Email Marketing: 5 Resources to Help You Go from Novice to Expert

For nearly every company, regardless of shape or size, email is the primary channel for managing relationships with your customers. And it often ranks as the digital channel with the highest ROI. What’s not to like about email marketing?

Well, for starters, if you are relatively new to email marketing or need to wear all the hats for your lean organization (design, copy, deployments, analysis) then it can be really intimidating. After all, you are essentially sending out a mini webpage where so much can go wrong, from broken links, to grammar mistakes, to a targeting error.

I’ve been running email programs for over 10 years and when I first started I had the benefit of being a cog in a well-oiled machine at a direct response agency in Atlanta. We had a team of ~ 10 people with specialized roles and were churning out five or more custom emails a week for The Home Depot. Expectations were very high for both creative and results. As one of my first jobs, it was the definition of baptism by fire. But at least I had the support of my team.

So, again, if you are just starting out and are trying to learn how to use MailChimp or Constant Contact or similar software on top of trying to create good looking and actionable templates, it might be stressful.

My goal in this post is to offer some helpful links that you can reference on your journey from novice to master. So, without further ado, here are five recommended resources:

1. HubSpot: Free Email Marketing Certification Course

Not only is this course free, but it is highly rated and covers a ton of ground. Click the link for the full list of topics.

2. Really Good Emails

Do yourself a BIG favor and bookmark this site + sign up for their newsletter. Stat! Not only is the tone really endearing and fun, but the people that run this site are super sharp. And the main site is an excellent resource for inspiring your tactical ideas.

3. MailChimp Resources

For me, MailChimp is still the very best ESP to roll out with for any small biz or startup. The tools are easy to use, the templates nice to look at, and the pricing is very growth-friendly. This link consolidates a number of useful articles and guides.

4. The Better Email on Design

This is a course all on the fundamentals of good email design. It’s brought to you by Jason Rodriguez, who is one of the most respected veterans and teachers in the industry. This isn’t a free resource, though you can sample it for free if you scroll down a bit.

5. 10 Billion Emails

Finally, it’s a new series that I personally created on email marketing philosophies and insights from my 10+ years in the field. The series is most relevant for high-growth companies and startups but could be enjoyed by anyone who wants to be a more principled email marketer and decision-maker. It’s very intimate and journal-like. You can sample it for free (you’ll get the first 3 lessons) at the link above.

And there you have it, my best recommendations for anyone with a zest for learning and a desire to forge real connections with your customers. I hope that you find the above resources instructive and actionable during your journey to email mastery. Good luck!