It’s Wednesday, February 12, and this week, let’s talk about how to get more out of your email strategy. But first…

Good morning from New York City, where the first Dine & Deliver is in the books! If you want to join one our private newsletter dinners, apply here…

Keep an eye out for a bonus email tomorrow! The team at Optimism and I have an announcement (👀 🏆) we’re very excited about…

Have you seen spammers try to impersonate your email address? Hit reply — I’ve heard from a few readers about this recently, but I’m curious if others have experienced issues…

—Dan (say 👋 via email or LinkedIn)

All of our newsletters this month are presented by Optimism, an email-first media company. They believe in the importance of bringing positive and informative content to the inbox. Through Curated By Optimism, they’re working with like-minded media companies to drive traffic to publications like yours.

Interested in learning more? Get in touch here.

The Eight Types of Emails

When I talk with newsletter people, they mostly talk about newsletters. When I talk with marketing folks, their focus is on the marketing side of the inbox. And when I talk with ecommerce companies or email nerds, the talk shifts to automations, like a welcome series or abandoned cart emails.

What I want to do today is take a step back and show you the bigger picture.

There are a few questions you should be asking as you build out your email strategy:

What types of newsletters can you send to engage with your readers?
What kinds of marketing messages should you send?
What kinds of automations do you need to drive readers to take specific actions at specific moments?
What kinds of emails should you send after a reader makes a purchase?

It can be dizzying to try to wrap your head around all of these options. The deeper you dive into the email world, the more you realize there aren’t just a few types of emails you can send. Best-in-class organizations and operators might send up to eight different categories of emails, each with a specific purpose in mind.

So today, let’s walk through all eight — and explain how to use each to build the right strategy for you. Let’s start here

A big thank you to Optimism, the wintertime sponsor for Inbox Collective — they’re making everything in the newsletter and on our website available for free to all readers.

Even if you’re unfamiliar with Optimism, you probably recognize one of their nearly 20 email-first brands, including History Facts, Nice News, and Word Smarts. This year, they’re also expanding their partnership program with like-minded media companies. Through Curated By Optimism, they’re driving traffic to external partners and promoting their great content — and with traditional traffic sources continuing to drive fewer readers to publications, new partnerships like this could help your newsletter or site grow faster in 2025. Interested in learning more about how to partner with Optimism? Get in touch here.

*This content has been promoted by our partners*

From my reading list...

There’s no one right way to price the ads in your newsletter. Here are five different ways to set your prices and help you to maximize your ad revenue. (Inbox Collective)

The team at Litmus put together some of their top email tips for 2025. (Litmus)

Here’s lovely conversation with Leigh Kamping-Carder about building a newsletter strategy at the Wall Street Journal. (99 Newsletter Project)

Really enjoyed this piece on the idea of creators as entrepreneurs. (Creator Spotlight)

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Not a Newsletter - 📬 No. 66 | The Eight Types of Emails

The Eight Types of Emails

From my reading list...

Older messages

📬 No. 62 | What I learned about newsletters in 2024

Join me in Copenhagen this summer!

📬 No. 61 | What I wish I’d known

📬 No. 60 | “Little things can actually make a big difference”

📬 No. 59 | Designing a better newsletter

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