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:

• Goal: Retention, conversion, brand reach, or SEO synergy

• Content mix: Onboarding, campaign, announcement, features, newsletter

• 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

• Content mix: Allocate onboarding, campaign, announcement, features, newsletter

• Select articles: Pick retention, ToFu, MoFu from blog; prioritize SEO target pages

• Cadence: Stable frequency (weekly/biweekly/monthly); avoid over-sending

• 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