Email Marketing
Using permission-based email to educate, engage, and support a customer journey.
Email marketing is using email to build a relationship with people who have chosen to hear from you, and help them take a useful next step. That might be trying a product, learning a workflow, returning to an unfinished task, or buying when the timing makes sense.
The inbox is a fairly personal place. A person who signs up for a weekly tutorial has not necessarily asked for daily sales reminders.
“Real permission is different from presumed or legalistic permission.”
Seth Godin, Permission marketing
Keep the promise you made 🤝
Tell subscribers what they will receive and roughly how often. Make the first message deliver on that promise. If they requested a template, give them the template before asking them to book a call.
A newsletter, a lead nurturing sequence, and product onboarding emails have different jobs. So do receipts and password resets. Plan the marketing messages around what the reader needs; do not treat every available address as the same audience.
Build the sequence around progress 🪜
For a trial user, ask what stands between signup and the first useful result. Then write emails for those moments.
- Help them begin. Show one action they can finish, with a direct link to the right place.
- Remove a likely obstacle. Explain an import, integration, or setup choice that commonly blocks them.
- Help them decide. Explain the relevant plan, limits, or next step once they understand the product.
The timing should follow the product. Someone who has already completed setup does not need another “finish setup” reminder. Where possible, stop or change the sequence when the relevant action happens.
A founder can start with a small, manually reviewed sequence. You can learn a lot from a handful of thoughtful replies before building a complicated automation.
Write something a person would send 💬
Use a subject line that describes the reason for the email. Open with the useful point. Ask for one main action. If you invite replies, make sure someone actually reads them.
“Your first client workspace is ready” is easier to understand than “Everything your agency needs.” A screenshot or a short example can explain the feature faster than a paragraph of adjectives.
Review the whole experience 🔍
Follow the email yourself: does the link work, does the destination match the message, and can the reader complete the promised action? Look at results by audience and purpose, rather than averaging every campaign together.
If an email gets clicks but users stall in the product, the next fix may belong in onboarding. If people unsubscribe, revisit the promise, relevance, and frequency before polishing another subject line.