Glossary
Email Marketing
Email marketing is the practice of communicating with people through email to build relationships and support business goals.
Businesses use email marketing to educate prospects, nurture leads, promote products and services, retain customers, and encourage repeat business.
Quick Reference
Definition
Email marketing is a digital marketing strategy that uses email to communicate with leads, customers, and subscribers. Businesses send emails to share valuable information, promote products or services, announce updates, provide support, and maintain ongoing relationships. Email marketing can include one-time campaigns as well as automated sequences that are triggered by customer actions.
Why This Term Matters
Email marketing allows businesses to communicate directly with people who have chosen to receive messages. Unlike social media platforms, where visibility often depends on algorithms, email gives businesses a direct communication channel with their audience. It is commonly used to educate potential customers, nurture leads, encourage repeat purchases, and strengthen long-term customer relationships.
How It Works
Email marketing typically begins when someone joins an email list by subscribing through a website, landing page, lead magnet, purchase, or contact form. Once subscribed, businesses can send newsletters, promotional campaigns, educational content, product announcements, appointment reminders, onboarding sequences, and automated follow-up emails. Modern email marketing platforms also allow businesses to segment contacts, personalize messages, and automate communication based on customer behavior.
Examples
- A visitor downloads a free guide and automatically receives a welcome email series.
- An online store sends order confirmations, shipping updates, and product recommendations to customers.
- A business sends a monthly newsletter with educational articles, company updates, and promotional offers.
Related Business Functions
Related Business Models
Related Terms
Frequently Asked Questions
What is email marketing?
Email marketing is the practice of sending emails to leads, customers, and subscribers to build relationships, provide information, promote offers, and support business goals.
Why is email marketing important?
Email marketing provides businesses with a direct communication channel that helps build trust, educate audiences, nurture leads, increase customer retention, and encourage future purchases.
What types of emails do businesses send?
Businesses commonly send newsletters, promotional campaigns, welcome emails, onboarding sequences, appointment reminders, product updates, educational content, and follow-up messages.
Can email marketing be automated?
Yes. Many businesses automate email marketing by sending messages based on triggers such as new subscriptions, purchases, appointments, or customer actions, creating a more consistent and efficient communication process.
Final Thoughts
Understanding email marketing helps explain how businesses build and maintain relationships with their audience over time. Email marketing works alongside websites, landing pages, CRM systems, lead capture, workflows, and automation to create ongoing communication that supports marketing, sales, customer service, and long-term business growth.