Every other channel is rented.
Social reach is allocated by an algorithm that changes without notice. Paid media costs whatever the auction says today. Search visibility depends on decisions made elsewhere. Email is the only channel where the list is yours, the delivery is not rationed, and nobody can change the terms overnight.
That is the entire argument, and it is sufficient.
What has actually changed
Open rates became unreliable
Privacy features that pre-load images inflate opens and make them a poor measure of anything. Judge on clicks, replies, and revenue per send instead. Brands still optimizing subject lines against open rate are tuning a broken instrument.
Deliverability got stricter
Authentication requirements tightened, and sending to unengaged addresses now actively damages placement for everyone else on your list. Pruning the list improves results, which is counterintuitive and consistently true.
Volume stopped working
More sends produce more unsubscribes and worse placement. The brands doing well send less and better.
What still works
- Behavioural triggers. Welcome sequences, abandoned carts, post-purchase, replenishment, win-backs. Automated, personal, and consistently the highest-revenue email a business sends.
- Segmentation by behaviour, not demographics. What someone did is far more predictive than who they are.
- Plain, personal writing. Email from a person outperforms email from a brand. Heavily designed templates frequently underperform plain text.
- One idea per email. Newsletters with six sections get one section read.
- An actual reason to be in the inbox. Information, access, or a genuine offer. "Staying top of mind" is not a reason and readers can tell.
The list is the asset
Three rules that determine whether the list appreciates or decays:
- Collect it honestly. A clear promise about what people will receive and how often. Lists built on ambiguity unsubscribe at the first send.
- Prune it deliberately. Remove people who have not engaged in six to twelve months. It improves deliverability for everyone remaining.
- Never buy one. Bought lists damage sender reputation in ways that take months to repair.
SMS, briefly
Higher immediacy, far lower tolerance. Useful for time-sensitive things — a booking window, a shipping cutoff, a genuine last call. Treat it as an interruption you are spending goodwill on, because that is what it is.
What to measure
- Revenue per recipient — the number that settles arguments
- Click-to-conversion rate — whether the landing page kept the promise
- Unsubscribe rate per send — your early warning system
- List growth net of churn — whether the asset is appreciating
- Replies — under-rated, and the best signal that the writing sounds human
The bottom line
Email is not dead; it is the only channel you own outright. Send less, segment by behaviour, automate the triggers, write like a person, and prune the list. In a year when a platform changes its rules again — and one will — it is the audience that will still be there.
Want your email programme rebuilt around what still works? Let's talk.