(And Why Most People Get It Wrong)
Not everyone is cut out to be a TikTok star.
While it seems like every marketing blog is screaming about “building your personal brand” and “creating viral content,” there’s a whole other world of digital marketing that rarely makes the headlines. A world where success isn’t measured in likes and shares, but in data, systems, and real business results.
Welcome to the world of email marketing and CRM automation.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably in one of two situations:
Maybe you’re looking at the current digital marketing landscape and thinking “there has to be more to this than social media.” You enjoy the technical side of things. You’d rather build a sophisticated automation flow than dance on camera. You get excited about data and systems rather than trending hashtags.
Or perhaps you’re a business owner or manager who’s realized that while social media might bring attention, email is where the real revenue happens. You’ve seen the stats about email marketing ROI, but you’ve also seen how easy it is to waste money on tools and agencies that promise the world but deliver mediocre results.
Either way, you’re right to be here. Because email marketing in 2025 both incredibly powerful and widely misunderstood.
The Problem With Email Marketing Education
Let me tell you a story that might sound familiar.
Sarah, a marketing coordinator at a growing e-commerce company, was tasked with “fixing” their email program. Their open rates were dropping, sales from email were declining, and the CEO was asking questions.
She did what any of us would do – she started researching.
The first article she found recommended “focusing on deliverability.” But when she clicked through, it was just trying to sell her expensive deliverability monitoring software.
The next suggested “implementing advanced segmentation strategies.” The solution? Subscribe to their premium ESP that costs three times their current budget.
Another promised to reveal “the secret to 90% open rates” – in a $997 course.
Every search led to the same thing: surface-level advice wrapped around a sales pitch.
The real, practical knowledge about email marketing? That was always behind a paywall, scattered across dozens of expensive courses and consultants.
Why This Matters Now More Than Ever
Here’s what nobody tells you: The email marketing industry is built entirely around selling either information or technology. This creates a strange situation where the fundamentals – the actual principles that make email marketing work – are often hidden from view.
This matters more in 2025 than ever before, because:
- Social media algorithms keep making it harder to reach your audience. Ok not all, but you get the point.
- Digital ad costs continue to rise year over year. And targeting keeps shrinking.
- Privacy changes are making tracking and targeting more difficult.
- AI is making content creation cheaper but genuine connection more valuable.
Meanwhile, email remains the most stable, controllable, and measurable marketing channel available. It’s the only channel where you truly own the relationship with your audience.
But here’s the catch – it’s also the most personal space on the Internet.
The Most Personal Space on the Internet
Your email inbox is where you receive your most important communications. Bank statements. Job offers. Messages from loved ones. It’s a privileged space, and people guard it jealously.
This is why getting email marketing right is so crucial – and why getting it wrong can be so costly.
When someone gives you their email address, they’re not just adding themselves to a list. They’re inviting you into their personal space. Break that trust, and the consequences are severe.
The Current State of Email Marketing
Right now, most companies approach email marketing in one of two ways:
Some treat it as a numbers game. They obsess over metrics like list size and open rates without understanding what those numbers really mean. Their marketing teams chase “industry benchmarks” without asking if those benchmarks even make sense for their business.
These companies usually end up hiring junior marketers or agencies who promise quick results but don’t understand the fundamentals. They might see short-term wins, but they’re building on sandy ground.
Other companies barely use email at all. They know they should be doing something with their list, but they’re not sure what. Maybe they send an occasional newsletter, or they’ve set up some basic automation, but they know they’re leaving money on the table.
Neither approach works in the long run.
A Different Approach
But there’s a third way. A way that combines the technical precision that analytical minds love with the relationship-building that actually drives business results.
It’s an approach that:
- Treats email as a system to be optimized, not a channel to be exploited.
- Uses automation to deliver more value, not just save time.
- Builds sustainable programs that grow stronger over time.
- Works across different industries and business models.
I’ve been teaching this approach since 2013 through what I call the 9 Steps of Email method. It’s helped companies ranging from small e-commerce stores to major SaaS platforms build sustainable, profitable email programs.
But before I tell you about the method itself, I want to share a story about two very different types of email marketers. Understanding the difference between them is crucial to everything that follows.
Click here to discover which type of email marketer you might be –>
Note: In the next section, you’ll learn about ACME Inc. and EMCA Inc. – two companies that represent very different approaches to email marketing. Their story might change how you think about email marketing forever…
