RE:markable is the weekly email about emails. Dropping the latest email marketing news, updates, insights, free resources, upcoming masterclasses, webinars, and of course, a little inbox mischief.
The problem you see all the time
I see this more than anything else in email marketing: leaders demanding that you send it to all, just in case it might be relevant.
The board, the CEO, product or service teams, they all think email is a direct line to everyone (and that somehow equates to direct sales lol).
So many of them believe the more people you send to, the likelier you are to win. So email gets turned into a volume game, not a value game.
The result leads to a messy mix of ironic marketing emails hitting unhappy people just after they’ve complained. Or in B2B, shooting nurture emails at a prospect already deep in conversation. That disconnect screams, “We don’t read the room.”
Sound familiar?
This guide is your roadmap to:
We’ve all been there. The ask sounds like:
If your stakeholders don’t understand email strategy, flip to what they do understand: commercial outcomes.
Email isn’t a vanity fair and it’s not about shiny designs or reactive blasts. It’s about growth, impact, conversions, and revenue.
You need to show:
Yes, attribution is tricky (and I think it's rubbish to be honest!) But if you look at trends over time, email volume, brand search, pipelines, retention etc, you can show measurable correlation.
No one drops emails with big audiences for no reason.
They do it because leaders demanded it.
So if deliverability is getting worse, or campaigns are causing churn, you can calculate what that means in lost opportunities.
How to build your argument
Before we go any further, I want to be really clear: this isn’t about saying you should never send emails to disengaged people.
That’s not the point here. In fact, one of the most powerful use cases for email is as an awareness channel, something I talk about in depth in this blog.
There is a place for emailing disengaged audiences strategically. But the real issue and the reason you're likely reading this is not the size of your send, it’s the sameness of your send.
It’s the fact that we’re taking one message and blanketing an entire database or list with it, regardless of who they are, what they care about, how they found us, or where they are in their journey.
Let’s think about that for a second.
Everyone on your list came to you with different motivations.
They have different jobs, industries, personal goals, life stages, pain points, and priorities. They’re not all the same.
Some are researching, some are ready to buy, some are loyal customers and some forgot they even signed up.
And when you speak to all of them in exactly the same way, you dilute your message and eventually erode trust.
Marketing studies consistently show that when messaging is relevant, when it hits on a person's needs, desires, concerns, and context, it drives significantly better results. We’re not saying "don’t email them." We’re saying: don’t ignore who they are when you do.
So no, this isn’t a “send less” conversation. It’s a “send smarter” one.
You can’t argue strategy if you don’t show the commercial cost of behaviour. And often, marketers are the only ones who can speak that language effectively.
If the strategy fails, fine. If it succeeds, you’ve unlocked:
Better deliverability
Smarter segmentation
Higher retention
Long-term growth
Plus, internal respect.
This is not a one-email fix. It’s a six-to-12-month journey. It's about slowly proving that email doesn’t need to be a scattergun, it can be precision. It doesn’t mean a full overhaul overnight, but it does mean starting a structured, data-informed conversation.
If you’re ready to wield the financial argument, quantify your email risks, and influence smarter sends, start now.
Need help drafting the audit, model or presentation to leadership? Book a quick call with me to explore working together. I’ve turned this approach into £450K in new opportunities for one business.
→ Book a free consultation here to get your deliverability or email ecosystem audit
→ Join me in the next PPPP™ Email Framework & Ecosystem Masterclass on building email as a strategic ecosystem
RE:markable is the weekly email about emails. Dropping the latest email marketing news, updates, insights, free resources, upcoming masterclasses, webinars, and of course, a little inbox mischief.