In this edition:

→ How to improve email engagement 

→ What you need to know about inbox placement testing 

→ More Gmail changes that impact email marketing (scroll)

→ Quick wins you can try today (scroll)

Put a finger down if you:

• Screenshot terrible marketing emails for sport
• Say “open rates mean nothing” then check them anyway
• Rewrote an email subject line 11 times and still went with the first one
• Have 127 unread newsletters but still sign up for more

How many fingers have you got down ? 

*me typing this with four fingers down*

What’s been delivering

Last week I ran my first ever paid deliverability masterclass and it was a smash hit (I think...)

• “Loaded with a super valuable overview of everything deliverability that’s ungooglable.”
• “The audit blueprint took out all the guesswork. I left with a clear, step-by-step plan.”
• “Complex topic, made accessible.”

If you missed it, don’t worry, I’ll be running these again. Join the waitlist here to be the first to know new dates. 

How to improve email engagement 

You’re Googling (or ChatGPT'ing) the wrong question

Before “How do we get more opens/clicks?”, you need to know:

Email is asymmetrical by design: non-opens will almost always outnumber opens across ALL your sends, over time and with list growth.

Chasing “high engagement every time” is how you burn out your list and yourself. 

Ask these instead:

• Is it content or strategy? (Wrong message, wrong moment, wrong segment?)

• Or is it deliverability? (Low or declining engagement is a red flag)

• What impact are we chasing? (Awareness? Pipeline velocity? Repeat purchase? Winback? Relationship-building?)

• What does good engagement look like for us? Ignore benchmarks online please!!

Get more email engagement by:

Set the goal, then the message. One campaign = one goal and one message. 

Rule out deliverability issues. You need to know how to audit, fix and prevent deliverability issues. 

Test an email to only engaged. If engagement doesn't go up - you have an issue. 

Build exclusions everywhere. If they purchased in x time, raised a ticket, entered onboarding, returning an item or booked a demo - exclude them. 

Use recognition. Remind people why they signed up (the moment, the pain, the promise). Memory → meaning → action.

Pattern-interrupt a stale audience. Change format, sender name, subject cadence, CTA placement. Watch for lift.

Tighten your copy by ~30%. Clarity > clever. Skimmable structure. Buttons that say what happens next.

Calibrate frequency. Send your email to the most engaged first. If positive signals stay healthy, you can email more. 

Measure beyond opens. Replies, forwards, assisted revenue, pipeline movement, page depth - impact over vanity.

If you do these things, engagement will go up, but rule out deliverability issues first. 

What shall I answer next? Reply with your's questions. 

From the Vault

A blog a day keeps the spam filter away 

⌚ 3 min read:

→  Inbox Placement Testing and Deliverability: What Marketers Need to Know

⌚ 5 min read:

→  Your Guide to Starting an Email Newsletter Your Audience Needs (B2B & B2C)

⌚ 7 min read:

→  From Email Sender to Email Strategist: Mastering the Email Ecosystem

From the Queen’s Court

Voiceover video verdicts 

Sell a product with a story

Example of B2B re-intro email

BONUS: Example of a small innovation in this B2B email here

The Inbox Drop

Gmail's new changes and updates to Promotions Tab

Only consumers see the new Gmail promotions tab btw. 

Rich image annotations

You can feature a single image or a collection of products before someone opens your emails. 

Add a promotional badge 

This annotation highlights key information, such as discount codes or offer details, next to your subject line.

Deal cards 

Enable Gmail to create a card that adds offer details, discount code and promotion landing page into an engaging format that drives high-intent actions.

Quick win for you

Open your email on mobile and scroll for three seconds or less. Could a stranger tell:

• Who it’s from?
• What it’s about?
• Why does it matter?
• What's in it for them?

Bonus one: Do the grumpy grandad trick. I explain this on a LinkedIn post here.

Bonus two: Remind older subscribers how, when and why they entered your world. People forget (especially B2B) what they signed up for/when. Recognition and triggers in email are powerful - be sure to use it! 

Plug of the Week 

2026 calendar open

Can I be part of your email or CRM projects next year? From audits, to training, to workshops to just the time of your professional life, we can work together. 

Signed, sealed, and hopefully delivered.

Speak soon,

Beth x

I have ADHD (IFYKYK) so please excuse any typos and spelling errors in this email.

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