Remember when we talked about how powerful email marketing is for your online business? Now that you’re convinced of its importance (and I hope you are!), let’s dive into the exciting world of email delivery methods. Yes, there’s more than one way to send an email to your subscribers—and knowing when to use each type can dramatically boost your results!
In this second article of our email marketing series, we’re exploring the three main types of emails you can send to your audience. Think of these as different tools in your marketing toolkit, each perfect for specific situations.
Autoresponder Emails: Your “Set It and Forget It” Strategy
Autoresponder emails (often called A/R emails by marketers) are perhaps the most magical type of email marketing. Why? Because you set them up once, and they automatically deliver to every subscriber at exactly the right time in their journey with you.
Here’s how they work: When someone joins your list, they start at the beginning of your email sequence. The first email (usually your welcome message) goes out immediately. Then, future emails go out based on the schedule you’ve created—perhaps day 2, day 4, day 7, and so on after signup.
The beauty of autoresponders is that each subscriber experiences your emails in the same carefully crafted order, regardless of when they joined your list. Your newest subscriber might be reading email #1 while a subscriber who joined three weeks ago is reading email #12.
Perfect Uses for Autoresponders:
- Welcome sequences introducing yourself and your brand
- Delivering multi-part free courses or challenges
- Nurturing new subscribers with your best content
- Promoting evergreen products or services
- Teaching complex topics over time
- Building trust through consistent value delivery
When you create a great autoresponder sequence, you’re essentially building a marketing asset that works for you 24/7, year after year.
Broadcast Emails: Your “Right Now” Messages
Think of broadcast emails as your direct line for timely communication. These are one-time emails that go out to your current list of subscribers—much like sending a personal email to multiple recipients at once.
The defining feature of broadcasts is that they’re sent at a specific moment in time. Only people on your list when you hit “send” will receive the message. Future subscribers won’t see these emails unless you specifically add them to your autoresponder sequence later.
Perfect Uses for Broadcasts:
- Time-sensitive promotions or limited offers
- News and announcements about your business
- Weekly or monthly newsletters
- Seasonal content or holiday messages
- Responding to current events relevant to your audience
- Promoting webinars or live events
Broadcasts let you be spontaneous and timely with your email marketing, which builds an authentic connection with your audience.
Blog Broadcast Emails: Your Automated Content Delivery System
If you’re a content creator who publishes regularly on a blog, you’ll love blog broadcast emails. This clever automation takes your blog posts and turns them into emails that go out to your list—automatically!
You can customize when and how often these emails go out. Want subscribers to get an email every time you publish? Done. Prefer to send a weekly digest with all your recent posts? That’s possible too.
Blog broadcasts save you the hassle of manually creating emails about your new content while ensuring your subscribers never miss your latest work.
Perfect Uses for Blog Broadcasts:
- Driving traffic to your blog content
- Keeping infrequent website visitors engaged with your content
- Creating a regular publishing rhythm your audience can expect
- Repurposing your blog content across multiple channels
- Building consistency in your marketing without extra work
Mixing Your Email Types for Maximum Impact
The email marketing superstars don’t rely on just one type of email—they strategically blend all three. Here’s what an effective mix might look like:
- Autoresponders introduce new subscribers to your world and deliver your core messaging
- Broadcasts allow for timely promotions and personal updates
- Blog broadcasts keep your audience engaged with your fresh content
This powerful combination ensures you’re nurturing new subscribers while keeping your entire list engaged with both evergreen and time-sensitive content.
Your Next Steps
Now that you understand the three types of emails, take a moment to think about your current email strategy:
- Do you have an autoresponder welcome sequence in place?
- Are you sending regular broadcasts to stay connected with your audience?
- If you’re creating content, have you set up blog broadcasts to automatically share it?
In our next article, we’ll explore how to craft compelling email subject lines that get your messages opened and read. After all, even the best email strategies fall flat if no one opens your emails!