Email Marketing Best Practices

Get the most from CaptiFi's email marketing tools with these proven strategies. WiFi-captured email lists typically outperform purchased lists by 5-8x on engagement because every subscriber has physically visited your venue.

Building Your List

Optimise Your Splash Page

• Keep the form short — name + email is the sweet spot
• Offer social login (Facebook/Google) for one-tap sign-up
• Make the marketing opt-in clear but compelling
• Example opt-in text: "Get exclusive offers and news from [Venue Name] — max 2 emails per month"

Maximise Opt-In Rates

Tactic	Typical Opt-In Rate
Generic checkbox, no incentive	20-30%
Clear benefit statement	40-50%
Incentive (e.g. 10% off next visit)	55-70%
Social login + incentive	65-80%

Key principles:

• Explain the benefit — "Be the first to hear about events and get member-only discounts"
• Keep it to a single checkbox
• Never pre-tick the marketing consent box (GDPR violation)
• Show proof: "Join 2,500+ [Venue Name] insiders"

Campaign Types That Work

1. Welcome Emails (Automated)

The single most important email you'll send. First impressions set expectations.

• When: Within 1 hour of first visit
• Content: Thank the guest, introduce your venue's personality, include a special offer for their next visit
• Example subject: "Welcome to the [Venue Name] family, Sarah! 🎉"
• Expected open rate: 50-70%
• Expected redemption: 8-15% on included offer

Example body:

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for visiting [Venue Name] today! We hope you loved it as much as we loved having you.

As a thank you, here's 15% off your next visit. Just show this email at the till.

Code: WELCOME15 | Valid for 14 days

See you soon!

2. Review Requests (Automated)

• When: 2-4 hours after visit
• Content: One clear CTA — "Leave a Google Review"
• Personalise: Use guest's first name
• Expected open rate: 40-55%
• Expected click rate: 10-15%

See our Google Reviews guide for detailed advice.

3. Win-Back Campaigns (Automated)

Target guests who haven't returned. These recover 5-15% of lapsed customers.

Trigger	Email Content	Incentive
14 days since last visit	"We miss you!"	10% off
30 days since last visit	"It's been a while..."	15% off or free item
60 days since last visit	"Last chance"	20% off, urgency messaging

• Example subject: "We miss you, James — here's 15% off to come back 💛"
• Create urgency: "Valid this week only"
• Expected redemption: 5-10% on the 30-day email

4. Birthday Messages (Automated)

• Requires: Birthday capture on splash page (ask on second visit via progressive profiling)
• When: Morning of their birthday (8-9am)
• Content: Generous, no-strings-attached offer
• Example: "Happy Birthday, Sarah! 🎂 Enjoy a FREE dessert on us — valid all week"
• Expected open rate: 45%+
• Expected redemption: 15-25% (highest of any campaign type)

5. Event & Seasonal Promotions (Manual)

• Frequency: 1-2 per month maximum
• Content: Upcoming events, seasonal menus, holiday specials
• Segment: Send to guests who've visited in the last 90 days (don't email cold contacts)
• Example subjects:
  • "Our Christmas menu is here — book your table 🎄"
  • "Live jazz this Friday + Happy Hour 🎷"
  • "Summer cocktail menu just dropped ☀️"

6. Loyalty Milestone Emails (Automated)

Reward your most frequent visitors:

• 5th visit: "You're becoming a regular! Here's a free [item]"
• 10th visit: "You're officially VIP — enjoy 20% off today"
• 25th visit: "You're one of our top customers — let's celebrate"

Segmentation — Send the Right Email to the Right Person

Don't send every email to every subscriber. Segment your list for 2-3x better engagement:

Segment	Definition	Best Campaigns
New guests	First visit in last 7 days	Welcome, review request
Regulars	3+ visits in last 30 days	Loyalty rewards, events
Lapsed	No visit in 30+ days	Win-back offers
High engagers	Open 80%+ of emails	VIP previews, referral asks
Weekend visitors	Mostly visit Fri-Sun	Weekend event promotions
Weekday visitors	Mostly visit Mon-Thu	Weekday specials, lunch deals

Email Design Tips

1. Mobile-first — 72% of CaptiFi emails are opened on phones
2. Single column layout — easy to scan, no pinch-to-zoom
3. One CTA per email — don't split attention between "Book Now" and "Leave a Review"
4. Short copy — 50-100 words maximum for the body
5. Large tap target — buttons should be at least 44px tall
6. Brand consistency — use your venue's colours, logo, and tone of voice
7. Preview text — customise the preview text (the grey text after the subject line) — it boosts opens by ~10%

Send Frequency & Timing

How Often

• Automated emails (welcome, review, win-back): These fire based on behaviour — no frequency concern
• Manual campaigns: Maximum 2 per month to your full list
• Segmented campaigns: Up to 1 per week to specific segments (they're more relevant, so tolerance is higher)

Best Send Times

Based on CaptiFi aggregate data:

Day	Best Time	Open Rate
Tuesday	10:00-11:00	Highest
Thursday	10:00-11:00	Second highest
Saturday	09:00-10:00	Good for weekend venues
Monday/Friday	Avoid	Lowest engagement

A/B Testing

Test one element at a time. Run each test for at least 500 sends or 7 days (whichever comes first) before declaring a winner.

What to test:

• Subject lines (biggest impact — test this first)
• Send time (morning vs evening)
• CTA button text ("Book Now" vs "Reserve Your Table")
• Incentive amount (10% off vs free item)
• Email length (shorter vs longer)

Avoiding Spam Filters

• Send from a verified domain (not gmail.com or yahoo.com)
• Include a clear unsubscribe link (CaptiFi handles this automatically)
• Don't use ALL CAPS in subject lines
• Avoid trigger words: "FREE!!!", "Act Now", "Limited Time Offer", "Click Here"
• Keep image-to-text ratio balanced — at least 60% text
• Maintain a clean list — remove bounced emails monthly
• Aim to keep your spam complaint rate below 0.1% (1 complaint per 1,000 sends)

Key Metrics to Track

Metric	Poor	Average	Good	Excellent
Open rate	<20%	20-35%	35-50%	50%+
Click rate	<2%	2-5%	5-10%	10%+
Unsubscribe rate	>1%	0.5-1%	0.2-0.5%	<0.2%
Bounce rate	>5%	2-5%	0.5-2%	<0.5%
Offer redemption	❤️%	3-7%	7-15%	15%+

If your metrics are below "Average," review your subject lines, segmentation, and send frequency first — these have the biggest impact.