To start email marketing as a blogger, decide what your list is for, pick an email platform, create a useful freebie and sign-up form, send a short welcome email and then email your list regularly with posts and offers that help. Keep subject lines honest, include an unsubscribe link and your address, and measure opens and clicks to improve.
- Decide the goal: what should subscribers do or learn?
- Pick a platform: one that’s simple enough that you’ll use it.
- Offer a freebie: a small, useful reason to subscribe.
- Send a welcome email: the first message sets the tone.
- Stay legal and honest: unsubscribe link, real address, truthful subject lines.
An email list is the one audience you own. Social platforms change their algorithms and search results move around, but a subscriber who’s opted in can hear from you directly.
Here’s how to get started with email marketing as a blogger, step by step, without the jargon. You don’t need a big list or fancy automations. You need a clear goal, a simple sign-up and an email you’ll actually send.
Related: How to Build an Email List You Control
What Is Email Marketing for Bloggers?
Email marketing for bloggers means sending emails to people who’ve agreed to hear from you.
For a blogger, that usually means sending new posts, useful tips, freebies and the occasional offer to subscribers who signed up through a form on your blog. It’s not about blasting strangers. It’s about a regular, helpful conversation with people who’ve asked for it.
How to Get Started With Email Marketing, Step by Step
To get started with email marketing for bloggers, follow these steps in order and keep each one simple.
Step 1: Decide What Your List Is For
Before you pick a tool, decide what you want your emails to do. Send readers back to new posts? Share a weekly tip? Promote a product? A clear purpose makes it easier to decide what to offer and what to send.
Step 2: Choose an Email Platform
Pick an email platform you’ll actually enjoy using. Look at the design tools, forms, automations and current pricing, and check how it handles things like unsubscribes. Start with one platform instead of testing five.
Related: Flodesk: The Best Email Marketing Platform for Bloggers?
Step 3: Create a Freebie and a Sign-Up Form
People subscribe when they get something useful in return. Make a short checklist, template or guide that solves one specific problem, then add a sign-up form to your best posts, your About page and your sidebar or footer.
Step 4: Send a Welcome Email
Your first email is the one most likely to be opened. Deliver the freebie, say hello and tell subscribers what to expect and how often. A short series of two or three welcome emails works well.
Related: The 3-Email Welcome Sequence That Turns New Subscribers Into Readers
Step 5: Write Emails People Want to Open
Keep subject lines honest and specific, write like you talk and give each email one clear point and one call to action. Don’t promise something in the subject line that the email doesn’t deliver.
Related: 5 Email Subject Line Formulas
Step 6: Check Your Results and Adjust
Look at opens, clicks and unsubscribes in your email platform. Notice which subjects and topics get clicked and send more of those. Don’t worry about tiny differences. Look for patterns over several emails.
Building this out for your own blog? Right now you can trial Flodesk and get 25% off your first year, which more than covers the cost of setting your whole funnel up properly from the start.
Try Flodesk and Save 25%This is an affiliate link, so I may earn a small commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.
A small list that wants your emails beats a big list that doesn’t.
What to Send: 4 Email Ideas That Drive Readers Back to Your Blog
For email marketing for bloggers, start with these four ideas if you’re not sure what to send.
- The behind-the-scenes email: share the story behind your latest post, such as what inspired it and what didn’t make the final version.
- The reader spotlight: feature a subscriber’s question or win, then link to the post that answers it.
- The content roundup: a weekly or monthly list of your best posts, with a tip that isn’t in the originals.
- The quick win: one tip a reader can use today, with a link to the full post.
Use Email to Make Your Content Work Harder
Treat your email as the hub, and make everything else point to it.
Instead of creating separate content for every platform, start with a post and let it feed your other channels. The post becomes an email, a few Pinterest pins and a social post, each pointing back to your blog or your sign-up form. One idea, several places to find it, and you’re not writing everything from scratch.
Three automated emails cover most of what a new list needs:
- A welcome series: introduce yourself, share your best posts and deliver your freebie.
- A new-post email: send each new post to your list with a line of context.
- A re-engagement email: reach out to subscribers who haven’t opened for a while with your most helpful post.
Keep it simple. A few emails you actually send beat a complicated set of automations you never finish.
The Email Rules You Shouldn’t Skip
Email marketing for bloggers comes with rules, and you need to follow the ones where you and your subscribers are.
In the US, the FTC’s CAN-SPAM compliance guide says marketing emails need accurate sender information, subject lines that reflect the content, a clear way to opt out, a valid postal address and prompt handling of opt-outs. Other countries have their own rules, so check the ones that apply to you, and use your email platform’s built-in unsubscribe link and address footer.
Want the first emails written for you? Grab my free Welcome Email Sequence Swipe File and start from a proven structure.
Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
- Waiting until you have traffic: start the list early.
- Emailing without permission: only email people who signed up.
- Misleading subject lines: be honest and specific.
- Skipping the unsubscribe link and address: use your platform’s footer.
- Sending only sales emails: mix helpful content with offers.
FAQ: Email Marketing for Bloggers
How do I start email marketing as a blogger?
Decide what your list is for, pick an email platform, make a freebie and sign-up form, send a welcome email and email your list regularly with helpful content.
Do I need a big list to start?
No. A small list of people who want your emails is worth building, and you can start with your first subscriber.
What should I send in my first email?
Deliver your freebie, introduce yourself and say what subscribers can expect and how often you’ll email.
Do I need an unsubscribe link?
Yes, for marketing emails. The FTC’s CAN-SPAM guide requires a clear way to opt out and a valid postal address, and your email platform can add both automatically.
How often should I email my list?
Choose a rhythm you can keep, such as weekly or fortnightly, and tell subscribers what to expect.
Key Takeaways
- Email marketing for bloggers works best when you start your list early, because it’s the audience you own.
- Decide the goal, pick one platform, make a freebie and send a welcome email.
- Keep subject lines honest and include an unsubscribe link and your address.
- Check opens and clicks over several emails, then adjust.
Start with one freebie, one form and one welcome email, and let the list grow quietly. 🌶️
Want emails that look as good as they read?
My Canva email graphics templates give you ready-made headers and banners for your newsletter.
Shop email graphics
One Response
Thanks as always for the great advice and helpful tips!
Gemma x
http://www.jacquardflower.uk