How to Build CPG Email Campaigns That Convert

Want to create email campaigns that actually drive sales for your CPG brand? Here’s how:

• Segment Your Audience: Break your customers into groups based on demographics, behavior, location, and preferences. Segmented campaigns see 14.31% higher open rates and double the clicks.
• Write Winning Subject Lines: Keep them short, personalized, and action-oriented. Example: “Sarah, Your Favorite Snacks Are Back.”
• Craft Engaging Emails: Use high-quality visuals, clear layouts, and a mix of promotional (40%), educational (30%), and storytelling (30%) content.
• Optimize CTAs: Make buttons bold, mobile-friendly, and action-driven like “Shop Now” or “Claim Your 10% Off.”
• Track Key Metrics: Monitor open rates (17-28%), click-through rates (2-5%), and conversion rates (2.3%) to improve performance.

Segmenting Your CPG Audience

Why Segmentation Matters for CPG Brands

Breaking your audience into distinct groups is a smart way to make your CPG email campaigns more effective. By tailoring messages to specific segments, you can connect more strongly with your audience, boosting engagement and driving more conversions.

Here’s the proof: segmented email campaigns see 14.31% higher open rates and double the click-through rates compared to non-segmented ones ^[3]. This is because personalized content speaks directly to customer needs and behaviors.

How to Segment Your Audience Effectively

To segment your audience well, start by gathering and analyzing customer data. Some useful ways to segment include:

• Purchase frequency and history: Understand how often and what customers buy.
• Product category preferences: Identify which product types resonate with different groups.
• Average order value: Spot high-value customers for targeted promotions.
• Email engagement levels: Track how often they open and interact with your emails.

These insights help you create detailed buyer personas, ensuring your email content is tailored to what your customers care about most.

Building Buyer Personas for Targeted Emails

Once you have segmentation data, use it to craft buyer personas. Focus on:

• Shopping Behaviors: What products do they buy, and how often?
• Communication Preferences: Do they prefer frequent updates or occasional, in-depth emails?
• Pain Points: What problems can your products solve for them?

Keep refining your segmentation with performance data and changes in customer behavior. This ensures your messaging stays relevant and impactful.

With your audience segmented, the next step is writing subject lines that grab attention and encourage opens.

Email Marketing and Segmentation across the Consumer Funnel

Writing Subject Lines That Increase Opens

Subject lines play a key role in getting your emails opened. In fact, personalized subject lines can lift open rates by up to 22% ^[1].

Best Practices for CPG Email Subject Lines

Crafting effective subject lines requires careful attention to their structure. Here’s what works:

By tailoring subject lines to specific audience segments, your emails can feel more relevant, prompting higher engagement.

Using A/B Testing to Improve Subject Lines

Want to find out what works best? A/B testing can help:

1. Test one variable at a time, like personalization or tone, on a small segment of your audience.
2. Compare open rates and engagement metrics to see which version performs better.

Regular A/B testing can lead to a noticeable improvement in open rates, sometimes by as much as 10% ^[1].

Examples of Effective Subject Lines for CPG Brands

The most effective subject lines combine urgency, value, and relevance. Here are some examples:

Avoid using language that sounds spammy or making exaggerated claims that could harm your credibility. Tools like dynamic content blocks allow you to personalize subject lines based on recipient profiles, making your emails even more engaging ^[2].

Once you’ve nailed the subject line, it’s time to focus on crafting email content that drives conversions.

Creating Emails That Drive Conversions

Crafting effective email campaigns for CPG brands requires a focus on design, content, and structure to engage readers and encourage action.

Key Components of High-Converting CPG Emails

Successful emails pair eye-catching designs with brand-consistent colors, clear layouts, and a focus on mobile usability. Opt for single-column layouts, large buttons that are easy to tap, and enough spacing between elements to avoid accidental clicks. A mobile-friendly approach ensures your message looks great and functions well on any device.

Highlighting Products to Maximize Impact

Showcasing products effectively means going beyond basic visuals. Here’s what works:

• High-quality images that include multiple angles and lifestyle settings to provide context.
• Customer reviews and ratings to establish trust and credibility.
• Clear pricing and key features to eliminate hesitation and simplify decision-making.

Balancing Promotional and Informative Content

A balanced mix of content types keeps your audience engaged. Aim for:

• 40% product promotions to highlight deals and new launches.
• 30% educational content to teach customers how to use your products.
• 30% brand storytelling to share your values and connect on a deeper level.

Personalization is key. Use customer data, like past purchases or browsing habits, to tailor emails to individual preferences ^[1]. This not only shows you understand your audience but also increases the likelihood of conversions.

For brands seeking expert guidance, agencies like Poast Ecommerce specialize in creating strategies to optimize email performance.

Once your content mix is set, focus on crafting calls-to-action that drive measurable results.

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Improving Calls-to-Action for Better Conversions

CTAs play a key role in turning interest into action, making them essential for successful CPG email campaigns.

Design and Placement of CTAs

To grab attention, use bold, contrasting colors and surround CTAs with plenty of white space. Place them prominently above the fold for instant visibility, repeat them in longer emails, and ensure they’re mobile-friendly with responsive designs and proper spacing for easy tapping.

For mobile users, ensure your CTA buttons are:

• Large enough to tap comfortably (at least 44×44 pixels)
• Surrounded by enough padding to avoid accidental clicks
• Designed to adjust seamlessly to various screen sizes

Writing Effective CTA Copy

The words on your CTA buttons can make or break conversions. Keep the text short – ideally 2-5 words – and focus on action-driven language. Here are some examples for CPG brands:

For instance, switching a button’s text from "Start your free trial" to "Start my free trial" boosted clicks by 90% – a small change with a big impact ^[2].

Using Urgency and Scarcity to Drive Action

Adding urgency or scarcity can push readers to act quickly. Examples include time-limited deals like "Shop Today Only" or "While Supplies Last" and exclusive offers such as "Members-Only Deal."

"By focusing on the direct benefits the reader will receive, you make the offer more appealing and increase the likelihood that they’ll take the desired action." – MailerLite ^[1]

However, be honest about urgency. Overstating scarcity can harm your brand’s credibility. Always ensure your CTAs reflect real offers and stock levels.

If you’re looking to fine-tune your email marketing strategy, agencies like Poast Ecommerce specialize in data-backed insights to refine CTAs and boost conversions through ongoing testing and adjustments.

Once your CTAs are optimized, the next step is tracking their performance to keep improving results.

Tracking and Improving Email Campaign Performance

To get the most out of your email campaigns, you need to track performance and make decisions based on the data. By focusing on the right metrics, you can refine your campaigns and boost ROI for your CPG brand.

Key Metrics for CPG Email Campaigns

Keep an eye on these metrics to gauge how well your campaigns are doing:

"Deliverability should be a foundational priority as you start sending out emails. Too many organizations miss this piece since it’s a bit boring, but deliverability can quickly affect your one-off email sends from sales reps and support members and can become a silent revenue killer." – Hannah Recker, Growth Marketing Lead at Coefficient ^[1]

Tools for Monitoring Campaign Performance

Here are two platforms that can help you track and analyze your email campaigns:

• Klaviyo: Offers detailed analytics and AI-powered insights to track revenue.
• Omnisend: Focused on ecommerce, this tool helps you analyze conversions effectively.

Steps for Continual Improvement

Here’s how you can keep improving your email campaigns:

1. Regular Testing
   Experiment with subject lines, content, and send times. Segment your audience and test campaigns to see what drives the best results.
2. Refine Your Segmentation
   Use data to target your audience more effectively. Look at factors like:
   • Purchase history
   • Engagement patterns
   • Browsing behavior
   • Location

"It’s good email practice not to read too much into averages and benchmarks. Instead, set a baseline conversion rate and try to improve it with data-driven analysis." ^[2]

Conclusion: Achieving Long-Term Email Campaign Success

Key Takeaways

Building successful email campaigns for CPG brands requires a clear strategy and measurable goals. Long-term success comes down to three main pillars: using data to tailor messages, balancing promotional and educational content, and consistently tracking performance to make improvements.

For example, personalized subject lines can boost open rates by up to 50% ^[2]. By using data like purchase history or browsing habits, brands can craft emails that feel relevant and engaging to their audience.

Steps to Improve Your CPG Email Campaigns

If you’re ready to enhance your email marketing efforts, start by evaluating your current performance and comparing it to industry benchmarks. Here’s a simple framework to guide your next steps:

Looking for extra support? Partnering with experts like Poast Ecommerce can give you access to proven strategies and help you sidestep common challenges specific to CPG email marketing.

The key is to consistently deliver value through tailored, relevant content while maintaining a schedule of testing and optimization. With a mix of smart planning and ongoing adjustments, your CPG brand can create email campaigns that keep your audience engaged and drive lasting results.

FAQs

What makes a good CTA for an email?

A strong call-to-action (CTA) is key to successful CPG email campaigns. While keeping CTAs short and action-driven is important, the real impact comes from tailoring them to your audience and their needs.

Segmented campaigns can boost revenue by up to 760% compared to non-segmented ones ^[3]. This principle applies to CTAs, where different audience groups respond better to customized approaches:

How to Optimize CTAs Dynamically:

• Adjust messaging to match where a customer is in their journey.
• Use behavioral triggers to send CTAs at the right moment.
• Test different versions for various product categories.
• Ensure CTAs align with the email’s overall theme and content.

Your CTAs should evolve alongside your subject lines and segmentation strategies. The best-performing CTAs combine smart placement, clear value, and messages tailored to specific audience groups. While CTAs are critical, don’t forget to track them alongside other metrics for a full view of your email campaign’s success.

Related Blog Posts

• 7 Email Marketing Strategies for CPG Brands in 2025
• Solving Common CPG Brand Marketing Challenges
• 10 Post-Purchase Email Ideas for CPG Brands
• 7 Klaviyo Best Practices for Higher Email Conversions