Devenia Learn / Dictionary
Email marketing and permission-based email marketing
Email marketing uses permission-based messages to maintain a relationship with people who have chosen to receive relevant communication.
Start with permission. Share the page or your question, and we will answer clearly.
Send the email the reader asked for.
A bookshop invites readers to receive one monthly email with new fiction and author events. Someone who chooses that list should recognise the shop and find those subjects in the next message.
This is the permission-based approach covered here. A receipt request or an event enquiry serves a different purpose; do not treat it as a newsletter subscription.
Make the sign-up specific
Example: “Get one email each month from Harbour Books with new fiction and upcoming author events. Unsubscribe at any time.” Use your actual shop name, subjects, and sending schedule.
Keep the choice visible and separate from completing an order. Store the wording the person saw and when and how they opted in, so you can check what they requested.
Four checks before the next email
1. Match the subscriber’s choice
Check the source of the addresses and the sign-up wording. For the bookshop, use the fiction newsletter list for fiction news. Exclude people who have unsubscribed.
2. Give the message one clear task
For an author event, use a subject that names the event and a link labelled “Reserve a place”. Include the date and venue in the message and confirm that the link opens the correct event.
3. Test the way out
Use a test subscriber to follow the unsubscribe link. Confirm that the request is accepted and the address is excluded from later marketing. Make the route easy to find and use.
4. Check the email on a phone
Send a preview to an address you control. Check the sender name, subject, text size, links, and layout with images hidden. Make sure the event details remain readable without the picture.
Count the action the email was meant to support
For an author event, compare visits to the event page with completed reservations. Read replies: repeated questions about the time or venue show which details the next email needs.
Track complaints and unsubscribes alongside useful responses. Do not treat a reported open as proof that someone read the message: Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection, for example, prevents senders from seeing whether protected messages were opened.
Questions before building the list
Back to the dictionary.
Can I add everyone who bought something?
A purchase is not the same as a newsletter sign-up. This page uses explicit subscription as its example. Some jurisdictions allow limited exceptions: UK rules include conditional soft opt-ins and distinguish individual from corporate subscribers. Check the ICO’s UK email-marketing guidance and the rules that apply to your recipients before relying on an exception.
Can a purchased list replace sign-ups?
Buying addresses does not show that people asked to hear from your business. For this permission-based approach, use subscribers whose request you can verify. A supplier’s claim that a list is “opted in” does not explain who was named or what messages were agreed to.
How often should I send?
Start with the schedule you promised and content worth sending. For the bookshop example, a monthly fiction email should not become daily offers. If readers want extra event reminders, offer that as a separate choice.
What should happen after someone unsubscribes?
Stop the marketing covered by that request. Keep the suppression record needed to prevent an old import from adding the address again. Test the result with an address you control, including any separate event list or automated sequence.
What should a useful event email include?
Name the author and book, say when and where the event takes place, explain any booking requirement, and link directly to the reservation page. A reader should not have to search the website for the details promised by the subject line.
Does the email match the sign-up?
Send the sign-up page and a sample email. We can compare the promise, the message, and the reader’s next step.