29 Email Marketing Best Practices to Drive Sales in 2025

Email is one of the most cost-effective marketing channels because it connects you with customers using simple and relatively low-cost technologies, says Desirae Odjick, a product marketer who works on Shopify Email and Shopify Forms.

“You can reach [customers] directly,” she says. “And once you have them on your list, you can build a relationship with them, and eventually you can sell to them.” But building that relationship takes time—and tact.

Below, see 29 email marketing best practices to help you turn subscriptions into sales.

Best practices for building and maintaining your email list

1. Create an incentive
2. Use double opt-in email signup
3. Regularly clean your email list
4. Set up one-click unsubscribe
5. Send consistently

Email marketing campaigns only work if you have an audience to send them to. Here are some best practices for building your email list:

1. Create an incentive

Your close friends and family might sign up for your newsletter because they know you, but most people will expect something in return for providing their email address. “There should always be some kind of offer for signing up for your email list,” Desirae says.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to offer a discount: “Discounts don’t work for every brand,” says Desirae. “Some of our most effective signup forms are for brands that do very limited-time drops. You go on the website, and everything’s sold out all the time, so for a business like that, it’s enough of an incentive to get first dibs when there’s a restock.”

Other options include offering valuable downloadable content (like a guide, template, or ebook) or running a contest or giveaway.

2. Use double opt-in email signup

Requiring an extra step to join your mailing list may seem counterintuitive, but in the long run, it will help your email deliverability—the rate at which your emails arrive in subscribers’ inboxes (and not their spam folders). With double opt-in, new subscribers receive an emailed link to confirm their subscription before receiving your marketing emails.

This method prevents signups with fake email addresses and helps ensure compliance with anti-spam rules and privacy laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). That’s because sending emails without permission violates privacy laws; by requiring new subscribers to confirm their signup, you receive their explicit permission to email them.

3. Regularly clean your email list

When it comes to mailing lists, bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. Lists with unengaged or fake subscribers can negatively impact your email deliverability.

Here’s how to scrub your list:

• Engage inactive subscribers. Use your platform’s email marketing tools to identify inactive subscribers. From there, create a re-engagement drip campaign or send an email requesting that unengaged subscribers express interest in staying on the list.

• Remove unengaged subscribers. If subscribers remain inactive after your attempt to engage them, take them off your list.

• Remove strange email addresses. Identify addresses that look fake or spammy. Remove them by hand or use an email marketing software to remove them in bulk.

4. Set up one-click unsubscribe

Try as you might, not every subscriber on your mailing list will be excited to receive your emails, and a percentage of your list will want to unsubscribe.

Making it easy for them to do so can improve your deliverability and ensures compliance with the standards email providers like Google have set for bulk senders. (For example, Gmail requires you to provide a one-click unsubscribe function in your emails if you have more than 5,000 subscribers.) Shopify Email templates include an unsubscribe button in the footer of each message by default.

See how the email footer on this email from olive oil company Graza contains options to unsubscribe or manage preferences.

5. Send consistently

Send the same number of emails on the same day at the same time each week to build trust with your readers. In general, aim for around one email per week to maximize click-through rates and open rates, and remember: Readers are more likely to unsubscribe if they think they’re getting your emails too often.

Importantly, these best practices apply to your email newsletters but not to behavior-triggered marketing automations, such as abandoned cart emails.

Welcome email best practices

6. Automate your welcome series
7. Make good on your promises
8. Send a curated list of your best content
9. Build curiosity

Your welcome email should celebrate your new relationship and set expectations by previewing your content. Here are a few ways to optimize welcome emails:

6. Automate your welcome series

“Make sure that when someone decides to take that step and gives you their email address, you’re ready to welcome them,” says Desirae. Automate your welcome email using a template from Shopify Email or another email marketing software.

7. Make good on your promises

Your welcome email is where subscribers cash in on your signup incentive. Include the promised materials, such as downloadable content or a discount code and its expiry date.

Bonus: Immediately delivering on a promised discount code can garner quick sales from new subscribers who are already ready to buy.

See how Camillette offers subscribers 15% off their first order.

The jewelry brand’s welcome email includes a personalized discount code, a “redeem discount” button, and terms and conditions. It also thanks subscribers and primes them to expect promotions and news.

8. Send a curated list of your best content

Get new readers up to speed with a selection of your most popular articles so they don’t miss out on your rich backlog.

You can reference this content in the body of your welcome email or in a “read more” list at the end.

9. Build curiosity

Use welcome emails’ higher-than-average open rates to build excitement for your marketing emails. For example, you might share your founding story or brand values.

“These are some of the most opened emails,” Desirae says. “People just took action, they’re expecting to see it, they’re probably going to open it.”

Email copywriting best practices

1. Use a conversational tone
2. Proofread
3. Leave out jargon and acronyms
4. Stay consistent
5. Keep emails brief
6. Perfect the subject line
7. Consider your preview text
8. Add a compelling CTA
9. Test your content

Great email copywriting gets subscribers reading and engaging with your content. Here are some email copywriting tips:

1. Use a conversational tone

Formality can make your emails sound cold and impersonal. If it works for your brand and the task at hand, opt for a conversational tone, which means writing as you speak.

One way to sound conversational is to use contractions like “who’s” and “there’s” versus “who is” and “there is.” Read your drafts out loud to ensure you’ve nailed the tone.

Here’s an example from soda brand Olipop, which greets new subscribers warmly with “You’re fam now.”

2. Proofread

Reading aloud can help you catch copy errors and ensure your emails are professional and legible.

Proofreading from the bottom up is another tactic; starting at the end of the email and reading each sentence in reverse order discourages your brain from focusing on ideas instead of grammar. It doesn’t hurt to run your work through the spellchecking tools included in your email or word processing tools or to use add-ons such as Grammarly or Hemingway Editor.

3. Leave out jargon and acronyms

Most industries use insider jargon and acronyms, but you should only include them in your emails if you’re sure your readers understand them. Even so, it’s best practice to write acronyms in full on first use or to replace them with common terms so there’s no room for confusion.

4. Stay consistent

Maintain your brand voice across messages and platforms to ensure brand consistency. Adapt your brand tone—the way you talk about specific subjects—when necessary.

For example, let’s say you have a lighthearted, joke-y brand voice, but your company just experienced a data breach that affected your email subscribers. This is the time to be serious.

5. Keep emails brief

Keep your emails as short as possible to encourage engagement and completion. There’s no set rule for optimal length—which will vary by subject matter and audience—but many brands see success by sticking to one topic, such as a restock announcement or sale. Keep your readers engaged—and willing to read your entire email—by keeping your messages short. There’s no set rule on how long your marketing emails should be, and the optimal length will vary depending on your subject matter and audience.

This short email from tinned fish brand Fishwife succinctly promotes its starter pack and contains only necessities: CTA buttons plus an image and brief product description.

6. Perfect the subject line

Emails only matter if they’re opened and read. That’s why writing catchy email subject lines is so important.

One tactic to encourage subscribers to open messages is to cultivate a sense of urgency. You can do this by reminding them of a sale that’s ending or a discount code that’s expiring soon.

You can see urgency at play in this email from culinary brand Momofuku with the subject line “Last call for cookies.”

Holidays and changing seasons can also inspire action. For example, if you run an accounting service, let subscribers know when tax day is coming. If you sell Christmas tree ornaments, give them your holiday delivery cut-off date.

Keep subject lines less than nine words and 60 characters to prevent cutoff on mobile devices. Avoid using all caps and limit punctuation marks and special characters, all of which can trigger spam filters.

7. Consider your preview text

Subject lines and preview text complement each other: If the subject line is a title, the preview text is a subtitle. While the subject line should grab readers’ attention, the preview text provides context. For example, if your subject line is an announcement, your preview text can add details.

Here’s an example from Sichuan food company Fly By Jing, with the subject line announcing a restock on its Sichuan Gold hot sauce and the preview text teasing its legendary status.

8. Add a compelling CTA

CTA buttons make it clear what readers should do next—and make it easier for them to do so. Let’s say you’re marketing a summer sale. A CTA button reading “Shop sale” gives subscribers a one-click path to savings.

Compelling CTAs are short and use action words like “buy,” “explore,” and “share.” To draw attention to your CTA, use a contrasting color and consider bold text to make it pop.

This marketing email from makeup brand Glossier uses Shop Now CTA buttons to direct readers to specific product pages.

Fine-tune your CTA copy by tracking click-through rates—this metric will help you determine which CTAs compel subscribers the most.

9. Test your content

Test your emails with a subset of subscribers before sending them to everyone. Do this by sending an email to a limited audience, then tracking metrics like open and click-through rates. Use the insights you glean from this exercise to edit your email before sending it to all subscribers.

You can also conduct A/B testing, which means sending two versions of the same email to separate portions of subscribers to determine which performs best. For example, you might send an identical email with different subject lines and track which performed better.

Email design best practices

1. Make emails easy to skim
2. Make your emails accessible
3. Optimize for mobile
4. Maintain design consistency

Email design is more than colors and fonts—it’s about guaranteeing an easy reading experience. Here are a few design best practices to incorporate into your email marketing strategy:

1. Make emails easy to skim

Structure your emails so readers can quickly take in information. There are a few ways to achieve this.

Write short paragraphs of two to five sentences with one idea each. Experiment with bullet points, lists, and bolding important information. Use headers to divide your email, orient your readers, and help them navigate.

Add your choice of photographs, illustrations, graphics, and white space to prevent overwhelming readers with dense blocks of text.

Here’s a skimmable email from farm-to-table produce company Farmer Jones Farms. The message touches on three subjects—the company’s Easter box, “Eat the rainbow” challenge, and television show—each clearly marked with a header and corresponding image. Ample white space and colorful images break up the text.

2. Make your emails accessible

Make sure people with disabilities and visual impairments can read your emails by applying web accessibility protocols.

Some methods include adding image alt text, making emails keyboard accessible (so they can be navigated without a mouse), using dark fonts, and creating high-contrast content (which you can check through a contrast checker).

3. Optimize for mobile

Mobile devices account for over half of all web traffic, so there’s a good chance subscribers read your emails on their phones.

Ensure your email marketing service offers responsive services like Shopify Email’s email marketing templates, which look good on any screen.

Other mobile-friendly practices include writing short email subject lines (nine words or less) and using limited, appropriately-sized images.

4. Maintain design consistency

Consistency is essential to brand recognition, so use your signature color palette, typography, and other brand identity elements in every email. Once you’ve designed an email layout, turn it into a template to speed up the weekly design process.

Here’s an example from hygiene company Who Gives a Crap. This email features the same vibrant, colorblocked design as the company’s ecommerce site.

Email personalization best practices

1. Segment your audience
2. Use subscribers’ names
3. Send birthday offers
4. Send post-purchase emails
5. Send abandoned cart reminders
6. Use product browsing history
7. Send repurchase reminders

A key advantage email marketing has over classic channels like print or billboard advertising is its capacity for personalized messages. Personalizing your emails demonstrates that you value your customers as individuals.

Here are a few best practices to help you streamline your email personalizations:

1. Segment your audience

Different subscribers have different needs, and you can use a number of data points to divide your audience into segments so you only send them relevant information.

High-level audience segments include demographic (which considers factors like age and gender identity), geographic (where people live), and behavioral (online activity and purchase history).

Desirae suggests using behavioral segmentation to create a VIP list—customers who’ve surpassed a set spending threshold at your store. Showcasing customer appreciation for these buyers can build brand loyalty in the long run.

“Acknowledge them proactively,” she says. “Say, ‘Hey, you matter to us. Here’s what you get for being in our VIP segment: We’re going to give you first access to sales.’ Or ‘Here’s a special discount.’”

2. Use subscribers’ names

One of the simplest personalizations is addressing subscribers by name in the body or subject line, which you can do automatically with Shopify Email.

3. Send birthday offers

“Customer birthday is something you can collect when people sign up for your list using Shopify Forms,” says Desirae. “This allows you to automate that birthday email to them and say, ‘Hey, happy birthday. Here’s a birthday discount.’”

Celebrating milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, or first purchases tells readers you care about them as individuals.

4. Send post-purchase emails

Post-purchase emails show customers that their experiences with your company—and not just their transactions—are important.

If you sell complicated products, you might include assembly or usage instructions in your post-purchase email.

In the example below, fitness brand Vuori’s order confirmation email shares shipping details and invites customers to contact support with questions. Because Vuori sent it from an active email address (as opposed to a no-reply one, like noreply@company.com), readers can easily respond.

(Worried about getting too many responses? Avoid overwhelming your team’s inboxes with replies by auto-filtering out-of-office auto-replies and auto-forwarding requests to customer service specialists.

5. Send abandoned cart reminders

Sometimes customers arrive at your checkout without purchasing. Send automated abandoned cart reminders to help get them over the finish line.

Here’s an example from cosmetics brand Glossier. It includes a product image and a link to the customer’s cart:

6. Use product browsing history

If a subscriber opts into website cookies, you can send them automated emails based on their browsing history on your site. For instance, you might email them about products they clicked on but didn’t purchase.

You can also let them know when a product they viewed is on sale or almost sold out. These personalizations ensure customers receive relevant updates.

7. Send repurchase reminders

When customers buy everyday products like soap or deodorant, consider sending repurchase reminders before the products are likely to run out. For example, if a customer buys a tube of toothpaste, you might remind them to repurchase it three months later.