An EDM, or electronic direct mail, is an email marketing message sent to a selected audience. Businesses use EDMs to introduce products, explain services, share useful content and maintain customer relationships.
The campaign should give the reader a clear reason to pay attention and an appropriate next step. A relevant update can be useful; sending more messages is not automatically a better strategy.
What can an EDM help a business do?
- Explain an offer: show what a product or service does and who it suits.
- Support a decision: answer a question or provide information a prospective customer needs.
- Maintain a relationship: share relevant updates with people who have agreed to receive them.
- Encourage an action: invite a purchase, enquiry, booking or visit to a useful page.
An EDM can be part of a wider campaign involving the website, advertising and sales follow-up. Those channels should support a consistent message rather than each making a different promise.
What makes a useful EDM?
Start with the intended audience and one main purpose. Write a subject line and preview text that accurately describe the message. Keep the key information easy to read and make the main action clear.
The destination matters as much as the email. If the message promotes a particular product or service, the linked page should continue that explanation and make the next step straightforward.
Who can receive the campaign?
For Australian commercial messages, ACMA’s guidance requires consent, accurate sender information and a functional unsubscribe option. Check how permission was obtained, retain relevant records and respect suppressions.
Do not treat a purchased list or a previous transaction as automatic permission for every marketing message. Build the audience around a clear, appropriate relationship with your business.
How should you measure an EDM?
Review delivery, relevant website activity and the resulting enquiries or sales. Open and click figures can be affected by automated activity and privacy features, so use them as signals rather than proof of business value.
For a service business, track enquiry quality and customers won. For ecommerce, review orders, net revenue and margin. Keep the email platform’s attribution separate from GA4 Key events and the business’s own records.
Where should you start?
Choose one audience, one useful message and one outcome. Test the email, destination and follow-up process before sending. After the campaign, record what worked and what needs to change.
Use our EDM planning checklist and measurement guide, or explore imexpert’s EDM services.