The ER Doctor's Guide to Email Marketing

Hey, Michael from AdSumo Digital here with another DTC Letter for ya.

Ever wonder how emergency room doctors decide who to treat first when multiple traumas roll in? (please hold off on the Grey’s Anatomy analogies)

They use something called the "triage system" - a tried and true method for figuring out what needs immediate attention vs what can wait.

Funny enough, this is EXACTLY what we do when we audit an e-commerce brand's email marketing.

And let me tell you... I've seen some serious trauma cases.

Just last week, I dove into a Klaviyo account that made me want to call a code blue.

This brand was doing $500k/month in revenue but their email deliverability was on life support.

They had all the fancy automation flows. Beautiful campaign creative. Even a solid content calendar.

But none of that mattered because their emails were hitting the spam folder faster than a rookie surgeon's hands start shaking during their first solo procedure.

Here's the thing though - this wasn't their fault.

Nobody ever teaches e-commerce brands the RIGHT order to tackle email marketing.

So everyone ends up focusing on the sexy stuff (flows & campaigns) while ignoring the vital signs (deliverability & list growth).

It's like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound.

Today I'm going to show you:

• The critical "vital signs" your email marketing needs to survive

• Why most brands are treating the symptoms instead of the disease

• Our exact 4-step triage system that's reviving dead email programs

• The silent killer that's probably lurking in your Klaviyo account right now

The Email Marketing Triage System
(How we diagnose dying email programs)

Just like an ER doctor checking vital signs before ordering fancy tests, we have a specific order we follow when reviving email marketing programs.

Here it is:

1. Deliverability (Can you even reach the inbox?)

2. List Growth (Are you adding fresh blood to the system?)

3. Flows (Are your automated responses working?)

4. Campaigns (What content are you pushing out?)

Let me show you why this order is critical...

Deliverability: The Heart of Your Email System

Think of deliverability as your system’s pulse. If emails aren't reaching the inbox, nothing else matters.

True story…

Last month we took over an account that was "doing everything right" according to the gurus. They had:

• Beautiful campaign templates

• Complex automation flows

• Clever subject lines

• Regular sending schedule

Only problem? 82% of their emails were hitting spam.

They were basically performing surgery in the dark.

After running our deliverability diagnostic, we found the issue:
They were emailing their entire list 3x per week without any engagement filtering.

Gmail saw this as "subscriber abuse" and basically put their sending reputation on a ventilator.

Here's what we did to stabilize the patient:

1. Immediately quarantined non-openers (haven't opened in 60 days)

2. Set up proper engagement segments

3. Started a re-engagement campaign for the cold subscribers

4. Implemented proper sunset flows

The result?

Within 30 days:

• Inbox placement shot up to 91%

• Revenue jumped 127%

• Cost per acquisition dropped 31%

All from fixing deliverability BEFORE touching anything else.

List Growth: The Blood Supply

Once your deliverability is stable, we focus on list growth.

Here's why this comes second:

What's the point of adding new subscribers if your emails are going straight to spam?

That's like giving a blood transfusion to someone who's bleeding out - you've gotta stop the bleeding first.

But once your deliverability is solid, you NEED fresh subscribers flowing in.

We recently worked with a brand that had amazing deliverability but their list was... let's call it stagnant.

They were losing more subscribers than they were gaining.

Their email system was basically anemic.

We implemented our "Blood Bank Protocol":

• Exit intent pop-ups

• Mobile and desktop specific pop-ups

• Post-purchase survey flows

• SMS collection after purchase

• Referral incentives

Result?

List growth went from -1% to +8% month over month.

Flows: Your Automated Response System

Think of flows as your email program's nervous system - they need to trigger the right response at the right time.

But here's where most brands mess up:

They try to build complex flow sequences before they have:
A) Enough subscribers to make them worthwhile
B) The deliverability to make them hit the inbox

It's like trying to test reflexes on a patient who's not breathing.

Here's our hierarchy of flows (in order of importance):

1. Welcome Series (Your first response)
   This is like the initial assessment in the ER. You've got seconds to make an impression and determine next steps.

We recently revamped a client's welcome flow from the typical "Here's 10% off" email 5 times in a row to a proper 5-8 email sequence that:

• Built trust

• Showcased social proof

• Handled common objections

• THEN offered the discount

Result? Welcome flow revenue jumped 204% in the first month.

2. Abandoned Cart (The Emergency Response)
   These folks showed clear buying intent. They're like patients who checked themselves into the ER but left before treatment.

Quick win story: One of our clients was sending a single "You left something behind!" email. We implemented our 3-email recovery sequence with strategic splits based on cart value.

Revenue recovered last month: $8,914

3. Post-Purchase (Recovery & Prevention) This is your follow-up care. Get it right and you'll create repeat buyers. Mess it up and they'll never come back.

4. Browse Abandonment (Early Warning System) Think of this as preventative care - catching potential buyers before they slip away.

Campaigns: Your Long-Term Treatment Plan

Only NOW - after everything else is working - do we focus on campaigns.

Why?

Because campaigns are like planned procedures.

Sure, they're important... but not if the patient is coding in the ER.

Here's our campaign framework:

1. Segment your list based on:

• Engagement level

• Purchase history

• Browse behavior

• Average order value

2. Create content for each segment:

• VIP customers get early access

• Cold subscribers get re-engagement offers

• Window shoppers get social proof

• First-time buyers get education

One client was batch-and-blasting the same campaign to their entire list.

We split their campaigns by segment and saw:

• Open rates increase 47%

• Click rates jump 82%

• Revenue per email go up 113%

The Prescription for Success

Look, at the end of the day, fixing your email marketing isn't brain surgery.

But you DO need to follow the right protocol:

1. Fix deliverability first

2. Then focus on list growth

3. Build out your flows

4. FINALLY optimize your campaigns

Do it in this order and you'll see results like this recent client:

• Deliverability: From 23% to 94%

• List Growth: +15% month over month

• Flow Revenue: Up 312%

• Campaign Revenue: Up 227%

Total revenue increase: $127,843 last month alone.

Skip steps or do them out of order? Your email system might end up in the ICU.

Talk soon,
Michael from AdSumo Digital

P.S. Got a sick email system that needs immediate attention? Hit reply - I personally review every response.

P.P.S. BFCM is coming up fast. One of our clients did $982k from email alone during BFCM last year after we implemented this system. Just something to think about as you plan for holiday season...

If you run an Ecom brand and want to have a 15 minute strategy session with me, book a call here »