In this edition:

→ Welcome flows are now DEAD

→ Free trial emails gone wrong from Piktochart (scroll)

→ Why cold email is dying (and why it’ll be dead by 2030) (scroll)

→ Email Marketing strategy needs to look like this in 2026 (scroll)

HEY 🙋‍♀️

Hope things are groovy for you.

Last week was the busiest EVER, and a lot of those conversations started with “I read your emails” or "I see your content on LinkedIn"

Which tells me something important:

1. My content works hard for me (YAY)

2. Emails WORK

Also, can you make a February deliverability masterclass? They are now on demand if you can't make it.

A crazy test with AI-generated emails:

With one of my clients who sends millions of emails each week (not even joking), very obviously AI written emails are landing in spam more often than human specific sends.

Are the spam filters sniffing out AI now!?

If you want more on AI + email, reply and tell me. I'm also going on Litmus Live's panel next month to talk about this!

Welcome flows are dead 😮

B2B, B2C, D2C - they're all DEAD

I BET you created a welcome flow because:

You thought you had to because that is what it says online
Everyone else does it

But I think we've lost our way with it.

People don’t join your list to be welcomed; they join because they want one specific thing.

And your first job isn’t to introduce yourself - it’s to orient them.

Welcomes are out (sort of), and orientation flows are in.

RIP welcome flows →

From the Vault

A blog a day keeps the spam filter away

⌚ 12 min read:

→ What an Email Marketing Strategy Actually Needs to Look Like in 2026

⌚ 5 min read:

→ Why Cold Email Is Dying (and Why It’ll Be Dead by 2030)

⌚ 7 min read:

→ Designing Emails for Tired Brains, Not Perfect Conditions

How to measure your email marketing

Email is one of the most blamed and most misunderstood parts of marketing.

And tracking your performance is HARD. Measuring real results is HARD. Read how I do it 👇

READ: Email Marketing Attribution →

From the Queen’s Court

Voiceover video verdicts

Free trial emails gone wrong from Piktochart

B2B SaaS Email flow didn't really do what they wanted

Hear the verdict →

Thortful's brilliant

email strategy

Hear the verdict →

The Inbox Drop

Email Marketing strategy needs to look like this in 2026

The word strategy gives me the ick.

Every leader talks about strategy, but can they walk the walk?

Email strategy is not hard, I promise.

Here are the 7 things every email strategy needs now 👇

1) A clear role of email in the business

One sentence. What is email here to do for the business?

Example: Email exists/supports/assists to build consistent brand visibility and convert qualified demand when it appears.

Example: Email exists/supports/assists to move leads through lifecycle stages and support pipeline progression.

2) A definition of audience truth

Intentional subscribers ≠ consequential opt-ins ≠ customers.
If you treat them the same, performance and deliverability lie to you.

A 2026 strategy must define:

Which entry points exist and what promise each one makes
What “invisible permission” looks like (the second opt-in you earn through value)
How will protect new relationships from premature promos and random blasts
How you will handle disengagement without nuking your sender reputation

3) Journey architecture

Journeys > blasts.

Your strategy should define your core journey architecture.

So that could be an email journey, but also actions you want them to take, where you want them to end up.

4) A data plan that changes behaviour

Only collect data that changes who gets what, when, and what’s excluded.

Don't be afraid to ask "What best describes you?" on your forms.

Example:

B2B lead magnet (email deliverability guide)

What best describes you?

- I have a current deliverability problem

- I don't have deliverability issues, I'm just learning

- I'm trying to diagnose if I have a problem

B2C Pop-up 10% off (skincare brand)

What best describes you?

- I'm trying to find a moisturiser to help my dry skin

- Someone I know recommended me

- I'm just looking

5) Deliverability as a strategy input

Not a health score! Permission, cadence, engagement patterns, and restraint all matter. You should be tracking weekly your IPR (inbox placement rate).

6) Exclusions & collision rules

Who should not get this email? This looks holistically at where collisions occur and the wider picture.

7) Measurement that survives leadership

Not just opens and clicks (that's so 2025).

Impact, progression, reachability, and commercial influence.

I've broken it ALL down with lots more practical advice and a plan - click below.

Continue reading here →

Quick win for you

Your “disengaged” list probably isn’t disengaged

Do you label people as disengaged based on email opens and clicks only? That’s a siloed view.

Before you suppress or stop emailing someone, ask this instead:

Have they taken a meaningful action outside of email in the same time period?

That could be:

visiting your website
downloading a piece of content
making an enquiry
signing up to a webinar
logging into a product
making a purchase

If they’ve done any of that, they’re not disengaged

What to do (10 minutes)

Pull your “disengaged” email segment
Cross-check it against non-email activity in your CRM or platform
Reclassify anyone who’s taken a meaningful action as a different tier of engaged
Only suppress people who are inactive everywhere, not just inbox silent

Engagement is behaviour - but it doesn't need to sit soley in email.

And if someone’s engaging with your business or brand, stopping email because they didn’t click a campaign is how you lose relevance.

Important note: This is not permission to suddenly start blasting your “disengaged” segment. Re-engagement needs to be done carefully - volume spikes and blanket sends are one of the fastest ways to hurt deliverability.