email-marketing

What this skill does

# Channels: Email Marketing

Guides email marketing strategy for AI/SaaS products. Email ROI ~$36 per dollar spent; open/click rates typically higher than social. Covers EDM vs Newsletter, five content types, deliverability (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), and SEO synergy via article delivery.

**When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1-2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

## Initial Assessment

**Check for project context first:** If `.claude/project-context.md` or `.cursor/project-context.md` exists, read it for audience and content strategy. See **content-marketing** for content types and formats across channels.

Identify:
1. **Goal**: Retention, conversion, brand reach, or SEO synergy
2. **Content mix**: Onboarding, campaign, announcement, features, newsletter
3. **List size**: Bulk sender rules (5,000+/day) require Gmail/Yahoo compliance

## EDM vs Newsletter

| Type | Purpose | Use |
|------|---------|-----|
| **EDM** | Direct marketing; conversion-focused | Promotions, campaigns, announcements; bulk sends |
| **Newsletter** | Ongoing value; relationship | Industry insights, curated articles; regular cadence |

**Combine both**: EDM for push; Newsletter for nurture. Cover different stages and goals.

## Five Content Types

| Type | Use |
|------|-----|
| **Onboarding** | Welcome + first-use guidance; 5-7 day sequence; behavior-triggered; drive "Aha!" moment |
| **Campaign** | Promotions, limited-time; conversion or participation |
| **Announcement** | Product launch, major update; one-time important notice |
| **Features update** | New features, improvements; help users adopt |
| **Blog/Newsletter** | Curated articles, industry insights; sustained touch |

## User Best Practices

| Practice | Guideline |
|----------|-----------|
| **Personalization** | Segment by behavior, source, stage; boosts open/click |
| **Timing** | New users: dense; existing: controlled pace; behavior-triggered > calendar-only |
| **Welcome series** | Send soon after signup; 5-7 emails over days; guide first key action |
| **Unsubscribe** | One-click required (Gmail/Yahoo); honor within 48h; clear entry |
| **Complaint rate** | Keep below 0.3%; list hygiene critical |

## Content Best Practices

| Practice | Guideline |
|----------|-----------|
| **Subject** | One clear topic per email; avoid pure promo |
| **Value first** | Useful info before promotion |
| **CTA** | Single primary CTA; clear next step |
| **Mobile** | 50%+ read on mobile; responsive layout, tappable links |

## Deliverability & Domain Config

**Subdomain**: Use subdomain (e.g. mail.example.com) for marketing; keep transactional (support@, etc.) on main domain. Isolate risk.

### SPF, DKIM, DMARC

| Protocol | Purpose |
|----------|---------|
| **SPF** | Authorizes mail servers for domain |
| **DKIM** | Cryptographic signature; verifies sender |
| **DMARC** | Policy for unauthenticated mail; start p=none, then quarantine, then reject over 60-90 days |

**Order**: SPF first, then DKIM, then DMARC. Gmail/Yahoo require all three for bulk senders (5,000+/day) since Feb 2024.

**Advanced**: TLS-RPT, MTA-STS, BIMI (brand logo). **Postmaster Tools**: Monitor deliverability, spam rate, auth status.

## Delivery Strategy: Articles + SEO Synergy

| Article Type | Use |
|--------------|-----|
| **Retention** | Deep content for existing users; improve retention |
| **ToFu** | Top of funnel; awareness (trends, concepts, problem framing) |
| **MoFu** | Middle of funnel; consideration (comparisons, reviews, best practices) |

**Dual value**: (1) Better email engagement (open, click, stickiness); (2) Drive traffic to article pages from non-search channel; signals to Google that users value content; supports SEO.

**Measurement**: GA4 email source traffic to article pages; GSC rank/click changes.

## Planning Framework

1. **Content mix**: Allocate onboarding, campaign, announcement, features, newsletter
2. **Select articles**: Pick retention, ToFu, MoFu from blog; prioritize SEO target pages
3. **Cadence**: Stable frequency (weekly/biweekly/monthly); avoid over-sending
4. **Monitor**: Open rate, click rate; GA4 email contribution to article traffic; GSC

## Frequency

| Guideline | Note |
|-----------|------|
| **Baseline** | 1 high-value email/week for most brands |
| **Peak times** | Tue-Thu, 8-11am or 2-4pm (recipient timezone) |
| **Segmentation** | New vs loyal need different cadence |
| **Quality** | Relevant, behavior-triggered > calendar volume |

**Data**: ~36% send 1-3/month; ~30% weekly; daily risks high unsubscribe.

## Output Format

- **Content mix** (five types)
- **EDM vs Newsletter** balance
- **Deliverability** (subdomain, SPF/DKIM/DMARC)
- **Article delivery** (Retention, ToFu, MoFu, SEO targets)
- **Cadence** and frequency
- **KPI** (open, click, GA4 email traffic, GSC)

## Related Skills

- **content-marketing**: Content types, formats; email as channel in repurposing matrix
- **newsletter-signup-generator**: Signup form design
- **traffic-analysis**: Email source attribution, UTM
- **analytics-tracking**: Email click tracking
- **content-strategy**: Article selection for email delivery
- **integrated-marketing**: Email as owned media channel