What Is an Email Blast and Should You Send One?

You’ve come across the term “email blast,” and now you’re wondering if it could be the key to increase your brand’s visibility or, even better, skyrocket your conversion rates. 

Historically, email blasts were a go-to strategy for reaching large audiences quickly and efficiently. However, in today’s digital landscape, this approach can sometimes backfire, leading to messages being flagged as spam.

In this article we’ll uncover what “blasting” is all about, discuss whether it deserves a place in your email marketing strategy, and explore effective ways to implement it if you choose to do so.

What Is an Email Blast?

An email blast refers to a uniform message sent to your entire email subscriber list simultaneously. The main goal of email blasting is to disseminate information quickly and on a large scale, much like “blasting” a message with a loudspeaker.

Email blasts gained popularity in an era when technology didn’t support the personalization and segmentation of emails. Today, however, the email marketing approach is more nuanced.

On one hand, numerous regulations have been introduced, like the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and California’s CAN-SPAM Act, which govern customer consent and data privacy, impacting email marketing practices. On the other hand, companies now prefer to create more targeted and personalized email campaigns, as they see better results. 

Some articles might suggest that “email blasts” and “email campaigns” are the same, but that’s not entirely true. Sending a well-targeted email is different from blasting everyone with the same content.

An email campaign involves sending either a single email or a series of emails to your subscribers as part of a broader marketing strategy. Some campaigns, like drip campaigns, are designed to guide recipients through an email journey, often involving multiple touchpoints and interactions. Whereas, an e-blast is a broad, one-time message.

Here are the key differences between an email blast and an email campaign:

When to Consider Sending an Email Blast?

Email blasts can be effective when you need to quickly deliver a single, important message. For example, updates or changes to your business’s privacy policy or terms and conditions are critical updates that all your customers need to know about. Similarly, announcements like the opening of a new store can be communicated through an e-blast.

It’s less about the “blast” itself and more about how you carry it out. If your content is valuable and your subscribers are engaged, occasionally sending a uniform email to everyone won’t be harmful.

However, if you send e-blasts without a clear purpose and just for the sake of sending emails, you may encounter:

• Damage to your sender reputation: today, it’s easier than ever for emails to be marked as spam. If your emails have a high spam complaint rate, email providers might block them from reaching subscribers entirely.
• Decrease in website traffic and sales: when your emails end up in spam, subscribers are less likely to open them. This means the links inside your emails won’t get clicked, making  it harder to drive traffic to your website and reducing the chances of making a sale.

This can happen because when blasting your subscribers, you won’t follow the STP (Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning) marketing model. 

The three-step model involves analyzing your products or services and tailoring your communication to meet the needs of specific customer segments. Without following this approach, e-blasts risk being too generic, leading to lower engagement and higher spam complaints. 

That’s why it’s important to be cautious when sending an e-blast. We’ll provide some tips on how to do this effectively in the next sections.

Email Blast Examples 

We’ve compiled a short list of email blast examples to help you see how they work in practice.

• Company-Related Information

As we’ve already pointed out, e-blasts are often the go-to for spreading the word about important announcements. Some are must-sends, while others are optional—as we’ll explore in the next example. But regardless, your email should never come across as generic or dull.

Take a cue from Discord – they masterfully use clear and concise messages to explain upcoming policy updates, detailing how these changes will affect users. The instant messaging platform ensures the details are a breeze to digest by spotlighting key changes with bullet points and offering links for more information.

• New Features/Products

A product or feature release email is your chance to share exciting updates about recent changes to your product or service, whether it’s new features or entirely new product lines under your brand.

By directly emailing your email subscribers, you can captivate a larger segment of your users, instead of just posting updates on your website, which many people might miss.

You can whip up excitement with a full-scale email campaign, or simply craft one captivating email and send it to your entire list—just like Studs, the jewelry brand, does with flair!

• Flash Sales

Promotional emails are all about turning subscribers into customers or enticing existing customers to buy more. You can run various email campaigns, like one targeting new email subscribers or another focused on upselling with a tempting discount code.

If you’re aiming to sweep out unsold inventory or offload out-of-season products, a well-timed email blast to your subscribers might be just the magic wand you need.

Take AllTrails’ all-product sale email, for instance. It employs a straightforward yet effective visual hierarchy that clearly conveys the main message, stirs up a sense of urgency, and features an easy-to-find CTA button. No fluff, no fuss—just straight to the point.

• Surveys and Feedback

E-blasts are also a fantastic tool for gathering feedback and conducting surveys since they’re relevant to your entire audience. Plus, they allow you to collect valuable insights for segmenting your list for future targeted campaigns.

Additionally, these surveys can provide insights into customer preferences, helping you refine your products or services and improve customer satisfaction. They also offer a chance to engage with your audience, strengthening the relationship and building brand loyalty.

To spark participation, consider offering incentives like a discount code, entry into a giveaway, access to exclusive content, or a promise to share survey results—just like the olive oil producer Graza successfully did in their survey email.

How to Send an Email Blast?

Now that you’re in the know about when it’s appropriate to send an email blast to your subscribers, we’re here to lend a hand with some common email mistakes to avoid. This way, your emails will be welcomed with open arms, not eye rolls. 

1. Use Double Opt-in

You might think, “If people sign up to receive my emails, isn’t that enough?” Well, not necessarily. While a single opt-in can grow your email list quickly, a double opt-in option ensures that the list consists of real, engaged subscribers. 

By requiring people to confirm their subscription through email, you reduce the number of incorrect or bogus addresses (often added by bots), which will lead to a good sender reputation and high email deliverability. 

2. Include a Dynamic Element

Dynamic content allows you to send the same email to your subscribers but personalize emails based on different factors. Such content can be changed automatically based on the audience receiving the email. 

You can sprinkle in dynamic elements like first name fields to personalize the subject line or body content with each subscriber’s name. 

You can enhance this approach by customizing it for different audiences based on factors like location, gender, age, or even their previous interactions on your website. However, this would no longer qualify as an email blast.

3. Remember Your Subscribers Are Real People

If you’ve done a good job building your buyer persona, you’ll understand your subscribers’ concerns and interests.

When launching something new, go beyond simply informing them about it. Explain how your offerings meet their needs. In surveys, highlight how their feedback can help improve their satisfaction with your brand. Even in company-related updates, skip the jargon and use clear, direct language to explain changes and their impact—just as you’d want it explained to you.

4. Use a Reputable Email Service Provider

As your email list expands, it’s essential to rely on a reputable email provider. Without one, you’ll encounter limits on the number of emails you can send and will have to track email metrics, run spam checks, and verify whether your sender IP or domain has landed on a denylist—all of this manually. 

Fortunately, many email providers offer analytics tools to help you monitor email performance. They can also track your sending IP and alert you to any issues that might affect your email deliverability.

SiteGround Email Marketing can assist you with that too! Our platform automatically sets DKIM and SPF records to validate your email’s authenticity and runs AI-powered spam checks. Plus, you can take advantage of professional, fully customizable email templates, email automation features, and analytics reports—all within a user-friendly and intuitive interface.  

5. Respect Unsubscribe Requests

You’ve likely encountered emails from organizations you never signed up for, or from ones you thought you’d unsubscribed from. So, you know how annoying this can be. An unsubscribe request is a clear indication that the recipient is no longer interested in your messages.

Even though it’s hard to watch your email subscribers go, it’s best to respect their decision and stop bombarding them with further emails. Ignoring such requests can damage your sender reputation, and even result in legal troubles, especially under regulations like GDPR or the CAN-SPAM Act.

The Final Verdict: To Blast or Not to Blast?

The power of email blasts depends on the context. As we’ve explored, mass emails are perfect for important announcements or quick updates, and they can also shine in promotional and feedback scenarios.

However, to ensure your e-blasts reach your subscribers, remember to use a double opt-in, incorporate dynamic elements, write in natural and relatable language, use a reliable email provider, and always respect unsubscribe requests.

That said, for long-term success, blasting shouldn’t be your go-to strategy. Instead, focus on crafting tailored, strategic campaigns that build relationships and boost engagement.