I can hear you now: "I thought email marketing was dead..."

I don't blame you for thinking that way; I definitely ignore 99% of the emails that come through my inbox on a daily basis. But I don't ignore them because I hate getting email.

I ignore them because, quite frankly, they don't really offer much value at all. But the 1% I do open almost always get me to engage further with the sender, whether it be an individual or a company.

What I'm trying to say is: Thanks to software like Keap, email marketing isn't dead.

But it's not 1997 anymore, either. The novelty of receiving email has worn off.

Today, you can't just slap together an email blast and assume everyone on your mailing list is going to immediately stop what they're doing to read what you have to say-unless you give them something worth checking out.

Before we get into discussing the email formats that are most successful in engaging customers, here are some of the hard facts:

The conversion rate of emails is higher than that of direct mail, social media, and most other forms of marketing
81% of online shoppers are more likely to make a purchase after receiving a targeted offer through email
Email open rates increased to 34.1% in 2016 (click-thru rates, however, decreased)
That last statistic tells you one thing: Consumers are still willing and eager to receive correspondence through email, but you need to follow through with value when sending them.

So, now that we know email marketing is still alive and well, how do we effectively implement it to build and grow a business?

Let's take a look at the six types of emails that work best to get your customers on the hook and ready to engage further with your brand. I'll also provide best practices for creating these emails, and give prime examples of companies that have mastered the art of email marketing.

1. The welcome email
2. The post-purchase emai
3. The newsletter/announcement
4. The educational email
5. The celebratory email
6. The re-engaging emaill