Introduction
Email marketing is one of the most effective digital marketing techniques for businesses that want to communicate with customers, generate leads, promote products, and build long-term relationships. Whether you run an educational institute, an e-commerce store, a service-based company, or a digital marketing agency, email marketing can help you reach the right audience with relevant information.
However, managing email lists, designing professional emails, sending campaigns, and tracking results manually can become difficult as your business grows. This is where an email marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) platform such as Brevo becomes useful.
Brevo is a platform that provides email marketing, contact management, signup forms, automation, and other customer communication tools. It helps businesses organize their contacts and manage marketing activities from one place.
In this guide, we will explain how to use Brevo step by step, including account setup, contact management, email campaign creation, signup form design, automation, and campaign reporting.
What Is Brevo CRM?
Brevo is a customer engagement platform that helps businesses manage customer contacts and communicate through channels such as email. Depending on the account and available features, it can also support SMS, WhatsApp campaigns, sales CRM, and marketing automation.
Brevo was formerly known as Sendinblue. Its tools are useful for businesses that want to organize customer information, build email lists, send newsletters, promote offers, and automate routine communications.
Key Features of Brevo
- Contact management: Store and organize customer information
- Email campaigns: Send newsletters, promotional emails, announcements, and updates
- Signup forms: Collect email addresses from website visitors
- Email automation: Send emails automatically when specific events or conditions occur
- Segmentation: Divide contacts into groups according to their interests or characteristics
- Email templates: Design professional emails without needing advanced coding skills
- Campaign reports: Measure opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes, and other available metrics.
These features make Brevo useful for small businesses, startups, marketing agencies, educational institutes, and growing brands.
Step 1: Create Your Brevo Account
Before creating an email marketing campaign, you need a Brevo account.
Follow these steps:
- Visit the official website: Brevo.
- Click the signup or registration option.
- Enter your business email address and the other requested details.
- Complete email verification if prompted.
- Follow the onboarding instructions to configure your account.
- Enter your business information, including your company name and website, where requested.
- Explore the dashboard to understand the available marketing and CRM features.
Once your account is ready, you can begin organizing contacts and preparing your first campaign.
Practical tip: Use a professional business email address and accurate business information. Before sending campaigns, complete the sender verification and domain authentication steps Brevo requires or recommends for your account.
Step 2: Set Up Your Sender Information
Your sender information tells recipients who is sending the email. Clear and recognizable sender details can help establish trust.
To configure your sender:
- Open your Brevo account.
- Navigate to the sender or email settings area.
- Add the name you want recipients to see.
- Enter the email address you will use to send campaigns.
- Complete any verification steps requested by Brevo.
For example, an institute might use:
- Sender name: Digital Marketing Nurture
- Sender email: A verified business email address associated with your domain
The exact sender settings may appear in different locations depending on the current dashboard.
Authenticate Your Domain
Email authentication helps receiving email services verify that your messages are authorized to come from your domain.
Follow Brevo’s instructions to configure the required DNS records, which may include DKIM and DMARC and, depending on your setup, other records.
If your domain is managed through a hosting provider, you may need to add these records in its DNS settings.
Proper authentication, relevant content, permission-based contact lists, and good sending practices can improve deliverability. Authentication alone, however, does not guarantee that every email will reach the inbox.
Step 3: Add and Organize Contacts in Brevo
An email campaign needs a recipient list. Brevo allows you to manage contacts individually or import them in bulk.
Option A: Add Contacts Manually
Follow these steps:
- Open the CRM or Contacts section.
- Select the option to create or add a contact.
- Enter the contact’s email address.
- Add available information, such as first name, last name, company, or other relevant attributes.
- Assign the contact to the appropriate list, where the interface allows it.
- Save the contact.
This method is suitable when you have only a few contacts to add.
Option B: Import Contacts Using a CSV File
If you already have a contact database, importing a CSV file can save time.
- Prepare your spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets.
- Add clear column headings, such as Email, First Name, Last Name, and Company.
- Check that email addresses are valid and remove duplicate records.
- Export or download the spreadsheet as a CSV file.
- In Brevo, open the Contacts section and select the import option.
- Upload the CSV file.
- Match each spreadsheet column with the corresponding Brevo contact attribute.
- Select or create the destination list, if prompted.
- Review the import settings and complete the import.
- Check the resulting contact list for errors.
Important: Import only contacts you are permitted to email for the intended purpose. Do not purchase email lists or assume that having someone’s email address means they have consented to receive promotional messages.
How to Create Contact Lists
Lists help you organize contacts according to the type of communication they should receive.
For example, Digital Marketing Nurture could create the following lists:
- Newsletter Subscribers
- Digital Marketing Course Enquiries
- Website Development Leads
- Workshop Registrations
- Existing Clients
To create a list, open the Contacts or Lists area, choose the option to create a new list, enter a descriptive name, and save it. The precise menu labels may vary.
Organizing contacts into relevant lists makes it easier to send targeted campaigns rather than sending every message to everyone.
Step 4: Create Your First Email Marketing Campaign in Brevo
An email campaign is a message or series of messages sent to a selected audience. Businesses use campaigns to share newsletters, announce new services, promote offers, invite people to events, and communicate important updates.
Brevo’s official campaign guide provides the current workflow: Create and send an email campaign.
Step 4.1: Start a New Campaign
- Log in to your Brevo account.
- Navigate to Marketing → Campaigns.
- Click Create campaign.
- Select Email.
- Choose a regular email campaign for a standard newsletter or promotional email.
- Enter an internal campaign name.
For example, you could name your campaign DMN October Digital Marketing Newsletter.
This name helps you identify the campaign in your dashboard and is not necessarily the subject line your subscribers will see.
Step 4.2: Select the Sender
Choose the verified sender name and email address you configured earlier.
For example:
Digital Marketing Nurture | Your verified business email
Using a consistent sender identity helps subscribers recognize your organization.
Step 4.3: Choose Your Recipients
Select the contact list or eligible audience segment that should receive the campaign.
For example, if you are promoting a digital marketing workshop, select the relevant workshop subscribers or leads who have permission to receive that communication.
Before proceeding, check the list carefully. Avoid sending irrelevant promotional emails to contacts who did not agree to receive them.
Step 4.4: Add the Email Subject Line and Preview Text
The subject line is one of the first things recipients see in their inbox. The preview text provides additional context about the message.
Example:
Subject line: Learn Practical Digital Marketing Skills with DMN
Preview text: Explore SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, and more.
Another example for an existing subscriber newsletter:
Subject line: Your Monthly Digital Marketing Tips Are Here
Preview text: Discover useful tools, marketing strategies, and practical learning resources.
Keep the subject line clear, relevant, and honest. Avoid misleading claims and excessive promotional wording.
Step 4.5: Design the Email
Click Start designing or the equivalent design option in your campaign workflow.
Brevo provides an email editor that allows you to build an email using content blocks. Depending on the editor, you can add or arrange elements such as:
- Headings and paragraphs
- Images and logos
- Buttons and call-to-actions
- Dividers and spacing
- Social media links
- Footer information
You can also use an existing template or a saved design when available.
For a professional marketing email, use your brand colors, readable fonts, clear headings, and a simple layout that works well on mobile devices
Step 4.6: Write the Email Content
Your email should communicate one main message and guide the reader toward a relevant action.
A basic structure includes:
- A greeting or introductory heading
- A short explanation of the announcement or offer
- The main benefits or useful information
- A clear call-to-action button
- Your business contact details and required unsubscribe information
For example, an email from Digital Marketing Nurture might introduce an upcoming practical workshop, explain what participants will learn, and include a button linking to the registration page.
Avoid placing too much information in a single email. A focused message is usually easier to read and understand.
Step 4.7: Add a Call to Action
A call to action (CTA) tells the reader what to do next.
Examples include:
