Introduction

Email marketing remains one of the highest-ROI channels for businesses, with studies showing an average return of $36 for every $1 spent. Understanding how your competitors approach their email strategies can give you a significant advantage in your own campaigns.

Learning how to check competitors email marketing is about understanding what works in your industry, identifying gaps in your strategy, and finding opportunities to stand out. In this guide, you'll discover multiple methods to analyze competitor emails, from simple manual techniques to advanced AI-powered analysis.

Why Monitor Competitor Email Marketing?

When you know how to check competitors email marketing effectively, you can:

• Discover content ideas that resonate with your shared audience

• Identify optimal send times and frequency patterns

• Benchmark your design and copywriting approaches

• Spot promotional strategies and seasonal campaigns

• Understand their customer journey and segmentation tactics

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Check Competitors Email Marketing

Step 1: Identify the Right Competitors to Monitor

Before you can effectively check competitors email marketing, you need to know which competitors to track. Not all competitors are created equal, and monitoring the wrong ones wastes time and resources.

Direct competitors offer similar products or services to the same target audience. These are businesses that customers would consider as alternatives to your brand.

How to identify direct competitors:

• Search for your primary keywords on Google and see who ranks alongside you

• Ask your sales team who they lose deals to most often

• Survey customers about brands they considered before choosing you

• Check industry reports and market research for top players in your space

• Look at who bids on the same keywords in paid search campaigns

Indirect competitors solve the same customer problem but through different products or approaches. They compete for the same budget and attention, even if they're not identical offerings.

How to identify indirect competitors:

• Identify the core problem your product solves and find alternative solutions

• Look at adjacent categories in your industry

• Monitor brands that target the same audience demographics but different pain points

• Check what content your audience engages with from other brands

• Review "customers also viewed" or "related products" sections on marketplaces

Aspirational Competitors

Don't forget to monitor brands outside your immediate competitive set — companies known for exceptional email marketing in any industry. These aspirational competitors inspire innovation.

Creating Your Competitor Watch List

Once you've identified potential competitors, narrow down to a manageable list:

1. Start with 3-5 direct competitors - These should be your closest market rivals

2. Add 1-2 indirect competitors - Brands solving the same problem differently

3. Include 1-2 aspirational brands - Known for email marketing excellence

4. Review quarterly - Markets shift, so update your list every 3 months

Now that you know which competitors to monitor, let's explore the methods to actually check competitors email marketing campaigns.

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Ready to Outmaneuver Your Competition?

Try to track your competitors through Outspy

Try For Free

Ready to Outmaneuver Your Competition?

Try to track your competitors through Outspy

Try For Free

Step 2: Subscribe to Their Lists

The most straightforward way to check competitors email marketing is becoming a subscriber yourself.

1. Create a dedicated email address for competitive research. Use your personal email or create an account specifically for this purpose.

2. Visit competitor websites and sign up for their newsletters. Look for:

• Newsletter signup forms in website headers or footers

• Pop-ups offering lead magnets or discounts

• Gated content that requires email registration

• Blog subscription options

3. Engage with their content to trigger automated sequences. Complete these actions:

• Download free resources to trigger lead nurturing emails

• Add items to cart without purchasing to see abandoned cart emails

• Make a small purchase to experience their customer onboarding flow

• Let your subscription sit inactive to see re-engagement campaigns

Step 3: Organize Incoming Emails with a System

Without organization, you'll drown in data and miss insights.

Create Email Folders or Labels

Organize by competitor (Competitor A, B, C) and by email type (Welcome Sequences, Promotional, Educational, Product Announcements, Abandoned Cart, Re-engagement, Seasonal). Create monthly archives to track seasonal patterns year-over-year.

Build a Tracking Spreadsheet

Create a simple spreadsheet to log key information. Here's a simplified tracking format you can use:

This tracking method makes it easier to spot patterns when you analyze competitors email marketing campaigns later.

Step 4: Analyze Competitor Emails

Now comes the most valuable part: analyzing what you've collected to check competitors email marketing effectiveness and extract actionable insights.

Artificial intelligence can dramatically speed up your competitive analysis. Here's how to check competitors email marketing using AI tools. Once you've collected competitor emails, use these ChatGPT or Claude prompts:

Prompt 1 - Subject Line Analysis:

Analyze these 20 subject lines from [Competitor Name] emails. Identify:
1. Common patterns and formulas used
2. Average character count
3. Use of personalization, urgency, or curiosity
4. Emoji usage patterns
5. Specific power words or phrases

[Paste subject lines]

Analyze these 20 subject lines from [Competitor Name] emails. Identify:
1. Common patterns and formulas used
2. Average character count
3. Use of personalization, urgency, or curiosity
4. Emoji usage patterns
5. Specific power words or phrases

[Paste subject lines]

Analyze these 20 subject lines from [Competitor Name] emails. Identify:
1. Common patterns and formulas used
2. Average character count
3. Use of personalization, urgency, or curiosity
4. Emoji usage patterns
5. Specific power words or phrases

[Paste subject lines]

Prompt 2 - Content Strategy Breakdown:

Review this email from [Competitor Name] and provide:
1. Primary goal of the email (educational, promotional, engagement)
2. Content structure and layout analysis
3. Call-to-action strength and placement
4. Tone and brand voice characteristics
5. Design elements that stand out

[Paste email content]

Review this email from [Competitor Name] and provide:
1. Primary goal of the email (educational, promotional, engagement)
2. Content structure and layout analysis
3. Call-to-action strength and placement
4. Tone and brand voice characteristics
5. Design elements that stand out

[Paste email content]

Review this email from [Competitor Name] and provide:
1. Primary goal of the email (educational, promotional, engagement)
2. Content structure and layout analysis
3. Call-to-action strength and placement
4. Tone and brand voice characteristics
5. Design elements that stand out

[Paste email content]

Prompt 3 - Frequency and Timing Insights:

Based on these email timestamps over 30 days, analyze:
1. Average sending frequency
2. Preferred sending days and times
3. Campaign type by day of week
4. Seasonal or event-based patterns

[Paste email dates and types]

Based on these email timestamps over 30 days, analyze:
1. Average sending frequency
2. Preferred sending days and times
3. Campaign type by day of week
4. Seasonal or event-based patterns

[Paste email dates and types]

Based on these email timestamps over 30 days, analyze:
1. Average sending frequency
2. Preferred sending days and times
3. Campaign type by day of week
4. Seasonal or event-based patterns

[Paste email dates and types]

Prompt 4 - Competitive Positioning:

Compare these emails from three competitors in [industry]. Identify:
1. Unique value propositions
2. Differentiating content approaches
3. Gaps in messaging or coverage
4. Opportunities for our brand to stand out

[Paste email samples from each competitor]

Compare these emails from three competitors in [industry]. Identify:
1. Unique value propositions
2. Differentiating content approaches
3. Gaps in messaging or coverage
4. Opportunities for our brand to stand out

[Paste email samples from each competitor]

Compare these emails from three competitors in [industry]. Identify:
1. Unique value propositions
2. Differentiating content approaches
3. Gaps in messaging or coverage
4. Opportunities for our brand to stand out

[Paste email samples from each competitor]

What to Track When You Check Competitors Email Marketing

Create a systematic tracking spreadsheet with these elements:

Email Content Metrics:

• Subject line length and style

• Preview text usage

• Email length (word count)

• Number and type of CTAs

• Image to text ratio

• Personalization elements

Sending Patterns:

• Frequency (daily, weekly, monthly)

• Best performing send times

• Segmentation indicators

• Automation sequence length

Campaign Types:

• Promotional vs. educational content ratio

• Product launches and announcements

• Seasonal campaigns

• User-generated content features

Design Elements:

• Template structure

• Brand consistency

• Mobile optimization

• Accessibility features

Conclusion

Knowing how to check competitors email marketing is an essential skill for modern marketers. By combining manual subscription methods, specialized tools, and AI-powered analysis, you can build a comprehensive understanding of your competitive landscape.

FAQ

How often should I check competitors email marketing campaigns?

Review competitor emails weekly to stay current, but conduct deep analysis monthly. This frequency helps you spot new tactics without overwhelming your schedule. During peak seasons (holidays, industry events), increase monitoring to weekly deep dives.

How to check competitors email marketing for free?

Subscribe directly to competitor email lists using a dedicated research email address. Organize emails in folders by competitor and campaign type, then analyze manually or with free AI tools like ChatGPT. This costs nothing and provides the most authentic view of their strategy.

How often should I check competitors email marketing campaigns?

Review competitor emails weekly to stay current with new campaigns, but conduct deep analysis monthly. This frequency helps you spot trends and tactics without overwhelming your schedule.

During peak seasons like holidays or industry events, increase monitoring to bi-weekly deep dives.

What should I focus on when checking competitors email marketing for the first time?

Start with send frequency and subject line patterns — these are easiest to spot and quick to implement. Then examine their welcome sequence structure and primary calls-to-action.

These foundational elements reveal their core strategy and provide immediate actionable insights.