In a competitive business-to-business (B2B) industry, sending more emails to your target audience seems like a good way to capture attention. Email marketing is still one of the most cost-effective marketing tools, yielding a 36:1 return on investment.
However, too many emails may overwhelm your subscribers and cause your marketing efforts to backfire. In 2025, over 376 billion emails will be sent and received daily.
The keys to successful emails are balancing your communication, sticking to a clear structure and providing consistent value.
In this article, we’ll discuss email marketing strategies, share some standout B2B email marketing examples and give you best practices for your next campaign.
What is a B2B email marketing strategy?
A B2B email marketing strategy is an actionable plan that defines channel processes, aligns activities with marketing goals and brings all team members onto the same page.
It usually entails narrowing down the target audience, splitting it into segments, uncovering ways to reach those audiences and executing various campaigns aligned with the recipient’s customer journey stage.
B2B marketing emails require specialized tactics for speaking to multiple people at a company over a longer buying cycle. These strategies include sharing insightful reports and sending high-quality email newsletters.
Conversion rate is vital to all aspects of digital marketing, including email marketing for B2B. Whether you’re sending an email about a new product, promotion or event, the ultimate goal is to drive conversions.
Increasing conversions involves making enhancements at each stage of an email marketing strategy, including:
Growing your email list by attracting new customers and email subscribers
Testing your email subject lines to increase open rates
Optimizing your email design and content to increase click-through rates
Using segmentation to test email frequency and manage unsubscribe rates
Here are some simple ideas and best practices to improve conversion rates:
Send curated content with automated emails to notify subscribers about special offers
Offer a strong call to action (CTA) in your welcome email to activate new subscribers
Develop and share exclusive content, such as webinar emails, with your subscribers
Include customer testimonials in your emails as social proof
Conduct rigorous A/B testing to identify the most effective variation and combination of email elements, using diverse email types to achieve different goals.
7 types of B2B emails and when to use them
While all email campaigns aim to increase conversions, digital marketers must use various strategies to get the customer to take that final desired action.
An email campaign has different types of messages to get the audience to think, feel or do various things. Here are seven examples:
1. Welcome email | A welcome email is the first email a new subscriber receives. Make the content of a welcome email warm, nurturing and friendly so readers get excited about receiving future emails. |
2. Email newsletter | Email newsletters update subscribers on events and information like special offers, giveaways or new thought leadership from the company. |
3. Promotional email | Promotional emails are similar to newsletter emails. E-commerce businesses and online stores use them for transactional purposes. They’re often shorter, with less copy, more urgency and an eye-catching CTA button. |
4. Infographic email | Infographic emails are more visual and digestible, conveying complex ideas in less time. |
5. Business email | A business email is more individual (i.e., sent to fewer people), with the goal of planning or scheduling rather than sales. Business emails often require more back-and-forth to get a response or complete a task, like setting a meeting or sending a contract. |
6. Sales email | A sales email leads to a clear CTA. For example, it might give the reader a coupon or discount on a new product. |
7. Follow-up email | Follow-up emails are among the most effective types of emails because people get distracted easily. A simple follow-up email is a gentle reminder that can increase conversion rates. |
The best campaigns use automation to send these emails in a step-by-step, predetermined sequence designed for optimal impact and profitability.
10 standout B2B marketing email examples
Let’s look at other email ideas for your future email marketing campaigns.
Below, we’ve chosen 10 high-converting B2B email examples and explained what makes them work.
1. Welcome email: created by Buffer
When someone subscribes to a series of emails, the first step is to thank and welcome them.
For example, when you download Buffer, an app for reposting on social media accounts, you receive a welcome note with posting tips, links to support resources and the promise of future correspondence. It’s simple and effective.
Why it works: Introducing yourself and your company with automatic welcome messaging allows you to build trust with new subscribers as soon as they appear in your database.
Go further by adding links to helpful content marketing like popular blog posts, directories and social media.
When to send: Every time you get a new subscriber.
2. Useful links: created by Hiten Shah
Hiten Shah, the founder of companies like CrazyEgg and Kissmetrics, sends his subscribers posts about SaaS (software as a service), marketing, development and sales. This curated digest increases his list’s subscription value since readers don’t have to find the information themselves.
Why it works: The reader gets the information without effort – in this case, the best links to recent topics in their industry. The sender increases the value of a subscription without sending more inbox-cluttering self-promotion.
When to send: Once a week or month, or however often you can create it.
3. Current events: created by Semrush
Breaking news is always important to readers. SaaS company Semrush sends email newsletters based on current events.
The email below, sent after the 2025 Super Bowl, covered top social media posts, popular commercials, brand engagement and trending keywords. It appealed to B2B industry professionals and casual game viewers curious about ad spending.
Why it works: Connecting your company’s work to current events shows B2B SaaS has appeal beyond the industry.
A pop culture event like an awards show is a perfect opportunity to show your range and increase your customer base. Linking to a website or landing page allows readers to learn more about your company and see how it can fit their needs.
When to send: Every time you have news to share that relates to a relevant event.
4. Article: created by Gerry McGovern
Gerry McGovern distributes his new articles in emails and blog posts. In this case, subscribers can read the entire article in the email without clicking through.
Why it works: Sending subscribers new articles from your site or blog keeps them informed. Either copy-paste the entire text into the email, as the author did here or provide a link to the respective site. Encourage readers to forward the email to colleagues, increasing your subscriber base.
When to send: Every time you publish a new post on your blog or an article on your site.
5. Video content: created by Backlinko
Brian Dean, the founder of Backlinko, packs valuable content in video clips so that his subscribers see and hear from him regularly. This helps create a stronger connection with his audience.
How to use: Take a piece of written content that was popular on your site and make a video version of it. You do not have to hire a professional recording team or use special effects, you can simply appear on screen.
When to send: Around once per month. This is an excellent opportunity to take your interaction with subscribers to the next level.
6. Longer sales email: created by Freelance to Freedom Project
Sales emails can be long. Analysis from AWeber found emails from marketing experts averaged 434.48 words. It’s not only length that matters, however; it’s also the type of sales email you’re sending,
For example, this email from Freelance to Freedom Project, which convinces the recipient of the power of community, is relatively lengthy: 506 words.
Why it works: Longer copy can cause people’s attention to wander while reading, especially on smaller screens. The email keeps readers engaged with one-line paragraphs to make the reader focus on the beginning of lines and occasional bolded sentences.
Used sparingly, bolded text can spice up your copy and draw attention to important lines.
When to send: Every time you have a story that demands the reader’s attention.
Start planning your email marketing campaign now
7. CTA email: created by Shopify
Your email’s CTA draws attention to the primary next step you want recipients to take, such as signing up for a webinar or scheduling a sales demo.
Get the best of both worlds by putting CTAs at the top and bottom of the email (above and below the fold), as Shopify does here:
Shopify allows users to reconnect their balance at the top and bottom of the email. In between CTAs, the company reminds readers what they can do with a Shopify account (e.g., get rewarded and paid faster) as encouragement to stay with the company.
Why it works: Adding the link twice doubles the chance users will read it and click through to the site, and the offers flow naturally in the email design.
When to send: Whenever you have a worthwhile CTA for your users
8. Urgent questions: created by Stripe
Ask relevant questions in your email copy to create a sense of urgency. Here’s how Stripe does it:
The question, “Is your billing system holding you back?” grabs the reader’s attention. Stripe follows immediately with a link to a report and bullet points outlining what readers will learn to keep them engaged.
Why it works: Creating urgency in SaaS takes creativity, so it’s essential to answer the question in the copy immediately. Stripe follows the question with a solution, promising to teach the reader “how to overcome billing challenges”.
When to send: Whenever you have a new asset that merits reader attention.
9. Partnerships: created by Gainsight
One of the biggest problems with B2B email campaigns is reaching new audiences. A strategic alternative is partnering with another business to use their email list.
For example, you could co-author an e-book on a third-party site. The partnership means you’ll get your brand and expertise in front of potential customers and new subscribers when your partner sends it to their email list.
Customer success platform Gainsight partnered with scheduling app Calendly to create this e-book on reducing churn:
While both companies serve different primary functions, they work together because their customer success audience overlaps.
When each company sends the e-book to its mailing list, it introduces customers to another potential solution to their pain points.
Why it works: Getting your product mentioned in a larger company’s content helps you generate subscribers and leads. Building strong brands through lead generation allows you to network and build relationships.
When to send: During a relevant brand partnership.
10. Anticipation emails: created by Havenly
Anticipation or announcement emails help you build social media buzz around your product.
While they can attract potential new users, they’re more likely to excite existing fans who are familiar with your product and appreciate something new.
Interior design brand Havenly uses anticipation emails to create excitement for new product launches.
Notice that there isn’t a CTA button in this type of email. Instead, Havenly uses a large graphic and bolded phrases to make the email feel personal and tailored.
Why it works: This personalized email creates excitement among loyal subscribers and product enthusiasts about a major product update. The announcement prepares them to act when you launch the update.
When to send: Before your next product launch.
4 B2B email marketing best practices
While brand-specific examples are helpful, there are some broader strategies you can apply to almost all email campaigns.
Here are four email marketing strategies that benefit all industries.
1. Segmenting your email list
Split your email list into targeted groups based on qualities specific individuals or companies share.
For example, you may sell accounting software to small business owners and finance departments of enterprise-sized companies. In that case, you’d want to send two different types of emails to cater to both categories.
Using buyer personas and ideal customer profiles (ICPs), create fictional representations of B2B groups, then use these findings to make targeted mailing lists.
Categorize your list further using segmentation based on each group’s goals and pain points, then create targeted email content that speaks to them.
For example, solo small business owners are more likely to watch your new webinar on filing an end-of-year tax return for the first time.
On the other hand, Chief Financial Officers of multinational companies may find your white paper on tracking cash flow across several regions and countries more helpful.
2. Personalizing your email subject lines and body
Even though you’re targeting a business, an individual still receives and (hopefully) reads your emails, so subject lines are crucial. Go beyond using the recipient’s first name.
Let’s say your recipient’s pain point is demotivated employees. Your subject line could be, “The 10-minute hack that’ll revive employee motivation”.
Continue personalization in email messages and subject lines using tactics like:
Referring to a past purchase
Mentioning an item they’ve clicked on before
Curating topics or products based on browsing habits
Including insightful personal data
These personalization tactics further segment your list, categorizing companies by the products they buy or the landing pages they visit.
Say reps from companies that offer co-working spaces often visit your blog post on cybersecurity within shared work environments. Use this information to send these users more information on your access control solutions.
A/B testing several personalization strategies helps increase click-through rates and (if done successfully) conversion rates.
3. Tailoring your campaigns to each B2B buyer journey stage
Multiple people get involved in decision-making, so B2B companies have an extended buying and sales cycle.
Thanks to this longer B2B sales journey, you must tailor your email campaigns to each stage.
For example, you may spend more time in the lead nurturing stage sending out convincing case studies than you would with an individual buyer.
4. Using email marketing software to automate campaigns
Marketing automation reduces time spent on repetitive tasks and lets your team focus on creative ways to attract new customers.
For example, use Pipedrive’s email marketing software to grab prospects’ attention immediately with automated drip campaigns and customizable email templates.
Here’s an example of welcome email automation in Pipedrive’s Campaigns dashboard.
Use automated email software like this to optimize deliverability before and after you send, including real-time reporting on important email engagement metrics.
Final thoughts
The right B2B email marketing strategy for your business helps you send more effective and engaging content while reducing unsubscribes.
To get started, ensure your software has features and functionalities to help you implement your plan across all digital marketing channels.
Sign up for a free 14-day trial and see how Pipedrive can improve your email project management.
