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MBA Module: Digital Marketing

Week 6

Email Marketing & Marketing Automation

The highest-ROI channel in digital marketing. Your owned audience.

Today's Agenda

  • Why Email Still Wins in 2024
  • List Building: Permission-Based Marketing
  • Email Anatomy & Copywriting Principles
  • Segmentation & Personalisation
  • Automation Workflows: Welcome, Nurture, Re-engagement
  • Deliverability: Getting into the Inbox
  • KPIs: Open Rate, CTR, Conversion, Revenue Per Email
  • Lab: Write and Automate a 3-Email Welcome Sequence

Part 1: The Case for Email

No algorithm. No rented platform. Pure direct access.

Email vs. Every Other Channel

The Numbers

  • Average email ROI: $36 for every $1 spent (DMA, 2023)
  • 4.6 billion global email users — more than social media
  • Organic social reach: 2–5%. Email open rates: 20–40%
  • Email drives more B2B revenue than any other digital channel
The Core Insight: A social media following is an audience you rent. An email list is an audience you own. If Instagram shuts down tomorrow, your email list survives.

Part 2: List Building

Growing a qualified, permission-based subscriber base.

The Lead Magnet Strategy

A lead magnet is a free, high-value resource exchanged for a visitor's email address. The stronger the lead magnet, the lower the CPA for list growth.

Effective Lead Magnets

  • Checklists & cheat sheets
  • Templates (spreadsheets, Canva)
  • Mini-courses or video series
  • Free audits or consultations
  • Webinar registrations

Where to Promote

  • Website pop-up (exit intent)
  • Blog post CTAs (inline)
  • Social media bio link
  • Paid social lead-gen ads
  • After content consumption (courses)

List Health: Quality Over Quantity

High-Quality List

  • 1,000 subscribers
  • 35% open rate
  • 5% CTR
  • Engaged, bought-in audience

Low-Quality List

  • 50,000 subscribers
  • 5% open rate
  • 0.3% CTR
  • Spam complaints, deliverability damage
Never buy email lists. They destroy deliverability and violate GDPR/CAN-SPAM.

Part 3: Email Anatomy & Copywriting

The elements that drive open, click, and conversion.

The Six Elements of Every Email

Element Purpose Key Principle
Subject Line Gets the open Curiosity, urgency, personalisation, or benefit
Preview Text Supports the subject line Never leave it blank — it defaults to ugly code
From Name Builds trust Person's name > Brand name for open rates
Body Delivers value & builds desire One idea per email. Short paragraphs. Scannable.
CTA Drives the click One CTA per email. Link text AND button.
Unsubscribe Legal compliance Make it easy — a bad unsubscribe UX = spam complaint

Subject Line Formulas That Work

  • Curiosity Gap: "The one thing your competitors know that you don't"
  • Direct Benefit: "Double your landing page conversions this week"
  • Personalisation: "[First Name], your free audit is ready"
  • Urgency: "Last day: 40% off expires at midnight"
  • Question: "Are you making this SEO mistake?"
  • Number: "7 email mistakes costing you sales"
A/B test subject lines with 20% of your list. Send the winner to the remaining 80%.

Part 4: Segmentation & Personalisation

The right message, to the right person, at the right time.

Segmentation Strategies

Behavioural

  • Did they open the last 3 emails?
  • Did they click a specific link?
  • Did they visit the pricing page?
  • Did they abandon a cart?

Demographic / Profile

  • Industry or job role
  • Location (city/country)
  • Stage in the buying journey
  • Product/interest category
Mailchimp data: Segmented campaigns get 14% more opens and 101% more clicks than non-segmented ones.

Part 5: Automation Workflows

Sequences that run 24/7 and convert leads while you sleep.

The Three Core Automation Sequences

Welcome Sequence

Triggered by: Sign-up

  • Email 1: Deliver lead magnet + warm greeting
  • Email 2: Your story / brand values
  • Email 3: Social proof + soft offer

Nurture / Drip

Triggered by: Interest or lead score

  • Weekly value-add emails
  • Gradual trust building
  • Progressive CTAs toward purchase

Re-engagement

Triggered by: 90 days inactive

  • "We miss you" win-back sequence
  • Special offer or content
  • Unsubscribe inactive contacts

Email Deliverability: Getting Past the Filters

Deliverability Rate = % of your emails that actually reach the inbox (vs. spam folder or rejected).

Technical Setup

  • SPF, DKIM, DMARC records configured
  • Warm up new domains slowly
  • Use a reputable ESP (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit)

List Hygiene

  • Remove hard bounces immediately
  • Suppress or remove unengaged contacts
  • Never use spam trigger words: "Free money", "Guaranteed", "Act now"

KPIs: What Good Looks Like

Metric Industry Average Target
Open Rate 20–25% > 30%
Click-Through Rate 2–3% > 5%
Unsubscribe Rate < 0.5% < 0.2%
Spam Complaint Rate < 0.1% < 0.05%
Revenue Per Email Varies Track and benchmark monthly

Lab: Build a 3-Email Welcome Sequence

Using Mailchimp (Free) or ConvertKit

  1. Connect your email platform to your landing page form
  2. Write Email 1: Lead magnet delivery + personal welcome
  3. Write Email 2: Share your "why" — brand story
  4. Write Email 3: One testimonial + clear CTA offer
  5. Set up the automation trigger and test the full flow

Deliverable for Week 6

Email Automation Sequence

  • 3 written emails (subject line + body + CTA each)
  • Screenshot of automation workflow in your ESP
  • One A/B test hypothesis for your subject line

Due before the start of Week 7.