Email is the oldest digital marketing channel still in its prime. Created in 1971 and commercialized throughout the 1990s, email survived every major shift—search engines, social media, mobile apps, and now AI—because it offers something no algorithmic feed can: direct, owned access to your audience. Where platforms rise and fall, email lists remain stable, portable, and entirely under your control.
By the 2000s, email became the backbone of digital business. Newsletters, automated sequences, nurture funnels, receipts, onboarding flows, and customer communication all built through simple messages that consistently deliver some of the highest ROI in marketing. Today, with inboxes integrated into every device, email remains unmatched for conversion, retention, and relationship building.
For modern businesses, email isn’t just a channel—it’s your most protected and predictable asset. A strong list transforms attention into revenue, followers into customers, and customers into repeat buyers. No matter how platforms evolve, email remains the most resilient foundation of long-term digital success.
PLATFORM: Email
Best Use: Highest-intent conversions, direct communication, long-term customer retention, and predictable revenue. Email is the most controllable channel because you own the audience and the distribution. Best for nurturing, education, sales sequences, onboarding flows, and product launches.
WHO (Demographic): Universally adopted across all age groups. Highest engagement among adults 25–54. Email users over-index in higher income and higher education groups. Ideal for B2B, D2C, and service businesses.
HOW MANY (Market Share): Over 4.2 billion global email users. Roughly half the world’s population uses email daily. Open rates and engagement vary by industry, but email remains a top acquisition and retention channel across all markets.
GROWTH: Stable and strong. Email does not “trend,” it compounds. As AI-driven inboxes and filters improve, high-quality, consistent senders perform even better over time.
DEPTH (Relationship Dev): The deepest non-video parasocial channel. Long-form writing improves trust, authority, and loyalty. Welcome sequences and weekly newsletters create predictable relationship depth.
CONVERSION: Extremely high. Email consistently outperforms social platforms in revenue per subscriber. Top converting channel for offers, upsells, renewals, and launches.
RESULTS: Top-performing brands often generate 20–40 percent of total revenue from email. Strongest channel for LTV, retention, and reactivation.
METRICS TO TRACK (and Why They Matter)
Open Rate
Why it matters: Indicates subject line quality and audience interest. Reflects inbox placement and sender reputation.
How to improve: Use curiosity, relevance, and pattern interrupts. Clean your list regularly and maintain high deliverability.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Why it matters: Measures how well your content or offer motivates action.
How to improve: Use one clear CTA. Keep emails skimmable. Emphasize story, problem, or new insight before the link.
Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR)
Why it matters: Shows how well the body copy delivers on the promise of the subject line.
How to improve: Match headline intent with body value. Remove fluff. Add concrete examples, templates, or steps.
Unsubscribe Rate
Why it matters: High unsubscribes indicate misaligned expectations or aggressive frequency.
How to improve: Set expectations clearly in the welcome email. Write for your core audience, not everyone.
Conversion Rate
Why it matters: Direct measure of revenue.
How to improve: Strong offer, urgency, proof, and frictionless checkout. Use 2 to 3 reminder emails during launches.
List Growth
Why it matters: Larger list = larger revenue potential.
How to improve: High-value lead magnets, exit intent forms, and social platform CTAs that push users into the funnel.
Deliverability
Why it matters: If you do not land in the inbox, none of your metrics matter.
How to improve: Authenticate domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), avoid spam words, maintain list hygiene, and keep complaint rates low.
2. CONTENT STRUCTURE AND FORMATS
Top Formats:
Weekly newsletter
Personal stories tied to lessons
Educational breakdowns
Guides, templates, checklists
Soft CTA nurture emails
Hard CTA sales emails
Onboarding flows
Winback flows
Abandon-cart or abandoned-lead sequences
High-Converting Structure: Hook, Story, Value, CTA (HRRC)
Hook: Curiosity, tension, or pattern interrupt in the subject line and opening sentence.
Story: Genuine insight, experience, or observation that leads into the value.
Value: Steps, frameworks, templates, or ideas that solve a problem.
CTA: One decision point. Click here, reply, book call, buy. Only one.
Writing Principles:
Short paragraphs
One idea per sentence
Concrete examples
Direct language
Human tone
Skimmable structure
Add PS for secondary CTA
3. SENDING FREQUENCY AND BEST TIMES
Frequency:
Minimum one email per week. Optimal is two to four, depending on brand and audience.
Sales sequences can include daily or twice-daily sends during the final 48 hours.
Best Times:
Weekdays between 9am and 1pm
Sunday evenings for newsletters
Tuesday is typically highest-performing globally
Consistency beats timing.
4. NAVIGATION AND FEATURE UTILIZATION
Setup:
Clean, clear sender name
Uncluttered template or plain text
Welcome sequence of 3 to 7 emails
Segment new vs. returning subscribers
Features:
Tags and segmentation
Lead scoring
Personalization
Automations
Resend to non-openers
A/B subject lines
Behavior-triggered emails
RSS-to-email for content creators
Deliverability Tools:
Domain authentication
List cleaning
Suppression lists
Warm-up tools for new domains
5. IMPROVING OLD EMAILS
Rewrite weak subject lines
Shorten long intros
Add a clearer CTA
Convert old broadcasts into automations
Turn long stories into 3 to 5 email sequences
Replace outdated offers
Add proof and updated examples
CHECKLIST (BEFORE SENDING AN EMAIL)
✅ Subject line is curiosity-driven
✅ First sentence hooks quickly
✅ Email is skimmable
✅ One CTA only
✅ Links tested
✅ Sender reputation protected
✅ List segmented
✅ Expectation aligned with audience
✅ Automation logic verified