3 Types of Marketing Emails You Need to Sell to Your List

One of the biggest questions people have after they start building their list is, “Now how do I sell things to my subscribers?”

You want to make money, naturally, but you don’t want to come across as pushy or salesy.

Believe it or not, if you have the right email marketing content strategy – one where you’re building rapport and providing value along the way – letting them know what you have to offer can actually be exciting and even fun! You know that what you offer is going to help them and you know they’re just waiting to hear about it.

How do you get there?

The way we see it, there are 3 essential types of emails you need in your mix:

👉 Weekly Newsletter and Broadcasts
👉 Email Promotions and Flash Sales
👉 Email Sequences

Today we’re breaking down exactly what each type means for your business, and how to use them to connect with your subscribers in a way that feels natural and drives results. 

Let’s dive in with a bird’s eye view of each type…

#1. Weekly Newsletters and Broadcasts

Think of your newsletter as your chance to have a regular coffee date with subscribers. It’s not about the hard sell – it’s about showing up consistently and providing genuine value that keeps your audience looking forward to hearing from you and opening your emails.

Broadcast emails are less about generating sales, and more about maintaining a relationship with your subscribers. Think of them as your “default” emails that you send as regularly as you can. (We shoot for 1-2 times per week.) 

While many businesses neglect regular newsletters (we’ve been guilty of this too!), they’re crucial for maintaining an engaged audience. The key is to vary your content to keep things interesting and relevant.

We use the same categories as our Content Calendar System:

• Inspire: Everyone loves a good success story. Share wins from your clients, personal breakthroughs, or inspiring industry examples. Show your subscribers what’s possible and let them know you’re in their corner, cheering them on.
• Ask: Help your audience see their goals and challenges from new angles. The right question can spark powerful insights and mindset shifts that move people closer to their goals.
• Connect: Don’t be afraid to be human. Share your own experiences, including the struggles and lessons learned. This vulnerability creates authentic connections and helps subscribers understand the heart behind your business.
• Educate: Emails that help people solve a problem while building your authority. You can share tips in the body of your email or link to a blog post or video.
• Convert: While newsletters aren’t primarily about selling, you can naturally weave in mentions of your products and services. The key is to frame these mentions in terms of how they solve specific problems for your audience.
• Evergreen Keep a running list of timeless content ideas you can share anytime: helpful resources, industry insights, new discoveries, and behind-the-scenes peeks at your business. Freebies, projects you’re working on, new ideas you recently discovered, and so on.

Be sure to grab our 100 Email Ideas to Send to Your List Today Cheat Sheet for specific email ideas and prompts in each of these categories. 👇

#2. Promotions and Limited Time Offers

Believe it or not, people really do sign up to your email list to learn about specials and discounts, so running promos is a powerful way to give them a great deal AND generate sales you can count on.

An email promo is a series of emails (usually 2-6 but sometimes more) that you send to your list over a set number of days to promote a special offer.

They can be quick 24-hour flash sales or longer campaigns. And what we’re talking about is:

• Offering something specific and special
• Sending out a predetermined number of emails
• With a start and end date (usually 5 days or less)
• For the purpose of hitting a specific $$$ goal

You can run promos around seasonal holidays, or you can run promos anytime you need to generate more income.

A typical promotion cadence might look like this:

• Day 1 – Announce Your Sale: This is the first email that gets people excited about your promotion. Let them know why you’re running a special sale, who it’s for, what’s included, and the price & deadline.
• Day 2 – Reminder: Address a specific pain point your audience is struggling with and remind them about your special sale.
• Day 3 – Inspire: Share a case study or success story so they can see the opportunities that are out there for them when they buy.
• Day 4 – Bonus Added: Announce a “just added” bonus if they take action today. It’s the bonuses that really get people buying so don’t skip this!
• Day 5 – Last Chance: Let them know your promotion is ending and give them a “last call” before the cart closes and the price goes up.

Grab our FREE Monetize Your List Starter Kit – it’s got everything you need to know about running, planning, and tracking email promotions 👇

#3. Email Sequences

An email sequence is a series of automated emails that you send to your subscribers based on actions they take, such as signing up for your email list, clicking a link, completing a sequence, making a purchase, and so on.

You probably already know about the most common type of sequence: The Welcome Email Sequence.

It generally consists of 3-6 emails sent when someone signs up for your list or freebie. Over 5-7 days, you’ll introduce new subscribers to your brand and how you can help, and gently invite them to take action.

Grab our FREE Welcome Sequence Cheat Sheet to take with you👇

Welcome sequences are a great place to start, but there are loads of other sequences that will help you make more sales and increase the average order value & lifetime value of customers.

The beauty is, once you set them up you’ll be generating more revenue without lifting a finger.

Some essential sequences to have in your arsenal are: 

• Digital Product Sequence: Warm people up to your digital product, help them overcome common roadblocks, and position your digital product as the solution they’ve been looking for.
• Client Booking Sequence: Take your subscribers from prospect to client by showcasing the unique value you provide and leading them to a strategy call.
• Cross Sell Conversion Sequence: Introduce different offers to existing subscribers and customers. You’ll educate them, provide value, and foster trust as you guide them to your next product or service.
• Onboarding Sequence: Guide new customers through your product or service so they get the maximum benefit out of their purchase.
• Upsell Sequence: After the onboarding sequence, it’s time to introduce related products that will help them get even more results, faster.
• Product Launch Sequence: Create excitement around new products and services and give your subscribers a peek at what they can expect.
• Abandoned Cart Sequence: Gently nudge subscribers who started to buy. You’ll remind of their interest & what they left behind, and share exclusive incentives to encourage them to complete their purchase.

Taking Action on Your Email Strategy

The key to monetizing your list is staying consistent and not ghosting your subscribers for too long, so start by getting into the habit of sending out regular broadcast emails – these will keep your relationship warm and your subscribers engaged.

From there, you’ll want to have a welcome sequence in place to properly introduce new subscribers to your business. 

And once you’ve built up your list a bit and established that consistent relationship with your subscribers, you can start planning your first promotion.

From there, your goal should be to layer additional automated sequences and set up regular promotional campaigns. Pro-tip: don’t let this overwhelm you, just chip away at your email marketing plan bit by bit. We always have a running list of sequences we need to create and campaigns we need to set up on our to-do list. 

Remember, consistency matters more than perfection. Start where you are and build from there. The sooner you start showing up regularly in your subscribers’ inboxes, the sooner you’ll see the impact on your bottom line!

If you need help getting started, we’ve got your back:

✉️ Activate Your List has all the email templates you need for your regular broadcasts
✉️ Email Sequence Builder includes done-for-you sequences for all the sequences mentioned in this post and more.
✉️ Email Promo Builder is your pre-planned promotional calendar with 160 ready-to-send promo emails. 

Let us know in comments if you have any questions. We’re here for you!