you only have a small budget? And—eh hem—no marketing skills? More good news here: ChatGPT prompts for marketing can simplify the entire process.

1. Develop a Marketing Plan

First thing’s first. When starting out, it helps to have a clear strategy in place—but maybe you’re not even sure about that! Whether you’re trying to increase website traffic, or promote a new product, ChatGPT can help guide you with actionable strategies that fit your precise needs and skillset.

To make that happen, we’ll need to return to the trusty ChatGPT prompt, complete with all the essentials: the context, task, goals, restraints (like your budget), etc. You can even specify the format you’d prefer—like a bulleted list or a table—to make the output more digestible and actionable.

Here’s an example of what this might look like: 

By providing ChatGPT with the most pertinent details, you’ll get back a list of marketing strategies designed to meet your goals.

2. Craft Engaging Ads

Alright, the plan is in place, and one of your to-dos is to create compelling ads. If you don’t have the time or budget to hire a copywriter, ChatGPT can take over too. Provide context about your product, audience, and tone, and—voila—it will generate creative ad copy for you.

Once you receive the options, you can choose the one that fits best or ask for further refinement based on your preferences. Maybe you’d like to see different headline options, or perhaps have the ideas repurposed for another social media platform—just keep iterating to meet your exact needs.

ChatGPT Prompts for Social Media Marketing

While we’re on the subject of social media, chances are you’ll want to do more than just advertise there; you’ll need to create posts, stories and so on. But creating and planning content can quickly become a full-time job. Thankfully, ChatGPT can pick up the slack, helping you generate ideas, craft posts, and even plan a schedule for your content.

1. Come Up with Content Ideas

Before jumping into scheduling, it’s important to first come up with different content ideas that you can post. That’s because a well-rounded social media strategy includes a mix of post types to keep your audience engaged—think product highlights, behind-the-scenes glimpses, educational tips, user-generated content, and promotional offers. Let’s turn it over to ChatGPT:

2. Plan and Schedule Your Social Media Content

Let’s move on to that schedule: it’s where effective social media marketing really takes shape. ChatGPT can help you design a content calendar to make sure that you’re consistently posting relevant and interesting content—not just the same old stuff, and sporadically.

Continuing with our previous example we can ask ChatGPT to help you devise a content calendar of posts in order to maintain a diverse feed and stay on track. It could look something like this: 

And just like that, you’ve taken so much of the guesswork out of social media planning. Now you know exactly what you need to do and when, making sure that your content is both consistent and stimulating.  

3. Create Social Media Content

You’ve got the calendar of diverse content ideas; now you’ll need that content. Once you’ve planned your posts and settled on a schedule, ChatGPT can help with the actual content creation process. You’ve already got the marching orders: set the stage with context and so on, and then tell it exactly what you need. Consider a prompt such as the following: 

With ChatGPT’s assistance, you can quickly generate multiple content options, saving time while maintaining consistency in your brand’s voice and coming up with heaps of ideas.

ChatGPT Prompts for Launching New Products & Services

We’ve come this far, and now it’s time to sell those products and services. And, as always, ChatGPT can be the best tool to help you get the job done too. Here are some of the top things it can help you tackle: 

1. Develop Product Descriptions

One of the first tasks you’ll face when launching a new product or service is writing product copy and descriptions that really speak to your customers. Maybe you need text for your website, or perhaps a brochure. Whatever the case, ChatGPT can help you create the right copy—just give it the usual context info, plus provide it with the details of your product, the task at hand, the tone you want, and the length you’re aiming for. Here’s an example:

Or, if you have existing product descriptions that you like, you can just ask ChatGPT to create something similar.

ChatGPT will be able to match the style, tone, and length of your previous descriptions, saving you time and maintaining consistency across your product lineup.

2. Write a YouTube Script

Product copy is done, and it’s time to spread the word! Perhaps you want to launch your product with a YouTube video teaser but aren’t sure where to start with the script. ChatGPT is the perfect tool to help. Just provide the details about the product, the video length, and the tone you want to convey, and ChatGPT can draft and outline or script for you.

ChatGPT can quickly draft an organized script, making it easier for you to create a polished and professional video.

3. Produce a Press Release

Writing a press release used to mean you had to reach out to (and pay) a PR expert or scour the web for templates, and all without really knowing exactly what you were doing. But with ChatGPT, you can now create a professional press release in no time. To get started, you can simply ask ChatGPT what information it needs to craft one.

Once you provide ChatGPT with the necessary details, it will guide you through the process, and you’ll end up with a clear, well-written press release ready to distribute.

4. Strategize Your Product Launch

ChatGPT can also help you plan and execute your product launch with a proper strategic plan. Whether it’s coming up with ideas for promotional tactics (such as distributing that fresh press release!), defining digital marketing strategies, or coming up with product launch email ideas, ChatGPT is ready to assist.

Leaning on ChatGPT for this planning helps you make sure you’ve got all your bases covered and that you stay organized and focused.

ChatGPT Prompts for Email Marketing

With all the previous elements in place, it’s time to connect the dots by tackling your email customer journey. This is the process that guides your subscribers from initial engagement to conversion. It’s with email marketing where the real magic happens—and ChatGPT can make this process a whole lot easier. 

1. Generate Email Content Ideas

You know you should send email newsletters, but you’re short on ideas—it happens. If you’re feeling stuck and need content inspiration, ChatGPT can help brainstorm a list of the best topics that are tailored to your audience and objectives. Here’s an example:

We really don’t mean to be a broken record here, but don’t forget how important it is to provide all the necessary context about your business, ranging from audience information to product details, etc. We’ll say it again: the more precise you are, the better and more useful the ChatGPT responses will be.

2. Put Together an Email Calendar

Once you have some ideas, your next step is to create an email content calendar. That’s right—for maximum effectiveness, you should plot out your email plan so that it’s scheduled in a way that keeps your audience engaged without overwhelming them. ChatGPT can help you draft an email calendar so that your emails are sent at the right times to maximize clicks, and so that you stay on track.

With recommended dates, times, and topics in hand, you’re ready to swiftly move on to the next step.

3. Craft Your Newsletter Content

Now it’s time to create those emails—you could write them yourself, or, of course, there are ChatGPT prompts for this too. Let’s say you want to tackle that first welcome email. Consider the following prompt: 

Or, you could also make this whole process even more simple: with SiteGround Email Marketing, take advantage of a built-in AI writer that can help you craft creative email copy on the fly right within the easy-to-use email builder.

Getting the Most Out of Your ChatGPT Marketing Prompts

ChatGPT continues to lead the way as one of the best AI tools for business, and it’s no different when it comes to marketing. No massive budget needed, nor decades of experience under your belt—just the right ChatGPT prompts for marketing. And by learning how to structure your prompts effectively, you can get the most out of this revolutionary tool. Now it’s time to put these strategies into action and take advantage of the full potential of AI-driven marketing.

Keen to have all the top ChatGPT Marketing prompts and ideas all in one place? Download our free Marketing for ChatGPT Cheat Sheet to make prompting like an expert a whole lot easier.

Ever had a friend suddenly stop replying to your messages, and you’re left wondering if they’ve moved to a remote island with no WiFi? That’s kind of what happens with inactive subscribers. But don’t worry—just like you’d send a friendly “Hey, are we still cool?” text, customer re-engagement emails can work wonders in bringing those lost connections back to life. In this guide, we’ll break down the secrets behind effective re-engagement emails, plus plenty of examples to spark your creativity.

What Is a Re-Engagement Email?

A re-engagement email is a targeted newsletter email sent to inactive or disengaged subscribers with the goal of reactivating their interest in your brand, product, or service. These emails typically include compelling subject lines, special offers, personalized content, or reminders about the value of staying connected.

And the reality is that this is an important and often normal part of the email customer journey—that is, sadly, not all subscribers stay engaged forever. And that’s where this step comes in so that you can entice them to come back for more.

Indeed, inactive subscribers don’t have to be lost customers. People get busy, inboxes get cluttered, and sometimes they just need a nudge to reconnect. More importantly, there are some really solid reasons for your business to get back in touch with these distancing subscribers through thoughtful email campaigns. 

Why Send Re-Engagement Emails?

There are many reasons why sending customer re-engagement emails is an important part of your email marketing:

• Reduce Churn: Keeping customers engaged prevents them from leaving, which is more cost-effective than constantly acquiring new ones.
• Boost ROI: Re-engaging inactive subscribers can improve your email marketing campaign performance and overall revenue.
• Enhance Deliverability: Email providers prioritize active and engaged lists, improving your sender reputation.
• Gain Insights: Use email marketing metrics to track responses from re-engagement campaigns can provide valuable data on customer behavior.

7 Common Types of Re-Engagement Emails

Now that we’re all on the same page about the importance of sending re-engagement emails, it’s time to talk about the more strategic and nuanced side of things. With that in mind, here are the most common types of customer re-engagement emails that you’ll want to add to your email automation sequences.

1. “We Miss You” Emails

The “We miss you” email is a re-engagement campaign classic. It feels friendly, but not desperate; it appeals to emotions, but it isn’t sappy—and all wrapped in a subtle reminder to get back in touch. These emails often include just a friendly message, but they can also be paired with a special offer or an invitation to check out new features.

You can’t really go wrong with a cute dog photo, so this “we miss you” email already has our heart. But we also love how this email appeals to someone out there “looking for a review,” making the reader feel like their input is valuable—and hopefully inspiring them to take action.

2. B2B Re-Engagement Emails

For B2B companies, re-engagement emails are a super important part of bringing back inactive leads, encouraging repeat purchases, or reminding customers of your value. This kind of email is going to be a bit (or a lot) less informal (so the “we miss you” text is probably not the right vibe), and instead often focuses on providing educational content, product updates, or exclusive offers.

We like how in this B2B re-engagement email, the recipient is clearly reminded that they’ve been missing out on special perks and faster finances, and they’re gently nudged to reconnect. 

3. Feedback Re-Engagement Emails

We all love to be asked our opinion, right? So, if a subscriber has stopped engaging, asking for their feedback might very well get them to open your email and reply. Not only do these emails make customers feel heard and offer an opportunity to re-engage, but they also give you a chance to gather important feedback to improve your business, service or product. Win, win and win.

Simple and appreciative, the below email makes clear that there will be just one question—and the sender follows through in the email message with gratitude. If someone hasn’t engaged in a while, this message is a good example of giving subscribers the warm and fuzzies to bring them back to buying some beer.

4. Recommendation Re-Engagement Emails

Sometimes customers get distracted or lose interest—this is business as usual. So pique their interest by sending personalized recommendations based on previous activity. By leveraging customer data—whether that’s past purchase behavior, email engagement, or otherwise—you can suggest relevant products, content, or services that speak to their needs and interests.

We love how Warby Parker’s re-engagement email is a blend of recommendation, special occasion, and intrigue. Aren’t you already wondering what your frame horoscope is?

5. Reminder Re-Engagement Emails

Sometimes people simply forget—that’s life! So a gentle reminder email about an expiring discount, an abandoned cart, or an incomplete profile can nudge customers back into action. We all need reminding sometimes.

The below reminder email effectively invites the reader to open with its simple “don’t forget” message, and just a touch of intrigue since the discount is unknown. Once opened, the message leans on a last-chance sense of urgency in order to hopefully seal the deal.

6. Reactivation Re-Engagement Emails

Reactivation emails focus on those customers who got far enough along in their journey to sign up for a trial or subscription, but somehow got distracted. Emails like these highlight what those customers might be missing out on and often include an incentive to return.

Nothing invites a little action like the threat of your data being hacked—gulp. Not only does the below reactivation email example motivate engagement, but it also does a good job of tapping into the element of fear in order to generate interaction from the recipient.

7. Resubscribe Re-engagement Emails

You might be wondering if you can or should try to re-engage with customers who’ve chosen to unsubscribe from your list. While it may be tempting to send a resubscribe email, this is generally not recommended. Many email regulations, including GDPR and CASL, discourage sending emails to users who’ve explicitly opted out, and doing so can harm your sender reputation. 

So, instead of following up with another email, a more effective and compliant approach is to optimize your unsubscribe confirmation page. Use this page to:

• Remind users of the value they’re leaving behind.
• Highlight the benefits of staying subscribed, such as exclusive offers, helpful insights, or important updates they might miss.
• Provide options like adjusting email preferences instead of fully unsubscribing.

By making it easy for past subscribers to reconsider their decision, you create a frictionless path for re-engagement without violating email marketing best practices.

We love how the below resubscribe re-engagement example—which comes in the form of an unsubscribe confirmation page rather than an email—playfully and easily gives subscribers the option to stay subscribed.

How to Write Re-Engagement Emails

When it comes to how to write a marketing email to re-engage, there are a handful of secret tactics you can use to get the most out of your messages. Let’s dissect the ways you can get more strategic with your re-engagement email writing.

1. Create a Sense of Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency is a rather fail-safe tactic for capturing attention, and quickly. Limited-time offers, expiring discounts, or exclusive deals can push recipients to re-engage before it’s too late.

The below email from Sometimes Always playfully and successfully points out the product the customer was eyeing, while also injecting a sense of urgency given that the bottles are going fast. So if this customer was on the fence, they might well be enticed to re-engage given the prospect of missing out.

2. Offer a Special Discount

If you’re trying to re-engage subscribers, then it might be a good moment to shell out a steeper discount. If you usually offer 10%, then sweeten the deal with 15% off. Make sure it’s clear that the discount is an exclusive offer for coming back, making it all the more enticing to take action. 

Passing up on a discount is always a challenge, and that’s what Vegamour is counting on. In this email, they make it extra clear in the subject line that the discount is waiting and it’s time to re-engage. To the point and effective. 

3. Use Personalization

We’re all drowning in content overload—AI-generated everything, overflowing inboxes, and an endless stream of messages. With so much noise, it’s easy to become numb to it all. As such, we’re craving a bit more personalization (just one of many current digital marketing trends). So consider using a subscriber’s name, past purchases, or browsing history to make the email feel more relevant and engaging, and not just another anonymous message in their inbox.

The following email from Iberia smartly appeals to the recipient directly by name in the subject line, and combines that with an exclusive offer and a touch of urgency. This mix of personalization and exclusivity has the power to re-engage the customer if previous messages haven’t done the trick.

4. Celebrate a Special Occasion

Special occasions, like birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, etc, are a good excuse to send themed content that inspires email opens. And if you leverage the aforementioned personalization, you may wish to also offer a special discount to make re-engagement a bit more irresistible. 

It’s kind of hard to resist an old-fashioned astrology prediction. The below email example has a creative subject line that generates curiosity, and builds on that with the “shop cosmically” call to action. 

Below, Busuu uses the customer’s anniversary with the brand to offer a special discount. The nature of this not-every-day kind of discount can pique the recipient’s interest and get them to re-engage.

5. Reward Loyalty

These customers may have strayed, but perhaps once upon a time they were loyal customers. Remind them of your gratitude and offer exclusive perks or VIP access so that they come back for more. 

For the Dr. Pepper lovers out there, this loyalty email re-engages with a curious and clever question in the subject line, and then reminds the reader to sign in to keep earning “Pepper Points.”

6. Incorporate Humor

Adding humor to your customer re-engagement emails can make your message more memorable and enjoyable. A lighthearted joke or playful tone can make your brand more relatable and increase the chances of a response.

The subject line and email below are laugh-out-loud silly. It employs email subject line best practices, with the injection of humor, a question, and intrigue. Then, from start to finish, it’s fresh and funny—and it’s hard to resist wanting more (emails or chocolate).

Lowercase and short, Bilt’s email subject line is so casual and silly that it would be hard not to open the email to find out more. And then the “hey, you good?” intro is ironic, laughable, and catchy—and hopefully just enough to get the reader to re-engage and complete their account.

7. Ask a Question

Engagement often starts with a simple question. Asking subscribers what they need, why they’ve been inactive, or what would bring them back makes them feel valued and encourages interaction.

Notice how TripAdvisor employs an ever so simple question in the subject line to grab the reader’s attention—after all, if they did go to Notteri, they’ll probably open the email to see what this is all about. From there, this email encourages more engagement by asking, “Would you go again?” and appealing to the reader’s desire to be helpful by providing their opinion for other travelers. Clever all around.

8. Send Updates & Valuable Information

If an email recipient hasn’t engaged in a while, it’s because other messages and brands in their inbox have taken priority. Get them re-interested by sending updates about new features, product improvements, or exclusive content that adds value.

In the below example, Hootsuite demonstrates the power of valuable content in action. So perhaps there’s a group of Hootsuite email recipients who haven’t opened their emails in a while, but when they see this interesting new trend report, they open the email, download the report, and, you guessed it, re-engage with Hootsuite. Mission accomplished.

The below “coming soon” update is a great email newsletter example that demonstrates how to build intrigue and momentum. Disengaged readers and customers are more likely to be curious about what’s coming soon, and then continue to stay connected because they want to find out more—and in this case, they may even sign up for SMS message updates, which is really a true re-engagement win.

When to Send Re-Engagement Emails

Timing matters when it comes to the ever-so-important re-engagement email. Sending them too soon can feel pushy, while waiting too long may result in losing the customer for good. But not all customer re-engagement emails follow the same rules, so here are some email marketing tips to keep in mind as you craft and schedule your messages:

• 30 to 60 Days of Inactivity: If a customer hasn’t interacted with your brand for a month or two, a friendly check-in email can remind them of what they’re missing.
• Before or After Subscription Expiry: If you offer a subscription-based service, sending a re-engagement email before a customer’s subscription expires, or a “we’re sorry to see you go, but here’s what you’re missing” message can prompt them to renew.
• After Abandoned Carts: Sending a reminder within 24 to 48 hours of cart abandonment can recover lost sales.
• During Seasonal or Special Promotions: Offering exclusive discounts during major sales events can be a great way to re-engage inactive customers.
• Before Removing from Your List: If all previous attempts have failed, a final “last chance” email before unsubscribing them can prompt re-engagement.

Getting the Most Out of Your Re-Engagement Emails

Re-engagement emails are like that friendly tap on the shoulder that says, “Hey, remember us? We still think you’re awesome.” Whether you’re using humor, a tempting discount, or a heartfelt “We miss you,” the key is to remind subscribers why they signed up or did business with you in the first place.

So, put these strategies into action, and turn those cold leads into warm, engaged subscribers and customers again. Because sometimes, all it takes is the right email at the right time to bring them back.

Ah, the email newsletter. Enter your inbox, and you’re probably swimming in them. But have you ever stopped to think: what is a newsletter? Is it just a boring list of updates, or is there more to it? Chances are, if you’re here, it’s because you have a sneaking suspicion that email newsletters aren’t as simple as they once may have seemed—and that’s why so many businesses are flooding your inbox with them.

So with that in mind, what really is the meaning of an email newsletter and what is its purpose? And how can you tap into its potential so that your message isn’t just another one of those ignored emails in recipients’ inboxes? It’s time to get to the bottom of this email marketing mystery.

What Is a Newsletter?

A newsletter is a form of communication sent to a specific audience via email. But what are newsletters used for? They serve to share updates, news, and valuable content catered to the recipients’ interests. Newsletters can be sent by anyone, but are most often used by organizations, businesses, and content creators to engage their audience, build relationships, and drive actions such as purchases.

Newsletters can vary in style and content but are typically designed to be informative, engaging, and visually appealing. Whether sent weekly, monthly, or according to a specific schedule, they deliver value to the audience while supporting the sender’s objectives.

What Is the Purpose of a Newsletter?

We’ve covered what a newsletter is, but what’s its purpose? At its most basic, a newsletter aims to inform—to act as a line of communication between sender and subscriber. It might provide business updates, sale information, or product updates. 

Its purpose is to do so much more than inform, though; it is the essence of what we call email marketing, and it’s one of the most important tools in your marketing toolbox. Not only does sending newsletters have an incredibly high return on investment, but doing so allows you to connect with your customers (often in a personal way), measure results, and ultimately drive conversions thanks to the ability to move your recipients through the funnel. 

Indeed, when done properly, newsletters can strategically take their recipients on a journey, from awareness to decision, advocacy and more, turning curious new subscribers into long-lasting and loyal customers. Understanding how to use a newsletter to accomplish this is pretty powerful stuff! 

How to Create a Newsletter

Creating a simple, informative newsletter may not seem like rocket science, but there’s more to defining the art of email newsletter sending than might first meet the eye. And understanding the purpose behind this can make the difference between email production being a pain to do (with little success), and super easy and pleasurable to do (and with loads of success!). Let’s crack the code on creating a newsletter.

1. Choose an Email Marketing Platform

The first step in creating a newsletter is to select an email marketing platform. This platform serves as the foundation for designing and sending your emails, managing your subscriber list, and tracking your results—so choose thoughtfully! When evaluating options, consider the following features:

• Ease of Use: Look for an intuitive interface that allows you to design emails and manage campaigns without a steep learning curve. Even better if the platform allows you to easily add lead-generation forms to your website so that you can collect emails. 
• Customization Options: Verify that the platform offers a variety of templates and design tools so you can create emails that align with your brand identity and your messaging needs.
• Automation Features: Email automation capabilities, such as scheduling emails and setting up the aforementioned customer journeys, can save time and improve efficiency.
• Analytics and Reporting: To understand your email marketing success, or lack of success, it’ll be essential that your chosen platform has robust analytics tools. (We’ll dive in more below!) 
• Compliance Friendly: Verify that the platform helps you comply with email regulations, such as GDPR and CAN-SPAM, to protect your reputation and avoid penalties. An example of this would be having unsubscribe options implemented by default. 
• Scalability: Choose a platform that can grow with your needs, whether you’re managing a small list or scaling to thousands of subscribers. This means you should be able to get started for a reasonably low price, and only pay more as you grow. 

Having a competent, pleasurable-to-use email marketing tool will likely make the difference between you regularly sending your emails or not sending them at all. So take your time to pick carefully and make the right choice—it’s an important one!

2. Build a High-Quality Email List

Building a high-quality email list is truly the secret sauce to making your email endeavors effective. Without one, you may find that email open rates or click-through rates are low, or, worse, that your emails don’t even reach people’s inboxes in the first place.

The Importance of a High-Quality Email List

So first thing’s first: building an email list is about quality, not just quantity. Focusing on relevant, truly-interested subscribers helps augment your message’s impact. Meanwhile, sending emails to a broad, less-targeted audience can even harm your sender reputation (resulting in those undelivered emails), especially if recipients mark your emails as spam. By definition, this ultimately reduces your ability to reach genuinely interested people. So the goal here is to prioritize engaged and relevant contacts so that you can obtain the best results.

How to Ensure a High-Quality Email List

Right, so how to build a high-quality email list from the get go? Here are some general tips: 

• Create a Clear Opt-In Process: Implement a double opt-in method to confirm subscribers’ interest and maintain list quality.
• Keep Your List Fresh and Updated: Regularly clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers to enhance engagement rates. 
• Avoid Purchasing Email Lists: Building your list organically means that you’re more likely to have subscribers that are genuinely interested in your content, leading to better engagement.
• Provide an Easy Unsubscribe Option: Make it simple for subscribers to opt out, which helps maintain a positive brand image and complies with regulations.
• Comply with Regulatory Standards: Speaking of regulations, adhere to laws like GDPR to build trust and avoid legal issues.
• Offer Valuable Incentives: Encourage sign-ups by providing incentives such as exclusive content, discounts, or free resources.
• Encourage Offline Sign-Ups: Collect email addresses during in-person events or at your physical store locations.
• Host Webinars or Workshops: Offer educational sessions that require registration, allowing you to gather interested subscribers.

The truth is that these steps are easy to implement and make a meaningful difference, especially if you have a good email marketing platform in your corner. With just a little extra effort, you’ll see stronger engagement, higher open rates, and better overall results from your email newsletter campaigns. 

3. Create a Calendar

The importance of a proper content calendar can’t be understated. It helps you stay organized, maintain consistency, and align your email campaigns with your broader marketing objectives. Here’s how to create an effective calendar:

• Identify Key Milestones and Dates: Start by marking important events on your calendar, such as product launches, seasonal promotions, or holidays. These dates will serve as anchors for your email campaigns.
• Align with the email customer journey: Map your email content to the various stages of the customer journey. For example:
  
  • Awareness Stage: Schedule welcome emails for new subscribers to introduce them to your brand.
  • Consideration Stage: Plan nurture emails that provide value through educational content, tips, or resources.
  • Decision Stage: Set up promotional emails to highlight discounts, special offers, or testimonials to encourage conversions.
  • Retention Stage: Schedule newsletters that keep your audience engaged with updates, exclusive deals, or loyalty rewards.
  • Advocacy Stage: Plan referral or shareable content to encourage subscribers to recommend your brand to others.

• Coordinate with Campaigns and Other Channels: Make sure your newsletter schedule integrates seamlessly with other marketing efforts, such as social media campaigns, blog posts, or ad campaigns. This consistency reinforces your messaging across all platforms.
  
• Plan for Consistency: Decide on the frequency of your newsletters—whether weekly, biweekly, or monthly—and stick to it. Consistency helps build trust and keeps your audience engaged.
  

Creating a content calendar not only helps your newsletters be timely and relevant but also enables you to execute a thoughtful, well-structured email sequence that guides subscribers through their journey with your brand. Additionally, it helps keep you as the sender on top of where your customers are at, and what’s happening in your business, which promotes synergies across the board.

4. Develop Your Content

Now to the meat of the matter: newsletter content! It’s what will captivate your audience and get them engaging with your message—whether that’s as seemingly simple as opening your message, or as profitable as them making that much-desired purchase. Here’s a rundown on how to write and create email newsletter content that stands out, from subject line to sale: 

• Craft Compelling Subject Lines: Your email subject line is the first thing your subscribers will see, so make it count. Keep it short, intriguing, and relevant. Use action-oriented language or highlight a benefit to entice readers to open the email.
  
• Focus on Audience Value: Write and deliver content that resonates with your audience’s interests and needs. This could mean how-to guides, industry insights, exclusive offers, or inspirational stories that align with your brand’s mission. Matching this up with your email customer journey will help keep your content fresh, and your customers moving through your funnel. To spark ideas, explore various newsletter examples that highlight effective ways to connect with your audience and meet your goals.
  
• Implement Personalization: As one of the top digital marketing trends, personalization is one of the most important components of email marketing. Use segmentation and personalization techniques to purposefully create content for specific subscriber groups. Do this by grouping subscribers based on purchase behavior, email interaction, or any other criteria you wish to identify—and then send custom messages accordingly. Addressing a defined audience’s unique preferences and challenges can significantly increase engagement rates.
  
• Incorporate Strong CTAs: Every newsletter should have a clear call to action (CTA). Whether you want readers to click through to your website, make a purchase, or register for an event, your CTA should be prominently placed and easy to follow. Write them using action verbs, and create a sense of urgency when appropriate.
  
• Keep It Visually Engaging: Use design elements such as images, infographics, videos, or even email colors to break up text and keep the email visually appealing. Your visuals should complement the message without overshadowing it.
  
• Stay Consistent With Your Branding: Ensure that your tone, style, and visuals align with your brand identity. Consistency helps your audience recognize your emails and reinforces your brand message.
  

Developing high-quality content takes effort, but at the end of the day, it’s what keeps your subscribers coming back for more. So don’t drop the ball here—make your words, design, and calls to action count.

5. Schedule Your Newsletters

You’ve got an email list, a calendar, and some killer content—now it just needs to get sent! While you could go the old-fashioned route and just hit send straight away, we advise a more strategic approach. But let’s discuss a bit more in depth.  

Send It Now or Schedule for Later

Timing matters. Depending on your audience, certain days or times may yield higher open rates and engagement. Research your subscribers’ habits or test different sending times to find what works best. Either way, lean on your email marketing platform so that you can schedule your send for the best day and time.

Create an Email Sequence

Instead of a single email blast, consider crafting an automated email sequence. As we’ve already touched on, sequences guide subscribers through a journey—whether it’s onboarding, nurturing leads, or promoting a product launch—all while building a stronger relationship with your audience. Tools for email automation let you define and set triggers for sending emails, ensuring content reaches subscribers at the most opportune moments. This helps move them along the path to conversion and loyalty. 

6. Measure Success and Fine Tune

As we touched on earlier, when it comes to email marketing, the ability to measure your success—or lack thereof—is absolutely mission critical. We’re talking metrics, benchmarks, testing, tweaking, and more.

1. Track Key Metrics: Monitor key email marketing metrics like open rates, click-through rates (CTR), bounce rates, and conversion rates to evaluate how well your campaigns are performing. For example, if certain emails have a higher open rate than others, examine their subject lines to figure out what you could improve.
2. Analyze Engagement: Evaluate how recipients interact with your content, adjusting subject lines and CTAs based on these insights.
3. Set Goals and Benchmarks: Establish and define clear, measurable objectives for your email campaigns (like, say, a 10% increase in CTR within three months) and compare your results against industry benchmarks or your past performance.
4. Segment Your List: Use the data you gather to segment your audience further. For example, group subscribers based on behavior, demographics, or preferences to send more tailored and relevant content.
5. Run A/B Testing: Experiment with different elements of your emails, such as subject lines, call-to-action buttons, design, and content, to see what works best. To do this, choose one element to test, such as the CTA, and send one email with one CTA and the other with another. Analyze the results, and modify future sends accordingly.
6. Adjust Frequency: If your unsubscribe rate is high, consider whether you’re sending too many or too few emails. Test different frequencies to find the sweet spot for your audience.

The beauty of newsletters is that they are dynamic—if you test, track, and tweak, your results can continually improve. So keep a close eye on your metrics and don’t be afraid to try and test new techniques. 

What Is a Newsletter: Wrapping Up the Essentials

That’s a wrap on the humble newsletter. Whether you’re crafting captivating subject lines, building relationships through purposeful content, or leveraging analytics to fine-tune your strategy, newsletters are the unsung heroes of marketing. So next time you’re sifting through your inbox, give all those messages a second glance—you might just find a little inspiration for your own campaigns. 

This article was originally published in August 2020 and updated in February 2025.