Definition:
Mailing is a marketing strategy to attract customers and, also, obtain sales through emails. To carry out a good mailing strategy we have to send interesting information to the user. When we refer to the concept of mailing we tend to associate it with simple campaigns. But, we can also talk about automation marketing.
The main objective of mailing is to make known to customers a service or product of our brand to different users that we have in our database. It is intended to stimulate the relationship with the customer,build customer loyalty and in turn increase sales.
How to plan a mailing campaign?
To carry out a good mailing strategy we have to:
- Choose a platform to send our campaigns.
- Generate our own customer lists.
- Perform a segmentation of recipients.
- Customization for each type of client.
- Adapt the content to each need.
When we perform mailing tasks, we have to know how to make good use of “urgency”. That is, if we have products on offer, a good call for promotion may be “limited offers”. Finally, it is very important to create community value. All customers are important, but we have to always think about returning consumers. These are the ones that have the most chances to buy again and spend more on each operation.
Mailing, or bulk email sending, is a direct marketing strategy that consists of simultaneously sending an email message to a previously segmented contact database. Unlike personal or one-to-one email, mailing is designed with a specific commercial, informative, or promotional intention and is executed through Email Service Platforms (ESPs) that guarantee delivery, legal compliance, and results measurement. This technique allows brands to communicate directly and personally with their current or potential customers without algorithmic intermediaries, becoming one of the channels with the highest Return on Investment (ROI) within the digital media mix.
Although often confused with the general term of email marketing or with the newsletter, mailing usually has a connotation more oriented to direct conversion and to specific campaigns (offers, launches, seasonal promotions) instead of periodic editorial loyalty. Its effectiveness does not reside in the volume of shipments, but in the quality of the database and the relevance of the message for the recipient. The process involves multiple technical and creative layers: from the lawful capture of the subscriber (opt-in) and the segmentation of the audience based on behaviors or demographics, to the responsive design of the email and persuasive writing (copywriting). In addition, modern mailing operates under strict deliverability protocols to avoid spam filters and ensure that the message reaches the main inbox.
In the current environment, mailing is integrated within broader Inbound Marketing and automation strategies. It is no longer a matter of an “indiscriminate mass mailing” (which would be considered spam), but of a surgical communication where the message is adapted to the customer lifecycle (Customer Lifecycle). Thanks to data management and the use of dynamic labels, it is possible to personalize not only the name of the recipient, but also the content, the recommended products and the time of sending, transforming a mass communication into a relevant and individualized user experience.
Differences between Mailing, Newsletter and Spam
It is important to distinguish the concept of professional mailing from other forms of email communication to understand its strategic function. While Spam is defined as the sending of unsolicited, irrelevant and often malicious email to users who have not given their consent, legitimate mailing is fundamentally based on permission marketing. On the other hand, the distinction with the newsletter lies in the objective and the temporality: the newsletter is a periodic publication (weekly, monthly) with editorial or curated content destined to educate and maintain the relationship in the long term, while the mailing is usually a tactical action driven by an immediate commercial objective, such as the sale of a product, the download of a resource or the registration to an event.
For a mailing strategy to be effective and not degrade into spam or irrelevance, it must respect certain fundamental pillars that separate professional practices from digital noise:
- Express Consent (Opt-in): The database must be built with users who have explicitly agreed to receive communications, complying with regulations such as the GDPR in Europe.
- Focus on Conversion (CTA): Unlike the newsletter that may have multiple reading links, mailing usually focuses on a single Call to Action (CTA) that is clear and direct.
- Impact-Oriented Design: Visual hierarchy and persuasion are prioritized to guide the user to click in the shortest possible time.
- Variable Temporality: It does not necessarily follow a fixed calendar, but responds to market opportunities, special dates (Black Friday, Christmas) or company actions.
Technical components and structure of a campaign
The success of a mailing campaign does not depend only on the message, but on a robust technical and structural infrastructure. At the heart of this structure is the Shipping Platform (ESP), tools such as Mailchimp, HubSpot or Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which manage the server infrastructure to ensure deliverability. These platforms handle authentication protocols such as SPF, DKIM and DMARC, which are technical credentials that verify to mail providers (Gmail, Outlook) that the sender is legitimate and not an impersonator. Without these components, even the best design can end up in the spam folder.
At the content level, the anatomy of a perfect mailing is designed to capture attention in seconds and motivate action. Each element fulfills a specific psychological and technical function within the email conversion funnel:
- Sender and Subject: These are the determining factors for the Open Rate. The sender must be recognizable and the subject must generate curiosity or urgency without falling into misleading “clickbait”.
- Preheader: The short text that appears next to the subject in the inbox; it acts as a second chance to convince the user to open the email.
- Body and Creativity: The balanced use of text and images (with ALT tags for accessibility) and a “Mobile First” design, given that most emails are opened on mobile devices.
- Legal Footer: A mandatory element that must include the physical address of the company and, fundamentally, an unsubscribe link that is visible and functional to maintain the hygiene of the list.
Metrics, KPIs and Optimization
One of the biggest advantages of mailing over traditional media is its absolute traceability. From the moment the shipment is made, it is possible to monitor user behavior with great precision. Mailing analytics goes beyond knowing how many people opened the email; it allows you to understand the quality of the database and the relevance of the offer. The analysis of these data is what allows A/B tests (testing two different subjects or designs) to continuously optimize campaigns and maximize return.
For a marketing professional, the interpretation of the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is essential to assess the health of the mailing strategy:
- Open Rate: Indicates the percentage of recipients who opened the email. It measures the effectiveness of the subject and the trust in the sender.
- Click Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of users who clicked on a link. It is the main indicator of the interest that the content or the offer awakens.
- Bounce Rate: Emails that could not be delivered. It is divided into “soft” (temporary problems) and “hard” (non-existent addresses), being crucial to clean these last ones to not damage the reputation of the domain.
- Unsubscribe Rate: The percentage of users who decide to stop receiving communications. An increase in this metric alerts about audience fatigue or irrelevant content.
Trends: Automation and Hyper-personalization
Mailing has evolved from static mass mailings to Marketing Automation. Current trends are moving away from the “one-size-fits-all” approach to embrace hyper-personalization driven by Artificial Intelligence. Today, mailing is used to nurture leads (Lead Nurturing) through automated sequences that are activated by user behavior, such as an abandoned cart in an e-commerce or the download of an ebook. These automatic campaigns (Drip Campaigns) have significantly higher conversion rates because the message arrives at the exact moment when the user shows interest.
In addition, current technology allows the integration of dynamic content in real time. This means that a mailing can show different products depending on the current stock at the time of opening, or change the offer depending on the geographical location of the user or the climate of their city. The combination of Big Data and mailing allows to predict when is the best time to send an email to each user individually (Send Time Optimization), elevating mailing from a simple communication tool to an intelligent and predictive sales channel.