Most creators pay for email marketing separately — MailerLite, ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign — and then lose hours syncing lists between their course platform and their mailer. When someone buys a course, you have to manually (or with Zapier) add them to the right list. When someone cancels a subscription, you have to remove them. When someone upgrades to a different plan, you have to move them to a different segment. The friction is unbelievable.
audienced has email marketing built in. Which means the list isn't separate — every buyer, freebie signup, community member, or free course user is already in the system and automatically tagged. When you create a campaign, you don't import CSVs — you just pick the segmentation conditions and send.
In this guide we go through the full email marketing setup: from technical configuration (sender, domain) to your first campaigns, automated sequences, segmentation and measurement. The goal is that after reading this you'll set up a welcome sequence that works for you automatically every day.
Along the way we'll cover European specifics — GDPR consent, soft opt-in for existing customers, and why spam filters tend to behave differently on this side of the Atlantic.
Technical basics — what to set up before your first campaign
Before sending your first email, go to /admin/settings/email and configure:
1. Sender name and address
Use a real person's name ("Veronika from audienced"), not faceless "Info" or "Team". Open rate with a personalised sender is on average 8–12 % higher.
2. Reply-to
Set an address you actually read. People love to reply, and the reply is your opportunity for conversation, not spam.
3. Sending domain
audienced sends by default from mail.audienced.com. If you want to send from your own domain (info@yourdomain.com), enable per-tenant SMTP on the Premium plan and add DKIM/SPF records in DNS. That's important for deliverability — Gmail and Outlook trust domains without DKIM less.
4. Footer
Enter your physical address and an unsubscribe link. GDPR requires it; without it you can get a complaint filed with the data protection authority.
5. Consent (GDPR)
In /admin/settings/privacy enable double opt-in for freebie signups. It's protection against spam registrations and legally protects you too.
First one-off campaign — step by step
A one-off campaign is a classic newsletter — you send it once to a chosen segment.
- Go to
/admin/email/campaigns→ New campaign. - Enter the subject (preview text must be specific, not "Hello"; better "3 mistakes you're making in your squat").
- Pick a segment — all users, members of a specific course, community members, freebie signups, tagged users.
- Write the content in the WYSIWYG editor. Merge tags:
{first_name},{last_name},{course_name},{last_purchase_date}. - Preview — always send yourself a test first.
- Pick a send time — immediate, in X hours, or a specific day/time. For European audiences the best hours are 8:00–10:00 and 18:00–20:00 local time.
- Send.
After sending, in /admin/email/campaigns/{id}/stats you see open rate, CTR, unsubscribes and conversions (if you've set up a UTM pixel).
Email sequences (automations) — the heart of an automated business
Sequences are series of emails sent automatically based on a trigger.
Sequence types in audienced:
| Type | Trigger | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome | Signup (freebie or purchase) | 5 emails over 7 days warming up a new contact |
| Onboarding | First purchase | Instructions for the course, introduction to the team |
| Drip education | Progress in a course | A follow-up email after each module |
| Post-purchase upsell | X days after purchase | Offer the next course with a 20 % discount |
| Re-engagement | X days of inactivity | "We miss you" sequence |
| Abandoned checkout | Checkout visit without purchase | 2–3 reminder emails with a discount |
| Testimonial request | 7 days after first payment | Ask for a review |
How to set up a 7-day welcome sequence for a freebie
The most common sequence we recommend to creators.
Day 0 (immediately after signup):
Deliver the freebie + a short "welcome". Don't sell anything. Just deliver what you promised.
Day 1:
Your story — who you are, why you do this, what makes you different. Not a CV, a personal piece.
Day 2:
A practical tip connected to the freebie. Show expertise.
Day 3:
A testimonial or case study. Social proof.
Day 5:
Answering a typical objection ("I don't have time", "I've tried everything already").
Day 7:
The offer — a paid course with an intro discount, valid for 48 hours.
Day 9:
A final reminder — "The discount ends tomorrow."
How to set it up in audienced:
/admin/email/sequences→ New sequence.- Trigger: "Enrolment in course" → pick your freebie course.
- Add 7 emails with delays (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 days).
- In the last two include a merge tag with the discount code (create it in
/admin/couponsand mention it in the email). - Auto-enrol: enable — every new freebie signup goes into the sequence automatically.
Segmentation — who gets what
Without segmentation every email is a compromise. With segmentation you can run 5 sequences at once, each for a different audience.
Common segments:
- Active paying customers — they have an active subscription.
- Former customers — they cancelled their subscription (win-back sequence).
- Freebie only — signed up for a freebie but haven't bought yet.
- Advanced — completed course X (good for upsell).
- B2B customers — bought with a valid VAT ID (separate communication).
- Tag "lead magnet A", "webinar May 2026", etc.
In audienced you can combine conditions with AND/OR — e.g. "Active community member AND hasn't bought course X".
Merge tags and personalisation
| Merge tag | Output |
|---|---|
{first_name} | User's first name |
{last_name} | Last name |
{email} | |
{course_name} | Name of the course they're enrolled in |
{last_purchase_date} | Last purchase date |
{subscription_status} | Active / cancelled |
{affiliate_link} | User's unique affiliate link |
Tip: if you don't have names collected (e.g. freebie signups with only an email), don't use {first_name} without a fallback. In audienced you write {first_name|friend} and if there's no name, "friend" is shown. Nothing screams "robot email" more than "Hello ,".
European specifics — GDPR, spam and double opt-in
GDPR consent
For email marketing in the EU you must have consent. If someone has an active subscription with you (a paying customer), you have a "soft opt-in" — you can send them relevant information about their product. For marketing new products you need separate consent.
audienced automatically records consent at signup (timestamp, IP, consent text). The documentation is in /admin/users/{id}/consent.
Double opt-in
After signing up for a freebie, the person receives an email with a confirmation link. Only after clicking are they actually on the list. This increases list quality and lowers your spam score.
Spam filters in Europe
European users are mostly on Gmail, Outlook.com/Hotmail and some on local providers. Gmail is relatively forgiving, Outlook flags as spam faster if:
- The subject line has too many capitals (no "BUY NOW"),
- The content has too many links (3–5 is safe),
- It's HTML without a plain-text alternative.
audienced automatically generates a plain-text version. Subject line and content are on you.
Measuring results — which numbers to track
| Metric | Healthy value (European market) |
|---|---|
| Open rate | 30–45 % (for a warm list) |
| CTR | 3–8 % |
| Unsubscribe rate | Under 0.5 % per campaign |
| Spam complaint rate | Under 0.1 % |
| Conversion rate (email to purchase) | 1–3 % for cold, 5–15 % for warm |
If open rate is under 20 %, you have a problem with subject lines or deliverability. If unsubscribe rate is above 1 %, you haven't segmented sharply enough.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use audienced email marketing and keep MailerLite at the same time?
You can, but it doubles the work and friction. Most creators move everything to audienced after three months because the Stripe/subscription sync disappears.
How many emails per day can I send?
On Standard 5,000 emails per month, on Premium 50,000. On Pro unlimited. You can raise limits with a per-tenant SMTP setup.
How do I check whether my email went to spam?
Send a test to your Gmail, Outlook and Hotmail addresses. Check the "Promotions" and "Spam" folders. For more advanced checks use Mail Tester (mail-tester.com) — you send an email to their address and they give you a 0–10 score.
Can I send from my own domain (info@yourdomain.com)?
On the Premium and Pro plans, yes. You need access to DNS settings of the domain to add DKIM, SPF and DMARC records. audienced tells you exactly what to add.
What's the difference between a campaign and a sequence?
A campaign is a one-time send (like a newsletter). A sequence is an automated series that triggers on an event (signup, purchase, inactivity) and runs in the background.
How do I avoid spam filters on Outlook/Hotmail?
Avoid oversized HTML (max 100 kb), don't use "spam" words in the subject ("FREE", "CLICK HERE", "!!!"), maintain a good reputation with gradual sending growth, and clean out inactive contacts (3+ months without opens).
Can I A/B test the subject line?
Yes. In the campaign pick "A/B test" → enter two subject line variants, audienced sends 20 % of the segment split in half, and the winner (by open rate) goes to the remaining 80 % after 4 hours.
Conclusion
Email marketing is a muscle that grows with use. Don't wait for the perfect moment — set up a basic welcome sequence for your freebie this week, improve it in three months with A/B tests, add a post-purchase upsell after six. People who follow you on Instagram are random visitors. People who read your emails are your audience.