Email marketing has a reputation problem. Everyone’s inbox is full of messages they never asked for, from companies they’ve never heard of, so it’s easy to assume email is spammy and ineffective. But well-run email, sent to people who actually want it, is one of the most cost-effective channels a small business has. You own the list, it costs little to send, and it reaches people who already know you.
The key phrase is “well-run”. Setting it up properly at the start saves you from legal headaches, messages landing in spam folders and a list full of people who don’t care.
This guide covers the setup in order: permissions, platform, technical setup, sign-up forms and your first messages. It isn’t legal advice, and the rules do change, so take proper advice if you’re unsure about your situation.
Understand the rules first
In the UK, email marketing is mainly governed by two sets of rules: UK data protection law (UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, usually called PECR. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) publishes guidance on both, and it’s worth reading their pages on electronic marketing directly.
In broad terms:
- Individuals, including consumers and sole traders, generally need to have given clear consent to receive marketing emails from you.
- There’s an exception often called the soft opt-in. If someone bought from you, or was negotiating to buy, and you gave them a chance to opt out when you collected their details, you can usually email them about similar products and services, as long as every message includes an easy way to unsubscribe.
- Corporate addresses, such as those at limited companies, are treated differently under PECR, but you must still identify yourself, include an opt-out and respect it. Data protection law still applies when the address belongs to a named person.
- Every marketing email must say who it’s from and include a working way to unsubscribe.
What this means in practice: don’t buy email lists, don’t add people just because they gave you a business card, and keep a record of how and when each person signed up.
Choose the right platform
Never send marketing emails from your normal inbox by putting everyone in the BCC field. It’s hard to manage unsubscribes, it looks unprofessional and it’s likely to cause delivery problems. Use a proper email marketing platform.
There are many good options at different price points. When comparing them, look at:
- How pricing scales as your list grows.
- How easy the email editor is for the person who’ll use it.
- Automation features, such as welcome sequences and follow-ups.
- Integration with your website, online shop or CRM.
- Where data is stored and whether the provider offers suitable data protection terms.
- Reporting that’s clear enough to be useful.
If you already use a CRM, check whether it includes email marketing before paying for another tool. Keeping contacts in one place saves a lot of tidying up.
Set up your sending domain properly
This is the technical part, and it matters more than it used to. Major email providers have tightened their requirements for senders, and emails that aren’t properly authenticated are much more likely to go to spam or be rejected.
You’ll want three records set up on your domain:
- SPF, which lists the services allowed to send email for your domain.
- DKIM, which adds a digital signature to prove messages haven’t been tampered with.
- DMARC, which tells receiving servers what to do with messages that fail those checks and can send you reports.
Your email platform will give you instructions for adding these to your domain’s DNS settings. If that sounds like gibberish, ask whoever manages your domain or website to do it. It’s usually a short job for someone who knows what they’re doing, and it’s worth getting right before you send anything.
Send from an address on your own domain, not a free webmail address, and use a real reply-to address that someone checks.
Build your list the right way
A small list of interested people is worth far more than a big list of people who don’t remember you. Good ways to grow it include:
- A clear sign-up form on your website, saying what people will receive and how often.
- A tick box at checkout or in enquiry forms, unticked by default, for marketing emails.
- A useful offer in exchange for signing up, such as a guide, checklist or discount.
- Sign-up at events, with clear wording about what people are agreeing to.
Consider double opt-in, where new subscribers confirm by clicking a link. It isn’t always legally required, but it keeps typos and fake addresses off your list and gives you a clear record of consent.
Set up a welcome sequence
The moment someone signs up is when they’re most interested. An automated welcome email, or a short series of two or three, is often one of the best performing emails you’ll ever send. Use it to say thank you, deliver whatever you promised, set expectations about how often you’ll email and point people to your most useful content or offers.
Every email should pass a simple test: would the reader be disappointed if it stopped arriving?
Plan your regular emails
Decide on a realistic frequency. Monthly is a good starting point for many businesses. It’s often enough to stay in mind and not so often that you run out of things to say. Mix useful content with offers and news. A good rule is that most emails should give the reader something of value, not just ask for something.
Keep emails focused: one main message, a clear subject line, and one main call to action. Make sure they read well on a phone, because many people will open them there.
Measure and maintain
Keep an eye on click rates, unsubscribes, spam complaints and, most importantly, enquiries or sales that come from email. Open rates are less reliable than they used to be because of privacy features in some email apps, so don’t read too much into them.
Clean your list periodically. Remove addresses that bounce and consider a re-engagement email to people who haven’t clicked anything in a long time, removing those who still don’t respond. Process unsubscribes promptly. Your platform should do this automatically.
Email marketing setup checklist
- We’ve read the ICO’s guidance on electronic marketing and understand what applies to us.
- Every contact on our list has a clear, recorded basis for receiving marketing.
- We haven’t bought or borrowed any lists.
- We’re using a proper email marketing platform, not BCC from an inbox.
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC are set up for our sending domain.
- We send from our own domain with a monitored reply-to address.
- Sign-up forms explain what people will receive and how often.
- Marketing tick boxes are unticked by default.
- A welcome email or sequence is set up and tested.
- Every email includes our business details and a working unsubscribe link.
- We have a realistic sending schedule we can stick to.
- We track clicks, unsubscribes, complaints and enquiries or sales.
- List cleaning is scheduled regularly.
Want a hand?
If you’d rather have the setup done properly from day one, our email marketing service covers platform setup, authentication, templates and ongoing campaigns. For businesses that want automated follow-ups and nurture sequences, see our marketing automation work.
