Best Practices for Email Marketing Flows

Most B2B companies are sabotaging their email marketing from day one. They're copying e-commerce welcome sequences and wondering why their results are mediocre at best. After years of testing with dozens of service-based businesses, I've discovered something counterintuitive: the "best practices" for welcome sequences are actively harming B2B service companies with long sales cycles. ❌ They treat high-touch relationships like quick transactions. When your sales cycle is 6+ months, why would you use the same approach as someone selling $30 t-shirts? ❌ They prioritize immediate sales over deliverability. If your emails don't reach inboxes consistently for your full sales cycle, nothing else matters. ❌ They focus on single-channel communication. Once someone unsubscribes, you've lost them forever with no backup plan. ❌ They send generic "thanks for subscribing" messages. When everyone does the same thing, you become invisible. Take a different approach: → Email 1: Generate a reply, not just an open. The first email should be conversational and designed to get a response. This dramatically improves deliverability for all future emails. Our clients see 10-20% reply rates with this approach, many directly sales-related. → Email 2: Set clear expectations. Explicitly tell subscribers what types of content they'll receive and how often. This reduces unsubscribes and builds trust for the long relationship ahead. → Email 3: Connect on secondary channels. Establish multi-channel relationships early so that even if they unsubscribe from email, you haven't lost them completely. → Email 4: Gather critical intelligence. Use strategic questions to understand: What content do they want? How did they find you? Where else do they spend time online? This data improves all your marketing, not just email. → Emails 5-7: Provide soft pathways to sales conversations. Instead of aggressive pitches, create natural progression points that align with your sales process. The traditional welcome sequence works fine for consumer products with short sales cycles. But in the B2B service world, where relationships drive revenue and sales cycles extend for months, this approach is fundamentally broken. I've seen companies with mediocre products outperform superior competitors simply because they understood this difference and engineered their welcome sequence accordingly. The welcome flow is the foundation for a six-month relationship that may eventually lead to a conversation. Often the welcome flow is the highest-engagement touchpoint you'll ever have with prospects. It deserves a strategy as sophisticated as your services. What's one change you could make to your welcome sequence this week?

👉 Unlock the secrets of consumer psychology to enhance your email marketing effectiveness 📧 In the crowded space of email marketing, understanding and applying behavioral economics can significantly improve the effectiveness of your campaigns. By tapping into how consumers think and make decisions, you can craft emails that not only get opened but also convert. ▪️ The Scarcity Principle ⏰ : Utilize the Scarcity Principle in your email campaigns to create urgency. Informing recipients that a deal is limited-time only or that only a few items are left can significantly increase the likelihood of immediate action. For example, "Only 3 hours left to claim your offer!" or "Just 5 items remaining at this price!" ▪️ The Paradox of Choice ✅ : Simplify consumer decision-making by limiting the number of options. The Paradox of Choice teaches us that too many options can overwhelm and deter decision-making. Optimize your emails by providing one clear call to action or focusing on a single product or service rather than multiple. ▪️ Personalization and the Liking Bias 🙋♂️ : Leverage the Liking Bias by personalizing your emails. People are more likely to engage with content that appears tailored to them. Use data to address recipients by name, reference past purchases, or suggest items based on browsing history. This not only captures attention but also enhances the feeling of intimacy and relevance. ▪️ Loss Aversion 🔚 : Capitalize on Loss Aversion by highlighting what your customers stand to lose if they don’t take action. Phrasing like, "Don’t miss out on this opportunity!" can be more effective than simply presenting the benefits of an offer. 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲: Review your current email marketing strategies. How can you implement these behavioral insights to increase open rates and conversions? Test different approaches in your campaigns to see what works best with your audience. #BehavioralEconomics #EmailMarketing #DigitalMarketing #ConsumerPsychology #ServingMarketing #SirviendoMarketing

We analyzed 25M+ outbound emails across hundreds of Unify customers to identify what's getting replies in 2026. A lot of old ‘best practices’ are dying. The teams posting 2-3x industry average reply rates are getting a handful of details right that most teams overlook. Here's some of what our data shows: (1) Emails with an emoji in the subject line get 38% more replies. Only 5% of outbound emails use them - one of the biggest levers in the dataset. (2) Emails with dollar signs or ROI claims see a 15% drop in reply rates. Before trust is established, money talk reads as a pitch. (3) P.S. lines correlate with a 10% reply drop, but nearly half of all emails still include one. If it's worth saying, put it in the body. (4) Signal-driven openers get 2x the reply rate of any other opener style, but only 3.8% of outbound emails use them. It's the single biggest whitespace in outbound right now. (5) AI-personalized emails get 57% more replies, but not all personalization is equal. Deep research delivers 4x the baseline, while title-only drops 26% below it. We pulled all our findings into a 19-page report that includes winning subject line patterns, copy frameworks, and best-practice email examples you can steal. Want to see it? Comment "EMAIL" and I'll send it over.

7 habits that will make you a better email marketer in 2026 Spoiler: none of them involve sending more emails. 1. You obsess over outcomes, not opens If you’re still celebrating open rates like it’s 2018, we need to talk. Focus on revenue, behaviour, intent, and downstream impact. Vanity metrics are a comfort blanket. Take it off. 2. You write for humans, not frameworks Frameworks are useful. Blindly following them is not. Start with how people actually think, decide, procrastinate, and justify purchases to themselves. Psychology beats templates every time. 3. You test like a scientist, not a gambler One hypothesis. One clear reason. Enough data. Enough time. If your test ends with I liked this one more, that’s not testing. That’s vibes. 4. You stop treating deliverability like a dark art Authentication, engagement, list quality, cadence. None of it is mysterious. The best email marketers bake deliverability into strategy, instead of panicking when Gmail goes quiet. 5. You build fewer campaigns and better systems Campaigns spike. Systems compound. Automations, lifecycle thinking, and joined-up journeys will quietly outperform frantic calendar-based sending every single time. 6. You use AI as a thinking partner, not a shortcut AI shouldn’t replace your brain. It should sharpen it. Use it to explore angles, challenge assumptions, pressure-test ideas, and speed up the boring bits. If it’s doing all the thinking, you’re falling behind. 7. You make peace with saying no No to pointless sends. No to fake urgency. No to copying competitors who don’t know what they’re doing either. Strategy is as much about what you don’t do as what you do. Email marketing in 2026 won’t reward louder. It’ll reward smarter, calmer, and more intentional. Which one do you need to work on this year?

I grew my client’s best email month by 148% from €525K to €1,3M. Here’s how I did it: When I first took on this client, I loved his vibe and product. But it was tricky… • They only sell 1 product • My client hates being salesy • They sell in multiple countries using native languages Step 1: Audit Every client I take on goes through a thorough list audit. I audited his list with my 66-point Klaviyo checklist to: • Identify what’s leaking revenue • Pinpoint what’s working to double down • Develop a strategy plan to increase his sales Once done and discussed, we got to work on: Step 2: Building and optimizing flows He had multiple flows set up but only his welcome flow was good. The rest was non-existent or only had 1-2 basic emails. So we redid his flows. When I was done, we instantly saw an increase in email revenue. The secret? I used founder-led content. The emails feel like a 1:1 convo, and most of my time went into the copy because… Design attracts but copy sells. The next step was… Step 3: Proper segmentation For a brand that sells one product, it’s easy to neglect the ones who’ve bought. (especially since it’s not a replenishable product) But my client is working on new products. Neglecting anyone would be a HUGE mistake - it always is. Here’s how I segmented: • Language • Engaged vs non-engaged • Customer vs non-customer All emails are properly targeted and personalized with the right intention. It makes people feel like we’re talking directly to them. But this wasn’t enough as… Step 4: Ramp up campaign volume They weren’t sending campaigns which meant a lot of revenue was left on the table. I started with re-engagement campaigns to identify the engaged segment. (if you don’t know this your deliverability will go down the drain) Then I split the engaged segment into: • Non-customers • Everyone That’s how I ensure we don’t send emails that aren’t relevant to the reader. The more campaigns you send, the more touch points and familiarity you create. Which leads to closer relationships and more sales. Many eCom founders are scared of being annoying if they send too many campaigns. If you only send: 1/ Sales and discounts 2/ Things that people don’t care about Then yeah you’re being annoying. But if you do email marketing the quiet way, people want to hear from you. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. This job was brutal. But our hard work paid off because we… ↳ Topped his best sales day in Oct ↳ Grew total revenue by 69% to 4.51M ↳ Beat his best email month by 148% to 1.30M ↳ Grew campaign revenue from 0 to 414k (in Oct) ↳ Involved his customers in his new product development process And the best part? I’ve only been working with them for 3 months. We’re just getting started. -- If you’re an eCom owner who wants to scale your revenue: I’m looking to work with 2 eCom brands to help them increase their email revenue in the next 60 days. DM me “email” and I’ll get you the details.

Is your email marketing actually building relationships — or just filling inboxes? If your open rates are dropping and conversions are flat, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Here are 6 smart rules that can transform your email campaigns into valuable conversations: 1. Divide and Conquer Don’t treat your audience as one giant group. Segment them by age, interests, location, or buying behavior to make your emails more relevant and targeted. 2. Make It Personal Use details like names, preferences, or birthdays to customize your emails. A personalized touch can dramatically improve engagement and click-through rates. 3. Build Trust First, Sell Later Avoid jumping straight into sales mode. Share helpful content, insights, or updates before making any offers. Relationships come before revenue. 4. Give Before You Ask People are more likely to share their email if there’s value in it for them. Think exclusive deals, useful downloads, or insider access. 5. Let People Unsubscribe Easily An easy-to-find unsubscribe button isn’t a threat—it’s a sign of respect. If they want to leave, let them go without friction. 6. Start Real Conversations Encourage replies, ask for feedback, and respond to your audience. Email shouldn’t be a one-way broadcast—it’s a dialogue. Email marketing is more than sending messages—it’s about delivering meaning. Refine your strategy. Respect your audience. Reap the rewards.

A skincare brand doing $1.5M a year had an 18% repeat purchase rate. 6 months later that number hit 45%, with no change to ad spend, product, or traffic. They shifted focus to existing customers through email. Here are the 7 post-purchase emails we build for every e-commerce client we take on: (1) Day 1 - Order confirmation (branded + exciting) This one is required. Don't let it be a plain Shopify receipt. (2) Day 3 - Shipping notification + brand story While they're waiting for the product, build emotional connection. (3) Day 7 - Product education The better results a customer gets, the more likely they buy again. Send care instructions, usage tips, and the 3 mistakes most people make with the product. (4) Day 14 - Check-in email 'How's it going with your product?' This catches returns and complaints BEFORE they turn into public reviews. (5) Day 21 - Social proof Send customer reviews, UGC, and testimonials. This reassures them they made a smart choice. (6) Day 30 - Gentle cross-sell Based on what they bought, suggest complementary products. If they bought a face cleanser, lead with the moisturizer and skip the random best-seller. (7) Day 45 - Replenishment or upsell For consumables, remind them to reorder before they run out and try a competitor. For durables, suggest upgrades or accessories. This is the flow that took an 18% repeat buyer rate to 45% without a single extra dollar in ad spend. Bookmark this. 

Most hotels are missing a huge revenue channel by ignoring email marketing. Here's what we've learned building email strategies for hotels 👇🏻 While I've spent the last year showing you how to leverage social media, email marketing remains criminally underutilized in hospitality. Unlike social media followers, your email list is something you actually own. Email gives you direct access to potential guests, allowing you to: ✔️ Send targeted campaigns based on location ✔️ Retarget previous guests ✔️ Personalize messages ✔️ Drive bookings without constant ad spend But for hotels, email marketing has been a black box... Most industries have countless resources for email strategy. For hospitality? Almost non-existent. Even big brands are just running basic discount campaigns and bland promotional emails. Here's what's working in our email strategy: ✅ Building Our List There are two main drivers - previous guests and website sign-ups. For website sign-ups, we skipped the typical discount pop-ups that would cheapen our brand. We focused on value-driven offers like free stay giveaways to build our list while maintaining luxury positioning. ✅ Weekly Content Strategy Weekly emails strike the perfect balance–keeping guests engaged without overwhelming them. Unlike retail where customers buy monthly, hotel guests book a few times a year. We don’t need to flood guests with emails–we're playing the long game. Mix local activities, events, and property highlights. ✅ Personalization That Converts Targeted messaging helped our email strategy standout. We created campaigns for: ✔️ Local guests seeking quick getaways ✔️ Past guests reminiscing about their stays ✔️ Engaged subscribers ready to book All without paid ad costs. ✅ Email Flows That Drive Revenue This is where email marketing became a game-changer. We created automated sequences to: ✔️ Welcome new subscribers with our story ✔️ Re-engage guests who haven't booked in 9-12 months ✔️ Keep inactive subscribers engaged Here's exactly how to get started: 1. Choose Your Platform Klaviyo is our go-to. While there are many options, we've found it works best for hospitality and is easiest to use. 2. Build Your Foundation Start by compiling past guest emails from your PMS. Then create compelling sign-up offers and popup forms for new subscribers. 3. Set Up Your Flows Top priority: a welcome flow introducing your property's unique experience & story.  Then add: - Flows targeting previous guests - Re-engagement campaigns for inactive subs 4. Plan Weekly Content Map out a calendar mixing: - Local events and activity guides - Behind-the-scenes content - Strategic promotions (but keep them minimal) 5. Design Your Template Create a consistent look: - Clean header with logo and booking links - Mobile-optimized layout - Strategic CTA placement Every property's email list is unique. Test different approaches, analyze what resonates, and find what works best for your property.

It’s not that people aren’t using email marketing and automation. It’s that they aren’t using it well. Usecase: Onboarding Wrong way -> Nearly every B2B product has an onboarding flow. Sometimes from their marketing tool, sometimes from their CS tool, and nearly always it’s generic, unhuman, and not segmented. Better way -> Over the last decade, working with countless lifecycle teams, here is what I have found elevates an onboarding sequence and increases activation… - Stick to no more than 3-4 emails in the first 2 weeks - Audit your whole lifecycle flow to make sure they aren’t getting 4 standard onboarding emails, and another 2 triggered emails based on having not put in their CC yet and another 2 emails from sales. - Have your onboarding come from a person, not just the brand generically. name@domain.com will inbox better and get more engagement than team@, support@ etc. - Set expectations. In that first email let them know the core things that will help them be successful and to expect emails around those. Let them know the "when" - Don’t make them dig. What’s not helpful is the “If you have questions about setting up your first XYZ, here is the help doc” and they get linked to a 50 page monstrosity. Instead, link them to a specific video (that is up to date!) that walks them through step by step. Usecase: Newsletter Wrong way -> You send a newsletter that reshares your favorite blog article or social media post. You figure, if I have a good message, why not distribute it in more spots? Better way -> You want every channel to have a unique reason to go there. A better way is to have your social posts tease the value, and then the newsletter can expand on it. Or you take your great blog content and get a dozen experts to weigh in and make the newsletter send that. Other best practices…. - Use a personal name and company in the send-from name. “Casey at ActiveCampaign” for example. And have a unique tone of voice. All the top newsletters in B2B from Growth Unhinged, to Scaling SaaS to ProducTea come from an individual perspective, not the generic brand. - In terms of value of engagement, think opens < clicks < page views < replies. Replies are the gold standard that will get you into the primary folder and build relationships. - Have a clear purpose. Your customer newsletter is very likely different from your lead newsletter. Provide unique information and perspective. - Set expectations in a welcome email. The best newsletters do three things really well when you sign up… 1) Give you a recap of exactly when you will hear from them and what about “We message you on Fridays at 8AM PST about a usecase of a brand that scaled with SEO to their first $1m ARR”. 2) Give them content they can engage with immediately on your blog or elsewhere. 3) ask a targeted question to drive more engagement. What other applications of email marketing would you love to optimize in your business? I am happy to add insights in a future post.