Marketing AI Skill

Email Marketing Automation

Design and execute email marketing campaigns including transactional emails, marketing emails, automation workflows, A/B testing, deliverability optimization, and performance analytics. Use when creating email campaigns, building automation workflows, optim...

Email Marketing Automation

Design and execute email marketing campaigns including automation workflows, deliverability optimization, A/B testing, and performance analytics.

Workflow

1. Email Strategy & Architecture

EMAIL MARKETING ARCHITECTURE
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Email Types:
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Type                  Trigger                    Frequency        Purpose
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Welcome Series        New signup                 5 emails, 10 days Activate, onboard, educate
Nurture               Lead score behavior        8 emails, 30 days Educate, build trust
Product Update        Feature release            As needed         Engage, reduce churn
Abandoned Cart        Cart abandonment           3 emails, 48 hours Recover revenue
Re-engagement         Inactive 60+ days          3 emails, 21 days Win back or suppress
Promotional           Campaign launch            Campaign-based    Drive conversion
Transactional         Order, password reset       Event-driven     Notify, confirm
Behavioral            In-app behavior            As triggered      Contextual, timely

ESP SETUP (Mailchimp / HubSpot / SendGrid):
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  Domain Setup:
    → Sending domain: [email protected] (dedicated)
    → SPF: v=spf1 include:sendgrid.net ~all
    → DKIM: CNAME record added
    → DMARC: p=none → p=quarantine → p=reject
    → BIMI: Brand logo in inbox

  List Segmentation:
    → By lifecycle stage: Lead → MQL → SQL → Customer → Advocate
    → By behavior: Active (30d), Inactive (60d), Churned (90d)
    → By persona: SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise
    → By product: Product A, Product B, Both
    → By engagement: High, Medium, Low

2. Automation Workflows

WELCOME SERIES (5 emails, 10 days)
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Email 1: Day 0 — Welcome + Value Proposition
  → Subject: "Welcome to [Company]! Let's get you started"
  → Content: Welcome message, key benefits, CTA (setup account)
  → Trigger: Immediate (upon signup)

Email 2: Day 2 — Getting Started Guide
  → Subject: "Your getting started guide is here"
  → Content: Step-by-step tutorial, video embed, CTA (complete setup)
  → Trigger: 2 days after signup OR after Email 1 opened

Email 3: Day 4 — Feature Spotlight
  → Subject: "Did you know you can [key feature]?"
  → Content: Feature deep-dive, use case, CTA (try feature)
  → Trigger: 4 days after signup OR after Email 2 opened

Email 4: Day 7 — Social Proof
  → Subject: "See how [Customer] achieved [result]"
  → Content: Case study summary, testimonial, CTA (read full story)
  → Trigger: 7 days after signup

Email 5: Day 10 — Call to Action
  → Subject: "Ready to unlock [result]?"
  → Content: Recap, offer (discount/trial extension), CTA (upgrade)
  → Trigger: 10 days after signup

ABANDONED CART FLOW (3 emails, 48 hours):
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Email 1: 1 hour after abandonment
  → Subject: "You left something behind 🛒"
  → Content: Cart items, image, CTA (complete purchase)

Email 2: 12 hours after abandonment
  → Subject: "Still thinking about it? Here's what others say"
  → Content: Reviews, ratings, CTA (complete purchase)

Email 3: 48 hours after abandonment
  → Subject: "Last chance — 10% off your cart"
  → Content: Discount code, countdown timer, CTA (complete purchase)

RE-ENGAGEMENT FLOW (3 emails, 21 days):
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Email 1: Day 60 (inactive)
  → Subject: "We miss you — here's what's new"
  → Content: New features, updates, CTA (explore)

Email 2: Day 75
  → Subject: "Is everything okay?"
  → Content: Feedback survey, support offer, CTA (respond)

Email 3: Day 81 (final)
  → Subject: "Should we part ways?"
  → Content: Unsubscribe option, feedback, special offer (if they stay)
  → If no engagement: Move to suppression list

3. Email Templates & Best Practices

EMAIL TEMPLATE STRUCTURE
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Header:
  → Logo (left-aligned)
  → Preheader text (preview, <100 chars)
  → Clear from name: "John at Company" (not just "Company")

Body:
  → Hero section: Image + headline (or headline only)
  → Body copy: Conversational, scannable
  → Primary CTA: Button (high contrast, clear text)
  → Secondary content: Bullets, benefits, social proof
  → Footer: Social links, preferences, unsubscribe

CTA Best Practices:
  → One primary CTA per email
  → Action-oriented text: "Start your free trial" (not "Click here")
  → Button size: Minimum 44x44px (mobile-friendly)
  → Button color: High contrast with background
  → Placement: Above the fold + mid-content + bottom

DESIGN BEST PRACTICES:
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  → Single-column layout (mobile-first)
  → Font size: 16px minimum (body), 24px+ (headline)
  → Line height: 1.5x (readability)
  → Images: Optimized (<100KB), alt text, max 2-3 per email
  → Links: Blue, underlined (or button)
  → White space: Generous margins, padding
  → Length: 200-300 words (optimal), max 500

4. Deliverability Optimization

EMAIL DELIVERABILITY
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Deliverability Metrics:
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Metric              Target        Current      Status
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Inbox rate          ≥ 95%         96.2%        ✓ Good
Bounce rate         ≤ 2%          1.5%         ✓ Good
Spam complaint      ≤ 0.1%        0.05%        ✓ Good
Unsubscribe rate    ≤ 0.5%        0.3%         ✓ Good
Open rate           ≥ 20%         22.5%        ✓ Good
Click rate          ≥ 3%          3.8%         ✓ Good
Spam trap hits      = 0%          0%           ✓ Good

DELIVERABILITY CHECKLIST:
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Technical:
  → SPF record configured ✓
  → DKIM signed ✓
  → DMARC policy set (p=quarantine) ✓
  → Reverse DNS (PTR) record ✓
  → TLS encryption ✓
  → Dedicated IP (volume > 10K/day) ✓
  → Warm-up IP (gradual volume increase) ✓

List Hygiene:
  → Double opt-in (confirmed subscribers) ✓
  → Regular list cleaning (remove bouncers) ✓
  → Unsubscribe process (one-click) ✓
  → Preference center (frequency, topics) ✓
  → Suppress spam complainers ✓
  → Re-engagement before suppression ✓

Content:
  → Avoid spam triggers (FREE, BUY NOW, !!!) ✓
  → Personalization (first name, relevant content) ✓
  → Text-to-image ratio: 60:40 ✓
  → Clear from name and reply-to ✓
  → Physical address in footer ✓
  → Unsubscribe link visible ✓

5. A/B Testing & Analytics

A/B TESTING FRAMEWORK
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Test Variables:
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Variable            Test A          Test B           Metric          Significance
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Subject line        Question        Statement        Open rate       ≥ 95%
Send time           9 AM            2 PM             Open rate       ≥ 95%
CTA text            "Get Started"   "Start Free"     Click rate      ≥ 95%
CTA color           Blue            Green            Click rate      ≥ 95%
Image vs no image   Hero image      Text only        Click rate      ≥ 95%
Personalized        First name      No name          Open + click    ≥ 95%
Length              Short (150w)    Long (400w)      Read time       ≥ 95%
Sender name         "John"          "Company"        Open rate       ≥ 95%

TESTING METHODOLOGY:
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  → Sample size: Minimum 1,000 per variant
  → Duration: Until statistical significance (95%)
  → One variable at a time (isolated)
  → Split: 50/50 (equal split)
  → Winner: Applied to remaining sends (holdout)
  → Document: Results in testing log

  Results Tracker:
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  Test #    Variable        Winner        Improvement   Sample     Applied
  ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  001       Subject line    Question      +12% open     5,000      Yes
  002       CTA text        "Start Free"  +8% click     3,000      Yes
  003       Send time       9 AM          +5% open      4,000      Yes
  004       Image vs text   Text only     +3% click     3,500      Yes
  005       Personalization Name          +7% open      6,000      Yes

EMAIL PERFORMANCE REPORT:
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  Campaign: October Newsletter
  Sent: 45,000
  Delivered: 43,875 (97.5%)
  Opened: 9,871 (22.5%)
  Clicked: 1,667 (3.8%)
  Unsubscribed: 135 (0.3%)
  Bounced: 675 (1.5%)
  Spam complaints: 22 (0.05%)
  Revenue attributed: $12,450

Edge Cases

High-volume: Dedicated IP, warming, throttling
Transactional vs marketing: Separate domains/IPs
GDPR/CCPA: Consent management, right to forget
Multi-brand: Separate ESP accounts, domains
Enterprise approval workflow: Legal, compliance review

Integration Points

ESP: Mailchimp, HubSpot, SendGrid, Marketo, Salesforce
CRM: Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive
Analytics: GA4, Mixpanel, Amplitude
Design: Canva, Mailchimp Templates, HubSpot Designer
Testing: Litmus, Email on Acid, SubjectLine.com
Deliverability: Mail-Tester, GlockApps, SendForensics

Output

Email Marketing Status

EMAIL MARKETING — Q4 2024
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Total subscribers: 125,000 (active: 98%)
Monthly sends: 18 (4 newsletters, 8 promotional, 6 automated)
Open rate: 22.5% (industry avg: 18%) ✓
Click rate: 3.8% (industry avg: 2.6%) ✓
Deliverability: 96.2% (target: ≥95%) ✓
Automation workflows: 5 active (welcome, nurture, cart, re-engage, update)
Revenue attributed: $156,000 (last 90 days)
A/B tests completed: 5 (all applied)
Next priority: Launch product update flow, optimize send times