What is email marketing and why is it still relevant?
Despite social media taking a huge chunk of marketing budgets, email is still the channel with the highest ROI. According to the DMA, email marketing generates an average of $42 in revenue per dollar spent – higher than any other digital channel. The reason is simple: you own the list. No algorithm change can remove your email list, unlike your Instagram or LinkedIn followers.
B2B vs B2C – how do the strategies differ?
For B2B, email is about building trust and educating prospects over a long sales cycle. The most common flow is a lead magnet (eg a guide or report) that follows a welcome sequence with educational content and converts subscribers to demo bookings.
For B2C, it's more about campaigns, tenders and building loyalty. Personalization is key – emails tailored to user behavior (what they looked at, what they bought) convert dramatically better than mass mailings.
The most important metrics for email marketing
Open rate measures the percentage of recipients who open your email. The industry average is around 20–25 percent, but it varies greatly per industry. Click-through rate (CTR) measures the percentage that clicks on a link in the email. Conversion rate is the ultimate measurement – how many people took the desired action after clicking.
Unsubscribe rate is also important to monitor – a high unsubscribe rate (over 0.5 percent) signals that the content or frequency does not match the subscribers' expectations.
Which email tools should you choose?
Mailchimp is the most famous tool with a more generous free tier and ease of use. Klaviyo is the dominant choice for eCommerce with deep Shopify integration and advanced segmentation. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is a European alternative with GDPR benefits and competitive prices. ActiveCampaign is strong for advanced B2B automation with built-in CRM.
