What is an Email Chain and When to Use It?

An email chain is a series of email messages exchanged between two or more individuals. Also called email threads or strings, these messages are usually arranged in chronological order, including the previous messages in the discussion.

Emails became a popular communication medium because of their ease of use and the ability for recipients to respond quickly.

In a professional setting, you would use email chains to keep everyone on the team updated about the task or project at hand. However, email threads can become complex when not handled properly, making it difficult to organize and understand the messages.

Let’s show you the email thread meaning, who uses email chains, how it looks, and email chain examples.

What is an Email Thread?

If you have ever toggled the conversation view in Gmail, you probably know about the chain messages. A chain message keeps track and provides the complete history of your conversation, including every team member’s opinions. This follows a string-like method where every reply to the original email is attached to the conversation.

In large organizations, chain emails help reach different teams and keep the conversations in a single folder.

Their benefits include:

Better documentation and history: Reply chains provide a record of conversations promoting transparency and participation. It also makes it easier to refer to old conversations from a single place. Unlike other types of emails, you don’t have to find the best time to send messages or follow up at the right time. Recipients will be able to reply or forward the message as they see fit.
Easier to understand the context: Chain emails help new joiners understand the relevance and importance of the conversation. Instead of a team briefing, they can simply read through important updates on the email thread. Using email chains also avoids issues related to email throttling.
Enhances organization and email structure: Well-organized email chains reduce the likelihood of emails getting lost. Plus, they contribute to a better structure, making it easier for participants to skim through the email conversation. In essence, the parts of email stay the same for every message added to the thread.
Uses Time-stamped communication: The chronological order of messages makes it simple to date back to a reference or an idea. Initially, if your email was deferred but sent later, your recipients will still be able to notice the correct time of the email.
Allows collaborative decision-making: Email chains facilitate collaborative decision-making through group insights, feedback, and structured queries. Instead of sending separate email surveys, you can gather instant feedback from your readers.

How to Start a Chain Letter?

Starting chain mail messages are typically done with the intent to encourage recipients to forward the email to others.

If you’re wondering about the email conversation meaning, the steps below will help you start a chain letter or email:

Start with an engaging and catchy subject line.
Clearly state that the recipient must copy or forward the email to multiple people.
Introduce the purpose of the chain letter.
Add a closing line or email sign-off.

Cons of Using Email Chains in Your Workplace

When not handled well, email chains can quickly become cluttered, leading to information overload and email fatigue for all the participants.

Here are a few disadvantages of using email chains in your workspace:

Unrelated email conversations: Sometimes, people can be added to the threads even when the email content is unrelated to them. This leads to more frustration and confusion for those participants.
No email chain support: Many email clients do not provide email thread view options or adding to email chain, making it difficult for users to track conversations.
Miscommunication: Email chains can quickly become blurry if there’s no clarity in the messages. Since it reaches everyone on the list, it’s important to keep your email copy succinct and clear.
Difficulty managing lengthy threads: If you’re using email chains for a bigger project, it can become challenging to maintain and keep up with the ongoing conversations.

To effectively use email chains, you must understand their broader context and usage. Let’s see how and where they are the most used.

Where is an Email Chain Used?

Message chains are an effective method in email marketing and are used in various scenarios to facilitate communication, collaboration, and information exchange.

Here are common scenarios in which chain emails are used:

Business communication: Email chains are used in organizations for team communication and coordination among different departments. Most teams also use chain emails to discuss meeting agendas, share minutes, and follow up on agendas. Aside from the typical B2B emails for clients, email chains allow you to stay connected within the team.
Project management: Project managers generally use email chains to assign tasks, communicate deadlines, and provide instructions to team members. It’s much simpler because you don’t have to think through different email subject lines to stir interest.
Professional networking: Email chains are often used for discussing industry trends, sharing insights, and seeking advice from peers. You can discuss the latest email marketing trends or how to enhance your email branding to attract more customers.
Customer support: Customer support teams use email chains to share troubleshooting tips, provide updates, and resolution of queries.
Education: Email chains are used for assignment submissions and course-related questions in universities. They are a prominent part of all email marketing communication for educational institutions.
Sales communication: Sales teams may likely use email chains to share quotes with clients and follow up on communication. Email threads also make it easier to learn more about your customers’ journey and optimize email campaigns accordingly.
Contract negotiation: Legal teams may use email threads to address legal complexities and keep track of official proposals and letters.

Email strings are also widely used in personal communication to share family updates, discuss events, or plan trips with friends. Let’s show you how to manage email strings and what they look like to get a clearer picture. But first, we’ll learn the best practices to help you make the most of email chain conversations.

Best Practices to Maintain an Effective Email Thread

An effective email thread is organized, clear, and efficient.

Much like managing email campaigns, you must learn to efficiently manage your email threads, too.

Here are 7 best practices to make the most of your email thread conversations:

Use descriptive subject lines: Create descriptive subject lines that convey the main topic of the email at a glance.
Use the email thread feature: Email clients like Gmail, Yahoo, and Apple support thread views, creating a seamless conversation flow. Use this to your advantage by enabling them from the settings section.
Summarize key information: Consolidating important information in your threads will make it easier for the new participants to understand its relevance.
Use formatting options: Use bullet points and proper email format and numbering to enhance the email thread structure and create a simpler overview. Keep the email attachments minimal to avoid cluttered views.
Archive or file email threads: Regularly clean up and archive your email strings to organize and make it easier to locate conversations.
Keep messages brief: Encourage participants to keep email messages concise and relevant to avoid consuming too much time.

What do Email Strings Look Like?

Here’s an email thread example:

Email 1

From: Parker@xyz.com

To: Project team

Date: January 10, 2023

Subject: Project kickoff meeting

Hi all,

I hope this email finds you well. We’re gearing up for the project [name] next week and I’d like to discuss the agenda and set a suitable time for everyone. Please share your availability for the upcoming week.

Thanks,
Parker

Email 2

From: Maria@xyz.com

To: Project team

Date: January 11, 2023

Subject: RE: Project Kickoff Meeting

Hi Parker,

Thanks for initiating this. I’m available this Thursday at 10 am. I suggest we allocate some time for Q&A at the end.

Best,
Maria

CR Team Email Chain Example — CR Team email trail example

Much like this, all the emails in a thread are grouped and displayed as a single email. But how do the other components work in an email chain? Let’s show you how!

Components of an Email Chain

Here are the basic elements of email strings:

Components	Purpose
Subject line	Briefly summarizes the topic of the email. The subject line stays the same for all emails in the thread.
Grouping or threading	Connects related messages into a coherent thread.
Participants	Lists individuals involved in the email chain.
Timestamps	Indicates when the email was sent.
Email content	The main topic of discussion in the email chain.

Components of an email thread

So, how do the subject line, CC, and BCC work in email threads? Let’s discover more so you can use them correctly.

How to Start an Email Chain in Email Clients?

If you’re wondering how to add someone to email chain gmail, here are steps you need to take to start an email chain in various email clients.

Gmail on Website

Step 1: Open Gmail and click on the settings icon in the top right corner.
Step 2: Choose “View all settings,”
Step 3: Enable “Conversation view.”

Gmail email chain — How to enable email chain in gmail

Outlook on Website

Step 1: Choose the settings option on the right corner.
Step 2: Under “Message organization”, select “Show emails grouped by conversation.”

Outlook email chain — Steps to enable email thread view in Outlook

Related reading:

The Importance of Subject Lines, CC, and BCC in an Email Chain

Each element is dependent on the rest to work cordially in an email chain. Here’s how they impact the organization and clarity in an email thread conversation.

Subject Lines

In an email chain, each conversation thread is marked with RE: which means a reference to or regarding, and shows that an email is a reply to the previous email.

Follow email subject line best practices as you would with any email marketing campaign. You may use funny email subject lines if the discussion is between the team and all members are comfortable with the email tone.

However, pay extra attention to the clarity of the topic — state the discussion as is and avoid creative phrases and puns.

Remember these common best practices while crafting subject lines for an email chain:

Relevance: Center your subject line around the main topic and provide useful information.
Specificity: Be specific and avoid spam trigger words.
Urgency: If a discussion needs immediate attention, mention the timeliness in the subject line.
Update: If anything has changed recently, you can change the subject line to match the current topic.

Make sure you add people who will understand the discussion, saving you time back and forth.

The CC Function

CC, or carbon copy is an email function that lets you add email addresses without making them the primary recipients. When you use CC in your emails, your team members will know who else is added to the discussion. CC is usually used to let the team lead, or a person of authority has access to the conversation and reference it when needed.

The BCC Function

BCC, or blind carbon copy allows you to add email addresses without others knowing it. For example, if you BCC your boss on a discussion about project timelines, your team cannot see that. BCC is useful when you want to send the same message to multiple recipients but without letting them know who else received the message.

It’s more like sending mass emails but hiding recipients to avoid a breach of trust.

While email chains are effectively used for professional discussions, they are also active in email marketing campaigns. Let’s further explore the role of email chains in email marketing.

Email Chains in Email Marketing — How Do They Work

A string of emails exists for a reason — they help continue the conversation in a single email instead of opening new emails for each discussion. Similarly, every email campaign you send can be a reply to your previous campaign.

In the context of different types of email marketing, an email chain typically refers to a series of automated messages sent to a specific audience over a predefined period. It’s usually called an email sequence or a drip campaign.

These email sequences are used to:

Engage the audience,
Nurture leads,
Guide them through a predefined customer journey.

Here’s how each email campaign works in the process:

Triggered emails: Emails are usually triggered based on specific user action and behavior. For example, a welcome email after someone signs up for your email list.
Drip campaigns: Drip emails are a set of prescheduled emails sent over a specific timeframe. Their email cadence can vary depending on the marketing objectives and customer persona. Example – An email series delivering a 5-day course.
Automated sequences: Emails are sent immediately after a user action. For example, sending discounts or email coupons to customers who abandoned their shopping carts.

Let’s now look at how the email chain influences different email marketing campaigns.

How to Use Email Chains in Email Marketing

You can send different forms of email content to increase email engagement.

Here are a few of the main ways email chains work in the grand scheme of email marketing:

Email Type	Purpose	Content
Welcome emails	Introduce subscribers to your brand or service.	Welcome message, brand introduction, and key messages.
Educational content	Provides valuable information to educate and engage the audience.	Tips, tutorials, and resources related to the industry or business.
Promotional emails	Highlights products, services, or promotional offers.	Discounts, promotions, and limited-time offers.
Re-engagement emails	Target inactive subscribers and get them back as customers.	Special offers, reminders, and incentives to engage them.
Transactional emails	Update and confirm user action.	Account verification, shipping updates, etc.

Components of email chain in email marketing

These components work together to enhance the relationship with customers and foster loyalty.

Here are more ways email chains elevate customer relationships:

Personalization and segmentation: Allows you to send personalized offers based on segmentation strategies; user intent and behavior.
Lead nurturing: Guides warm leads through the email marketing funnel with varied email offers and valuable content.
Efficient use of resources: Automated scheduling saves time and resources, allowing email marketers to focus on creativity and strategy.
Behavior-based communication: You can respond to a user action in real-time, and build personal relationships with customers using behavioral segmentation.

But do no-reply emails fit in this context? Although they’re a small part, these emails belong to the email chain too.

What is a no-reply email?

A no-reply email campaign is a strategy where the sender uses an email address that’s not configured to accept replies from email recipients. Generally, you would use no-reply campaigns when sending mass emails, transactional emails, promotional offers, or automated notifications.

While no-reply emails can be beneficial for larger email lists, they negatively influence your email deliverability and obstruct two-way communication.

Email chains in email marketing are powerful tools to reach your audience and enhance engagement rates. Let us show you a simpler way of handling email chains to increase conversions.

Use Email Chains in Email Marketing the Easy Way

If you want to understand the proper email string meaning and use email chains in email marketing, an automation tool is a must. Without this, sending email sequences in response to user action can become a cumbersome process.

This is where Campaign Refinery makes creating email marketing campaigns a breeze. Our built-in tools and automation features help you segment your audiences and personalize emails effortlessly. If you’re worried about the design and copywriting aspect, you can use our campaign library of pre-made email campaign templates to suit your automated email messages.

While you automate your process, our email list-cleaning tool automatically removes invalid and harmful email addresses to keep you safe from attacks.

But to effectively use these features and tools, you need a robust email list to start with. We have a solution for that too — use our Lead Magnet Multiplier Course and learn how to create lead magnets with the highest open rates, up to 8x more than before.

From there, you can start gathering interested leads and send them targeted email campaigns using our sophisticated tools.

If you’re unsure about doing this by yourself, apply to become our client, and we’ll be happy to show you how to elevate your email marketing game.

FAQ

What is an email chain or trail?

An email chain or thread is an ongoing email communication between two or more people, indicating the content of the previous message.

How to include someone in an email chain?

Here are simple steps to add someone to the email chain:

Use the CC or Bcc option.
Forward the email to the specific recipient.
Hit reply and add the new person’s email address.

What is a holding email?

A holding email is an acknowledgment of receiving an inquiry and provides a timeline for when the detailed response will be sent.

How to politely ask, “Please remove me from this email chain?”

You can use the following template to request removal from the email chain:

Hi [Recipient name],

I hope you’re well. I Am working hard to manage my emails, and I’m asking everyone to consider taking me off their lists. Would you please remove me from this email chain going forward? Thanks for your understanding.

Best,

[Your name]

Is it an email thread or an email trail?

Both the terms are used interchangeably but email trail is more common to describe a chain of emails sent back and forth.

What is an Email Chain and When Should You Use It?