Email Marketing
Also known as: Lifecycle EmailNewsletter StrategyEmail Automation
💡The Concept
Email marketing is the highest-ROI digital channel because you own the distribution. Unlike social media algorithms that can throttle your reach overnight, your email list is a direct, algorithmic-free line to your audience. It encompasses newsletters (broadcasting), automated sequences (drip campaigns), and lifecycle triggers (abandoned cart, re-engagement).
⚠️The Trap
The most expensive mistake is building a massive list through a cheap giveaway (e.g., 'Win an iPad!') and then blasting them with irrelevant promotions. These subscribers will never buy, but they will mark your emails as spam, destroying your domain reputation and ensuring your emails to actual paying customers end up in the junk folder.
🎯The Action
Segment your list based on behavior, not just demographics. If a user clicks a link about 'SEO Services' in your newsletter, automatically tag them and trigger a 3-part educational sequence specifically about SEO, culminating in a targeted pitch. Relevancy drives revenue.
🌍Real-World Example
Morning Brew grew to 3 million subscribers and a $75M valuation entirely through their daily email newsletter. By ruthlessly focusing on engaging, conversational copy (avoiding dry corporate speak) and a brilliant referral program built right into the email, they achieved open rates double the industry average.
⚡Pro Tips
Clean your list aggressively. If someone hasn't opened an email in 6 months, send one final 'Do you still want to hear from us?' email. If they don't click, delete them. A smaller, highly engaged list is far more profitable than a massive, dead list.
Your subject line has one job: get the email opened. Your first sentence has one job: get the second sentence read.
Plain text emails (or emails that look plain text) often outperform heavily designed HTML templates because they feel like a personal note from a friend rather than a corporate flyer.
🚫Common Myths
✗Myth: “Email marketing is dead because of Slack, social media, and SMS.”
✓Reality: Email consistently generates $36-$40 for every $1 spent, outperforming every other marketing channel. People buy through email.
✗Myth: “You should email less frequently to avoid annoying people.”
✓Reality: If your content is genuinely valuable, people want it frequently. If you only email when you want money, even once a month is too annoying.
📈Industry Benchmarks
Average Newsletter Open Rate
All Industries AverageElite
> 40%
Good
25-40%
Average
15-25%
Needs Work
< 15%
Source: MailerLite / Mailchimp Benchmark Reports
Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR)
B2B and B2C AggregatedElite
> 15%
Good
10-15%
Average
5-10%
Needs Work
< 5%
Scenario Challenge
Your SaaS company is launching a major new feature. You have a list of 50,000 users. How do you announce it to maximize upgrades from the free tier to the paid tier?
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