How to Do Email Marketing: Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Email marketing generates an average return of $36 for every $1 spent, making it the highest-ROI digital channel available. Whether you are launching a new business or adding email to your marketing mix, this guide walks you through every step.

Why Email Marketing Still Wins

Channel	Average ROI	Audience Ownership	Personalization
Email Marketing	$36 per $1	You own the list	High
Social Media	$2.80 per $1	Platform owns audience	Medium
Paid Search	$2 per $1	Rented audience	Medium
SMS Marketing	$8.11 per message	You own the list	High

Unlike social media followers, your email list belongs to you. Algorithm changes cannot take your subscribers away.

Step 1: Choose Your Email Marketing Platform

For beginners, you need a tool that balances ease of use with room to grow.

Essential Features

• Drag-and-drop email editor
• Signup form builder
• Contact management and segmentation
• Basic automation (welcome emails, sequences)
• Analytics dashboard
• Deliverability tools (SPF, DKIM)

Platform Comparison

Platform	Free Plan	Best For	Starting Price
Brevo	300 emails/day	Growing businesses	$9/mo
Mailchimp	500 contacts	Very small lists	$13/mo
ConvertKit	1,000 subscribers	Content creators	$15/mo
ActiveCampaign	No free plan	Advanced automation	$29/mo

For Shopify stores, Tajo connects your store with Brevo for synced customer data, products, and order history. See our complete platform comparison for more options.

Step 2: Build Your Email List

Never buy email lists. Purchased lists deliver poor engagement, damage sender reputation, and violate anti-spam laws.

Organic List Building Methods

Website Signup Forms: Place forms on high-traffic pages. Keep them simple, email address and first name is enough to start.

Lead Magnets: Offer value in exchange for an email:

• Discount codes (especially for e-commerce)
• Free guides or checklists
• Exclusive content access
• Free trials or samples

Pop-up Forms: Timed pop-ups appearing after 30-60 seconds convert 3-5% of visitors. Exit-intent pop-ups capture visitors as they leave.

Double Opt-In: Requires subscribers to confirm their email. Slightly lower signup rate but much higher list quality, better deliverability, and GDPR compliance. Learn more in our double opt-in guide.

Step 3: Create Your Welcome Sequence

Your welcome email is the most important email you will send. Welcome emails generate 4x more opens and 5x more clicks than regular campaigns.

Welcome Email Structure

1. Thank the subscriber immediately
2. Deliver any promised lead magnet
3. Set expectations (what they will receive and how often)
4. Include a clear call-to-action
5. Make unsubscribing easy

Build a 3-email welcome series spaced over the first week. See our welcome email guide for templates and examples.

Step 4: Send Your First Campaign

Crafting Effective Emails

Subject Line: Keep under 50 characters. Create curiosity or urgency. Avoid spam triggers. See our subject line guide for proven formulas.

Preview Text: The snippet after the subject in the inbox. Use it to complement your subject line, not repeat it.

Email Body:

• Compelling opening hook (1-2 sentences)
• Short paragraphs, scannable layout
• One primary call-to-action
• Mobile-optimized design (60%+ of opens are mobile)

Footer: Business address, unsubscribe link, social links.

Sending Best Practices

Factor	Recommendation
Frequency	Start with 1x/week
Best Days	Tuesday-Thursday
Best Times	10am or 2pm local time
List Size Min	100+ subscribers

Step 5: Set Up Basic Automations

Automation turns email marketing from a manual task into a revenue-generating machine that runs while you sleep.

Essential Automations

Automation	Trigger	Expected Impact
Welcome Series	New signup	4x higher engagement
Abandoned Cart	Cart left 1hr+	Recovers 5-15% of lost sales
Post-Purchase	Order completed	Increases repeat purchases 25%
Re-engagement	90 days inactive	Wins back 5-10% of dormant subscribers
Birthday	Date of birth	481% higher transaction rate

For Shopify stores, Tajo automates cart recovery and post-purchase sequences by syncing real-time shopping data with Brevo. Read our email automation workflows guide for setup instructions.

Step 6: Segment Your Audience

Sending the same email to everyone kills engagement. Even basic segmentation increases revenue by 760%.

Starter Segments

• By behavior: Purchased vs. browsed, active vs. inactive
• By source: How they signed up (discount vs. content vs. checkout)
• By engagement: Openers vs. non-openers in last 30 days
• By purchase history: First-time vs. repeat customers

Start with 2-3 segments and expand as you gather data. Our segmentation guide covers advanced strategies.

Step 7: Measure and Optimize

Key Metrics to Track

Metric	Good Benchmark	What It Tells You
Open Rate	20-25%	Subject line effectiveness
Click-Through Rate	2-5%	Content relevance
Conversion Rate	1-3%	Offer and CTA strength
Unsubscribe Rate	Under 0.5%	Content-audience fit
Bounce Rate	Under 2%	List quality
Spam Complaint Rate	Under 0.1%	Permission quality

A/B Testing Basics

Test one variable at a time:

1. Subject lines (biggest impact)
2. Send times
3. CTA button text and placement
4. Content length

Send version A to 20% of your list, version B to another 20%, then send the winner to the remaining 60%.

1. One variable to test

2. Version A

   • Sent to 20% of your list

3. Version B

   • Sent to another 20%

4. Pick the winner

5. Send the winner

   • To the remaining 60%

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Buying lists: Destroys deliverability and violates laws
• No mobile optimization: 60%+ of opens happen on phones
• Irregular sending: Going silent then blasting causes spam complaints
• Multiple CTAs: One email, one primary action
• Ignoring list hygiene: Remove bounces and inactive subscribers regularly. See our list cleaning guide

Free Email Marketing Learning Path

If you want to go deeper, here is a structured learning path:

Stage	Focus	Resource
Beginner	Platform setup, first campaigns	This guide + platform tutorials
Intermediate	Automation workflows	Brevo Academy (free)
Advanced	Deliverability	Google Postmaster Tools
Expert	A/B testing and analytics	HubSpot Academy (free cert)

Most platforms including Brevo offer free courses and certifications. Google’s Digital Marketing certification covers email fundamentals alongside other channels.

Your 30-Day Action Plan

Week 1: Choose your platform, create your account, build your first signup form.

Week 2: Write your welcome sequence (3 emails minimum), install forms on your website.

Week 3: Send your first broadcast campaign. Keep it simple and valuable.

Week 4: Review metrics, add one automation (abandoned cart or post-purchase), plan your content calendar.

1. Day 1

2. Week 1

   Set up

   • Choose your platform
   • Create your account
   • Build your first signup form
3. Week 2

   Welcome sequence

   • Write 3 emails minimum
   • Install forms on your website
4. Week 3

   First broadcast

   • Keep it simple and valuable
5. Week 4

   Review and automate

   • Review metrics
   • Add abandoned cart or post-purchase
   • Plan your content calendar

The most important step is starting. Every successful email marketer began with one subscriber and one send.