Email marketing remains a cornerstone in recruitment, proven to be up to 40 times more effective than social media (Source: McKinsey). Yet, many agencies struggle to unlock its full potential. This guide offers actionable tips to create a winning email marketing campaign for recruitment, along with tools to streamline your efforts.
What Does Recruitment Have to Do With Email Marketing?
Recruitment email marketing is a powerful strategy that can help recruiters reach top candidates while saving time, money, and effort. Email marketing in recruitment involves sending targeted messages to potential candidates or newsletter subscribers, efficiently sharing job opportunities and nurturing relationships. Recruiters can maintain relationships with potential candidates even when positions are not immediately available. Email campaigns can be customized for specific candidate segments. They can also be tracked for engagement metrics. This tracking helps recruiters understand which messages resonate best.
How to Leverage Recruitment Email Marketing
Email marketing is a powerful tool that recruiters and HR Managers can leverage at any stage of the recruitment cycle to nurture relationships with potential candidates, share job opportunities, and communicate company culture and values. It is up to 40 times more effective than social media. It is still ranked as the most effective marketing channel, surpassing social media, SEO, and affiliate marketing. Here is how you can leverage a winning email marketing campaign for recruitment.
Recruitment Email Marketing For Sourcing
1. Segment Your Mailing List Appropriately
Segmenting your mailing list appropriately can help you send targeted messages to specific groups of candidates. In fact, segmented campaigns had a 100.95% higher click-through rate compared to non-segmented emails. Segmentation can be done by dividing your email list into groups based on characteristics like interests, demographics, location, job function, or industry. This means that you can segment your list based on job function to send targeted messages to candidates who have the skills and experience required for a particular role. Similarly, you can segment your list based on location to send messages about job openings in a specific region as well.

You can segment your candidates in Manatal by adding them into specific folders and setting up mass email campaigns.
For instance, if you're hiring a software engineer in San Francisco, segment your list to include only candidates with relevant skills in that area, ensuring your message is highly targeted.
2. Personalize Your Emails
Addressing your recipients by name and tailoring the content of your emails to their interests and needs can help you build a stronger connection with your audience. Personalized emails have higher open rates and click-through rates than generic emails. To make your email stand out, you can mention the candidate’s name, their skills or experience, or even reference their recent activity on your website. You can also include information about the job opening and why you think they would be a good fit for the role. If you’re reaching out to a software engineer with experience in machine learning, you could mention that you noticed their experience in that area and highlight how it relates to the job opening at your company.
With a tool like Manatal, you can personalize your emails to engage with each candidate deeply with its ready-to-use email templates. You can also create a new template, draft it, and save particular templates to use in the future.

3. Optimize Your Email Content
To state the obvious, nearly everyone receiving your email will be reading it on a mobile device. As a recruiter, making your emails mobile-friendly by using responsive templates and designs is not just optimization; it’s the bare minimum. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and visual elements like email-viewport-optimized images or infographics to make your emails engaging and easy to read on any device.. Always use clear and concise language to get your message across quickly and include a clear call-to-action that tells the candidate what you want them to do next.
Check out our recruitment email templates to help get you started with some already optimized content.
4. Keep Them Updated
Ideally, any business shouldn't be all about making a profit; you also need to consider the value-adding aspect. One way to do that in the recruitment industry is by providing candidates with useful and informative content that is relevant to their interests and needs (provided there is opt-in consent). You can share industry news, career advice, or even company updates (especially new openings!).
Sharing relevant information helps keep your email list ‘warmed up’ for whenever they’re ready to engage with you. Doing this will also help you keep an eye on email decay.
5. Use a Catchy Subject Line
The subject line is the first thing that recipients will see when they receive your email. Emails with personalized subject lines can increase open rates by 26%. So, make sure it’s engaging and attention-grabbing to increase the chances of candidates opening your email. Do not use a generic subject line like “New Job Openings at XYZ Co. Ltd.”.
6. Track Your Results
Using analytics tools to track the performance of your email campaigns can help you identify what’s working and what’s not, so you can refine your strategy over time. For example, if you notice that certain segments of your email list are responding better to certain types of content, you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
7. Email Automation
Email software tools for recruiters are designed to help recruiters manage their email communication with candidates. These tools can help recruiters automate their email outreach, track email opens and clicks, and create personalized email templates. Some of the most well-known email automation tools for recruiters include Mailchimp, Autopilot, GetResponse, and ActiveCampaign.
In addition to these tools, an Applicant Tracking System or ATS is also a choice to help strengthen your email campaigns while streamlining your recruitment process. How? Some ATS systems on the market come with mass emailing ability, ensuring that your recruitment marketing strategy is always on point.
- Email Automation with Manatal
- With Manatal's email automation feature, you can automate repetitive tasks such as sending follow-up emails or scheduling interviews. You can set up automated follow-ups, drip campaigns, and reminders to keep candidates engaged. For instance, you can set up an automated drip campaign for recent college graduates interested in entry-level positions. Send them a series of emails over several weeks, each providing valuable tips for job searching and career development.

Plus, you can also organize your recipients via folders, making sure your messages are always sent out to their targets. At the same time, Manatal’s mass emailing feature offers you the ability to customize your email template to fit your brand. In addition to that, you can track subscriptions and update your opt-in status to make sure emails are going to the right audience.
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Email Marketing For Finding Clients
1. Build a Targeted Client List
Create a targeted list of potential clients based on factors such as industry, company size, and location. Doing this will help you create more laser-focused email campaigns that are more likely to resonate with your audience. If you’re a recruiter specializing in the tech industry, you could target startups in Silicon Valley that are looking to hire software engineers. It’s also a good idea to use Manatal’s “Find Contact Details” in combination with the candidate data enrichment functionality to build a detailed database of contacts.
2. Craft Persuasive Email Campaigns
Develop email campaigns that emphasize the value your recruiting services can provide to clients. Highlight your expertise, successful placements, and unique selling points. Use messages that communicate the value that you can offer to your prospects. Make sure it’s concise, engaging, and easy to understand. For example, instead of sending a generic email about your recruiting services, try highlighting how you’ve helped similar companies in the past find top talent.
3. Use a Strong Call to Action
Encourage your prospects to take action by including a clear call to action in your emails. This could be anything from scheduling a call to signing up for a free trial. If you’re offering a free consultation to potential clients, make sure to include a prominent call-to-action button in your email that directs them to your scheduling page.
4. Follow Up Regularly
Don’t be afraid to follow up with prospects who haven’t responded to your initial email. Persistence is key when it comes to email marketing, so make sure you’re following up regularly without being too pushy. For example, if you haven’t heard back from a prospect after a week, try sending a follow-up email that highlights some of the key benefits of working with your recruiting agency.
Best Email Marketing Practices for Recruiters
- Encourage Candidate Engagement: Encouraging candidate engagement is essential to building relationships with potential candidates. You can do this by including calls-to-action (CTAs) in your emails that encourage recipients to take action, such as applying for a job or attending an event. You can also encourage engagement by asking for feedback or opinions on relevant topics.
- Track Email Marketing Metrics: Tracking email marketing metrics is an important part of understanding the effectiveness of your campaigns. Metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates can help you identify areas for improvement and optimize your campaigns for better results. You can use tools like Google Analytics or HubSpot to track these metrics.
- Try A/B Testing Subject Lines: A/B testing subject lines is an effective way to determine which subject lines are most effective at driving engagement. By testing different subject lines with a small sample of your email list, you can identify which subject lines are most likely to drive opens and clicks. You can also test other elements of your emails, such as CTAs or content.
- Use a Responsive Design: A responsive design ensures that your emails look great on any device, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This can help improve engagement rates and ensure that your messages are reaching their intended audience.
- Don’t Spam Your Email Recipients: Spamming your email recipients is a surefire way to damage your reputation and reduce engagement rates. Make sure that you are only sending emails to recipients who have opted in to receive them. You should also include an unsubscribe link in every email you send.
- Include a Clear Unsubscribe Link: Including a clear unsubscribe link in your emails is not only required by law but also helps to build trust with your recipients. It shows that you respect their privacy and gives them control over their inbox.
Free Recruitment Email Marketing Templates
Our Recruitment Email-Marketing Templates cater to hiring managers and recruiters. They provide professional and engaging messages designed to yield results. The collection includes templates for HR, recruiting, referencing, offering, and termination emails. Each template is customizable and compatible with ATS systems. They are crafted to enhance open rates and candidate responses. Use these templates for initial outreach, post-interview follow-ups, or offboarding communications. They will streamline your recruitment communications while upholding your brand's voice.
Click Here: Recruitment Email Templates
Conclusion
By following the best email practices outlined in the guide, recruiters can improve their candidate outreach and engagement, resulting in a higher success rate in finding qualified candidates. At the same time, utilizing the right email marketing tools can help you streamline and automate the recruitment process, saving you time and effort.