10 Email Marketing Best Practices for Higher Education

In an age of endless notifications and digital noise, email remains one of the most powerful tools universities and business schools have at their disposal. It’s personal, direct and versatile — ideal for guiding prospective students through their journey, keeping applicants engaged, and supporting the wider student community.

But email marketing only works when it’s done well.

Here are 10 detailed, human-first best practices to help you make the most of your institution’s email communications — and connect with the people who matter most.

‍

1. Segment Your Audience — Because Not All Readers Are the Same

A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t cut it anymore. Your contact list likely includes prospective undergraduate and postgraduate students, applicants at various stages, current students, alumni, parents, international leads and school counsellors. Sending the same message to all of them risks alienating everyone.

What to do:

• Segment based on where someone is in the student journey: awareness, consideration, application, or enrolment.
• Use data such as programme interest, country of origin, school type or previous engagement to create even more relevant audience groups.
• Start simple — even basic segmentation can significantly improve open and click-through rates.

Why it matters: Tailored messaging helps your audience feel seen and understood — which builds trust and boosts engagement.

‍

2. Match Your Emails to the Student Journey

Prospective students move through a series of stages — discovery, consideration, decision — before they enrol. And at each step, their needs shift. A student researching universities for the first time doesn’t need the same information as someone halfway through an application.

What to do:

• Identify the typical journey students follow when engaging with your institution.
• Map your email campaigns to these stages — from welcome emails and open day invites to application reminders and enrolment support.
• Use dynamic content blocks to tailor specific sections of the same email to different stages, all in one send.

Why it matters: When your emails feel timely and relevant, students are more likely to act — and less likely to feel overwhelmed.

‍

3. Make Your Subject Lines Worth Opening

The subject line is your first — and sometimes only — chance to grab attention. If it doesn’t resonate, your email might never be opened.

What to do:

• Keep it short and focused (aim for under 50 characters).
• Lead with value: what will the reader gain by opening?
• Try curiosity-driven phrasing (“Have you seen this yet?”), direct value (“Your personalised programme guide”), or urgency (“Final places for our open day”).
• Combine with preview text that adds context or clarity.

Why it matters: Great subject lines increase open rates, which gives your carefully crafted content a chance to shine.

‍

4. Keep Your Content Clear, Focused and Easy to Skim

People rarely read emails word for word. They scan. If your message is too long, dense or unfocused, it’s likely to be closed — or worse, deleted.

What to do:

• Stick to one clear message or action per email.
• Use subheadings, bullet points and bold text to break things up.
• Write in plain language — avoid institutional jargon or overly formal tone.
• Consider including a quick summary at the top for longer emails.

Why it matters: Easy-to-read emails help your audience get what they need, fast — increasing the likelihood they’ll follow through.

‍

5. Make It Personal — and Not Just by Name

Addressing someone by their first name is a good start, but real personalisation means delivering content that feels tailored to their interests, goals and context.

What to do:

• Use data from your CRM or application portal to personalise based on academic interest, location, or behaviour (e.g. brochure downloads, event registrations).
• Recommend content that aligns with their journey: upcoming events, relevant blog posts, next steps.
• Send triggered emails based on specific actions — such as downloading a guide or starting an application but not completing it.

Why it matters: Personalised messages show your institution is paying attention — which makes people more likely to respond.

‍

6. Optimise Every Email for Mobile

Most students (and many staff) will open your email on a mobile device. If it’s hard to read or interact with, chances are they’ll move on without taking action.

What to do:

• Use a mobile-responsive email template that adapts to different screen sizes.
• Keep paragraphs short, and use a larger font size for better readability.
• Ensure buttons are big enough to tap easily, with enough spacing around them.
• Test your email across devices before hitting send.

Why it matters: A mobile-friendly experience ensures your message is accessible and usable — wherever your audience is reading it.

‍

7. Use Images to Tell Your Story — but Use Them Wisely

Images are a great way to showcase campus life, highlight events, and make your brand feel more human. But visuals should support your message, not compete with it.

What to do:

• Choose images that are relevant, high-quality and reflect your institution’s personality.
• Use alt text in case images don’t load — and for accessibility.
• Don’t rely on images to communicate essential information (some email clients block them by default).
• Keep file sizes small to avoid slow load times.

Why it matters: Well-chosen images can boost engagement and make your emails feel more polished and engaging.

‍

8. Include a Clear and Compelling Call to Action (CTA)

Every email you send should have a purpose — and a clear next step for the reader. That’s your CTA. Without one, even the most beautifully written email can fall flat.

What to do:

• Use active language like “Start your application”, “Download your programme guide”, or “Book your place”.
• Make the CTA visually distinct — buttons tend to work better than links.
• Keep it focused: one primary CTA is more effective than several competing options.

Why it matters: CTAs turn engagement into action — helping your emails deliver real results.

‍

9. Use Automation to Stay Consistent and Responsive

Automation helps you reach people with the right message at the right moment — without needing to send every email manually.

What to do:

• Set up email workflows for common journeys: welcome sequences, application nurturing, event follow-ups.
• Trigger emails based on specific actions (e.g. form submissions, event attendance).
• Personalise these journeys using dynamic content and branching logic.

Why it matters: Automation saves time and ensures every prospective student feels supported throughout their journey.

‍

10. Test, Analyse and Improve

No campaign is perfect the first time. Testing helps you learn what works — and make confident decisions about what to do next.

What to do:

• Run A/B tests on subject lines, send times, CTA placement or design variations.
• Track key metrics: open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, and unsubscribes.
• Use the results to tweak your content, design or targeting over time.

Why it matters: Testing turns assumptions into insight — and insight into better results.

‍

Final Thoughts

Email marketing is a powerful tool for building relationships, guiding decisions, and strengthening your institution’s brand. But success isn’t just about sending more emails — it’s about sending the right messages to the right people at the right time.

By applying these best practices, you’ll create campaigns that are more thoughtful, more effective, and ultimately, more impactful.

Want to streamline your email marketing and student communications? Full Fabric’s Foundation CRM helps universities and business schools personalise and automate emails across the student lifecycle — making every message more meaningful.