What exactly is it?
You opted into it, and you’re getting emails. Companies use email marketing as a tool to show you deals or get you to buy new products. Even though it can be annoying, everyone has at least once clicked on an email and ended up buying a product. The great part about email marketing is it is free for companies to use and they are capable of directly reaching you. The only thing standing in their way is whether you open the email or not. Once you open the email you are directed to a landing page, after clicking on a call to action. A call to action is basically the clickable subject of a page, that people will get the most benefit out of using. Hubspot, gives good examples of what these types of email marketing campaigns look like.
What sports apparel sites do
Player jerseys are so expensive, but cool once you have them. Licensed apparel websites know this, so as soon as you enter a page they immediately offer you a discount if you sign up for emails. We will look at MLBshop.com as an example. Right as you enter the site it automatically offers you free shipping if you spend over a certain price. When a user goes to purchase the item, they are then offered email opt-ins for “exclusive offers.” For the MLB shop website, this is visible, but some sites aren’t.
“Sign Up & Save 10%”
Some automatically sign you up after a purchase. I recently purchased a jersey from the NBA store online and I now receive daily emails with discounts available. This is cool though because it remembers my order and offers similar products. Especially in the sports industry, you want a website to know what team you root for.
Can you stop the emails?
Lucky for you every email contains, in small print, at the very bottom of the email an unsubscribe button. MailChimp will explain to you, though, you are still technically on their list and can subscribe back any time. Commonly, consumers will revisit a site more than once, especially sports apparel ones.
Nick's Blog 