$20M+ in Email Marketing Lessons)

Hey, Michael from AdSumo Digital here.

If you’re running an e-commerce brand and feel like your email marketing is “fine” but not great, I just filmed a video for you.

Its a YouTube video breaking down these exact strategies and mistakes, if you prefer to watch, check it out here:
(I made it under 12 minutes So you can watch it while you eat your lunch today)

But if you want the text based, actionable summary, keep reading.

The 3 Mistakes Killing Your Email Revenue

1. Surface-Level Segmentation
Sending the same message to your whole list?
Relying on 30/60/90-day “engaged” segments with no behavioral data?
Not using AOV, SKU, or purchase history to personalize?

If you’re under $100-250K/month, basic segmentation is fine. But as you grow, you need to break out of the “one-size-fits-all” approach

Pro tip: Segment by non-buyer, first-time buyer, repeat buyer, and what they’ve actually bought.

2. Discount Dependency
Flash sale after flash sale?
30% off, 40% off, rinse and repeat?

You’re training your customers to only buy when there’s a discount. The result? Your “value” emails flop, and your margins shrink.

The fix: Mix in content, education, reviews, and bundle offers. Use offers, not just discounts. (There’s a big difference.)

3. Neglecting the Backend
Obsessed with new customer acquisition, but ignoring your goldmine: your existing list.

98% of your site visitors bounce. Most brands have no welcome series, no post-purchase journey, no winback flows.

Translation: You’re letting customers walk out the door and leaving hundreds of thousands on the table.

The 5 Pillars of a $20M Email Strategy

1. Pop-Up Strategy
Ask micro-commitment questions (“What are you shopping for: Tops, Bottoms, Accessories?”)
Use that data to personalize the welcome flow.
Use tools like Alia for best-in-class pop-ups.

2. Email Flows
Two-email welcome series? Not enough.
Mix offer and content.
Personalize based on what they want (show “tops” to people who clicked “tops”).
Don’t send the same boring “free shipping” message to everyone.
Map flows to customer journey: non-buyer, first-time, repeat, VIP.

3. Campaign Strategy
Mix content, offers, and urgency.
Share your brand story, mission, behind-the-scenes, and social proof.
Launch new products and collections (not just sales).
Use plain text emails - they often outperform designed ones.

4. Segmentation
Go beyond engagement windows.
Route by AOV, SKU interest, purchase behavior.
VIPs, subscribers, and big spenders should get different messages than non-buyers.

5. Deliverability
Clean your list regularly (sunset flows for unengaged).
Monitor your sender reputation and DNS.
Send to smaller, more engaged segments for better inboxing.
Remember: a smaller, engaged list beats a big, cold one every time.

The Bottom Line

You don’t need more traffic. You need to convert the traffic you already have - and make every customer worth more.

• Personalize your pop-ups and flows.

• Stop relying on discounts.

• Build a real backend system: welcome, post-purchase, winback, and VIP flows.

• Segment like a pro.

• Keep your list clean and your emails landing in the inbox.

Want the full playbook?
I put together a free 108-page campaign strategy guide that breaks down everything you need to know about campaign emails.

If you spend even an hour a week on email, this will pay for itself 100x over.

Download the free guide here →

Or, if you want a custom audit and a 90-day sprint to build your backend system (done for you, no strings attached), book a call here.

P.S.
If you found this helpful, hit reply and let me know your biggest email marketing challenge. I read every response.

To more profitable emails,
Michael