Starter Pack 2: Practical steps for your first email campaign
What’s inside:
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A logical continuation of Starter Pack. Part 1, in which you explored the theory every beginner email marketer should know.
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A complete step-by-step roadmap: from defining your campaign goal and writing the first draft to testing your email and exporting it for sending through your ESP or CDP.
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Practical recommendations for every stage: strategy, copywriting, design, email building, and testing. Each section includes actionable steps and links to detailed materials.
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Real-world advice on structuring your message, crafting compelling subject lines, personalizing your copy, and ensuring your tone fits your brand.
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The most important principles of email design: balancing visuals and text, effectively using brand colors, and designing for both desktop and mobile devices.
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Key stages of email development and tips on using modular design, integrating interactivity, optimizing images, and preparing your email for responsiveness.
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Proven testing practices to ensure your email looks perfect in Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail, as well as on mobile devices.
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A free email production brief template: plan, organize, and manage your first campaign with confidence.
Expert contributors
Senior Email Marketing Specialist for CleanMyMac at MacPaw
Your campaign shouldn’t exist in a vacuum — it needs to fit into the broader marketing and product strategy. For example, at MacPaw, the email team uses annual and quarterly OKRs to stay aligned with top company priorities. This kind of focus helps email marketing deliver real business results.
Email Strategist and Copywriter
A “pattern interrupt” is a sales psychology concept. The idea is that doing or saying something surprising can alter someone’s mental, emotional, or behavioral state, making them more receptive to what you have to say.
Accessibility and Usability Consultant
Email accessibility matters because each and every one of your email recipients matters. If your recipients are unable to read, listen to, and interact with your emails, then they have no value.
CRM Specialist
The moment you choose a personal sender signature, you commit to maintaining communication in that person’s name — consistent in tone, style, and even greeting. If the email is from “David, your agent,” then every element should align with that persona, from the salutation to the content structure.
CX/UX Designer at SCHMACK
The email production process in SCHMACK begins with answering the 4Ws — Why, What, Who, and When — to set clear objectives for each campaign.
Senior Email Marketing Specialist for CleanMyMac at MacPaw
Your campaign shouldn’t exist in a vacuum — it needs to fit into the broader marketing and product strategy. For example, at MacPaw, the email team uses annual and quarterly OKRs to stay aligned with top company priorities. This kind of focus helps email marketing deliver real business results.
Email Strategist and Copywriter
A “pattern interrupt” is a sales psychology concept. The idea is that doing or saying something surprising can alter someone’s mental, emotional, or behavioral state, making them more receptive to what you have to say.
Accessibility and Usability Consultant
Email accessibility matters because each and every one of your email recipients matters. If your recipients are unable to read, listen to, and interact with your emails, then they have no value.
CRM Specialist
The moment you choose a personal sender signature, you commit to maintaining communication in that person’s name — consistent in tone, style, and even greeting. If the email is from “David, your agent,” then every element should align with that persona, from the salutation to the content structure.
CX/UX Designer at SCHMACK
The email production process in SCHMACK begins with answering the 4Ws — Why, What, Who, and When — to set clear objectives for each campaign.
