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:

1. Goal: Retention, conversion, brand reach, or SEO synergy
2. Content mix: Onboarding, campaign, announcement, features, newsletter
3. 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

1. Content mix: Allocate onboarding, campaign, announcement, features, newsletter
2. Select articles: Pick retention, ToFu, MoFu from blog; prioritize SEO target pages
3. Cadence: Stable frequency (weekly/biweekly/monthly); avoid over-sending
4. 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