Email Marketing Experiments was born out of a desire to share behind the scenes of failed and successful email marketing campaigns.
What we’ve tried that worked and didn’t work.
Instead of thinking it and testing it alone, we also share it.
From welcome sequences to sales campaigns, list growth strategies, and more, we test ideas, break down results, and spill the tea.
Come join us behind the scenes.
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#67: The Christmas in July Waitlist Strategy That Added 955 Subscribers and Made $37,000 in 48 Hours with Liz Wilcox
Episode 67
Monday, September 14, 2026 • Duration 56:38
What does it look like when a proven email launch strategy stops working and the person behind it decides to play her way back to her best results yet?
Liz Wilcox , the Fresh Princess of Email Marketing, keynote speaker, and the woman behind a $9 membership that has generated multiple six figures , shares the full behind-the-scenes of her 13th Christmas in July Annual Pass sale. A tiered waitlist, Golden Tickets, a 15-minute-only 50% off flash offer, and a mindset shift that changed everything.
If you have ever felt like your launches have plateaued, or you want to understand how email and waitlists can work together to grow your list and drive serious revenue, this episode is required listening.
INSIDE THIS EPISODE
1. Why Liz calls email marketing the CEO of her business and why that analogy is more accurate than it sounds
2. What an email-first business actually means and how to build one
3. The Open Rates Confession that proves even the best email marketers struggle with the tech
4. How the Christmas in July waitlist strategy works , tiered bonuses, Golden Tickets, and a real-life Santa Claus
5. The 15-minute flash offer that converted 13% of cold subscribers before the sale even started
6. Why Liz sent 37 emails in 24 days to different audiences and why it worked
7. The mindset of play that turned two disappointing launches into her most creative sale yet
8. What she would do differently and why she is already planning to do it again
9. How to stay compliant with email marketing laws without losing your mind
10. Two questions Liz asks herself whenever she feels stuck in her business
Free Gift: The Mega Swipe File , a complete welcome sequence, three newsletter samples, and 52 subject lines for a full year of email prompts. Link in show notes. Click here to get the free gift 👇
https://lizwilcox.ck.page/4072e76815
EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️
[04:02] – How Liz went from RV travel blogger to email marketing expert
[06:38] – Why email is the CEO of her business and why that analogy is more accurate than it sounds
[08:36] – What an email-first business actually means and how to build one
[09:40] – Open Rates Confession: a week of email mistakes that proves even the best struggle with the tech
[12:36] – Introducing the Christmas in July Annual Pass and the waitlist strategy
[17:46] – The tiered bonus system: how each milestone unlocked a reward and made the waitlist shareable
[19:37] – The Golden Tickets inspired by Willy Wonka and why curiosity drove people to join
[24:35] – The play mindset: Liz's 2026 word of the year and how it shaped the entire launch
[29:00] – Why she sent 37 emails in 24 days to different audiences and why it worked
[36:45] – Eight sales emails in 48 hours and $37,000 in revenue
[43:21] – What she would do differently: more affiliates, earlier prep, more emails
[44:47] – The Mega Swipe File: a done-for-you welcome sequence, newsletters, and 52 subject lines
[52:18] – How to stay compliant with email marketing laws without losing your mind
[54:43] – Two questions Liz asks herself whenever she feels stuck in her business
#66: What I Learned About Email Marketing by Actually Doing It (Not Just Watching Videos) with Hadiatullah Olaitan
Episode 66
Monday, September 7, 2026 • Duration 36:16
Most people learn email marketing by watching videos, taking courses, and consuming content. Hadiatullah Olaitan, email copywriter, content strategist, and founder of a LinkedIn-to-email revenue system , says that is only half the education.
The other half happens when you get your hands dirty. When you make mistakes, fix them, and learn things no course will ever teach you. In this episode, Hadiatullah shares how she went from a generalist copywriter in 2020 to a specialist who grew her leads from 28 to 387 in just two months and the real on-the-job lessons that got her there.
If you have been consuming content about email marketing without feeling like you are actually moving forward, this episode will challenge you to think differently about how you learn.
INSIDE THIS EPISODE
1. Why Hadiatullah describes email marketing as community building and how it is fundamentally different from social media
2. How Email Marketing helps in retention than social media
3. The Mailchimp mistake that taught her more about list management than any course ever could
4. How she went from generalist copywriter to email specialist and why niching down changed everything
5. The moment she realised LinkedIn content could be the engine that drives her email revenue
6. Why practical implementation beats video watching every single time and what to do instead
#65: The 5 Email Sequence Every Business Needs(and Why Post-purchase Comes First) with Breanna Owen
Episode 65
Monday, August 31, 2026 • Duration 59:04
If you've ever wondered which email sequences actually move the needle in your business, this episode is for you. Breanna Owen, email strategist and copywriter, joins Dr. Sapphire to break down the 5 essential email sequences every business should have, and why your post-purchase emails are the real key to customer retention, repeat sales, and brand loyalty.
You'll learn how to build smart, human-centered sequences that strengthen relationships, increase revenue, and make your email marketing more intentional.
INSIDE THIS EPISODE
1. Breanna's journey from fashion into email marketing
2. A simple strategy that made email marketing easier for one of her clients
3. The biggest email marketing mistake Breanna has made
4. What "bricks and mortar" stores can teach us about email marketing
5. How to build a cart abandonment sequence that recovers lost sales
6. The key outcomes of a post-purchase email sequence
7. How to diversify your post-purchase flow so it fits different customer journeys
8. How long an email sequence can realistically run for real-life clients
9. How Human Design can shape the way you write and structure sequences
10. The email marketing myth Breanna wants to bust
#64: Our Q2 Email Marketing Report: 654 New Subscribers, 234 Unsubscribes, and the Email That Got a 2.4% Unsubscribe Rate with Dr. Sapphire
Episode 64
Monday, August 24, 2026 • Duration 33:16
What does email marketing actually look like behind the scenes of our brand? Not the highlight reel , the real numbers, the experiments that worked, the ones that did not, and the honest lessons that came out of it all.
In this episode, Dr. Sapphire takes you inside Sapphire Learning Hub's Q2 email marketing report covering April, May, and June 2026. From gaining 654 new subscribers through a major collaboration campaign, to spotlighting one email that triggered a 2.4% unsubscribe rate in a single send, this is the kind of behind-the-scenes breakdown you rarely get to see.
If you want to understand what real email marketing strategy looks like in practice , the data, the decisions, and the lessons, this episode is for you.
Inside This Episode
1. The Q2 numbers in full: subscribers gained, emails sent, open rates, click rates, and unsubscribes
2. How the Client Acquisition Challenge drove 754 total signups and why 234 unsubscribes followed
3. The three-level collaboration promotion strategy that brought in the majority of new subscribers
4. The things that helped increase our list size this quarter,and what may have led to the increase.
5. What audience message mismatch actually looks like and how it shows up in your unsubscribe data
6. A spotlight on the email that triggered a 2.4% unsubscribe rate and the theories behind why
#63: How to Turn a Freebie Into a Client Acquisition Funnel That Converts with Samantha Burmeister
Episode 63
Monday, August 17, 2026 • Duration 22:26
Most people create a freebie, slap it on their website, and wonder why nobody is signing up. Samantha Burmeister,founder of Nomad Copy Agency and copywriter behind multiple seven-figure client launches, says the problem is almost never the freebie itself. It is the system around it.
In this episode, she breaks down the two-part funnel that has helped her attract email subscribers and convert them into paying clients from 85 countries and counting, starting with one high-converting opt-in page and one well-crafted welcome sequence that does the selling before you ever pitch anything.
If you have a freebie that is not working as hard as it should, this episode will show you exactly why and what to fix first.
INSIDE THIS EPISODE
Why your opt-in page is the most important piece of copy you will write for your entire funnel
The one thing that makes the difference between a freebie that converts and one that collects dust
What to put on your opt-in page and what most people leave out that costs them subscribers
How to drive traffic to your opt-in page without running paid ads
The welcome sequence strategy that warms up new subscribers and moves them toward buying
Why the freebie and the welcome sequence must work together and how to make sure they do
#62: How I Grew My Email List by 307 People in March 2026 Without Ad Spend with Dr. Sapphire
Episode 62
Monday, August 10, 2026 • Duration 29:00
What if you could add over 300 people to your email list in a single month without running a single ad, creating anything from scratch, or spending more than a week on execution?
In this solo episode, Dr. Sapphire breaks down the exact collaboration strategy she used in March 2026 to grow her list by 307 people, using the International Women's Day as the hook, eight community partners as the distribution channel, and a free bundle she already had sitting in her email marketing school.
This is the full behind-the-scenes breakdown, numbers, data, what worked, what she would do differently, and exactly how you can replicate it for your own brand.
INSIDE THIS EPISODE
Why list growth has to be intentional and what it looks like when you actually plan it
The collaboration outreach strategy that turned 11 messages into eight successful partnerships
How she productized existing content into a high-value free bundle without creating anything new
What the landing pages looked like and the conversion rates that surprised even her
The audience data she collected from 307 cold leads and what it revealed about who is looking for
email marketing help
The friction mistake that cost her signups and how she would fix it next time
#61: Inside a 60-Email Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Welcome Sequence with Kristin Lawton
Episode 61
Monday, August 3, 2026 • Duration 59:11
Most welcome sequences tell people about you. Kristin Lawton's welcome sequence lets people build something with you.
Kristin,Chief Brand Mixologist at District Brand Bar, with 20+ years in brand strategy across politics, PR, and nonprofit communications built a 60-email choose-your-own-adventure welcome series where new subscribers "enter the bar," pick a base spirit, flavour, cocktail style, and garnish, and land on a fully custom cocktail recipe by the end.
It sounds like a lot of email. It is a lot of email. But her overall click-through rate jumped to 6% after launch , nearly triple what most lists see without any increase in unsubscribes.
In this episode, she walks through exactly how it's built, what happens when subscribers don't want to play along, and how anyone (not just a cocktail-themed brand) can build something similar.
INSIDE THIS EPISODE
1. Why Kristin built her welcome sequence as an interactive "choose your own adventure" instead of a standard intro series
2.How subscribers' choices (base spirit, flavour, style, garnish) route them down different email paths
3.The "dealer's choice" fallback for subscribers who never make a choice and why it performs just as well
4. The tech stack behind it: Kit (ConvertKit), a Notion tracking database, and heavy use of tagging across dozens of small automations
#60: How to Improve Email Open Rates and Click Rates Through Real Email Marketing Experiments with Tayler Cusick Hollman
Episode 60
Monday, July 27, 2026 • Duration 51:20
Most email marketers are searching for the perfect strategy to increase their open rates and click rates. Tayler Cusick Hollman believes they're asking the wrong question.
In this episode, marketing consultant, educator, and founder of the marketing platform Enji shares the real email marketing experiments she's run inside her own business, from haiku-style emails and engagement-based segmentation to nurture-first campaigns and subject line testing. Some experiments worked, some failed spectacularly, and one still remains an unsolved mystery.
If you've ever wondered how to improve your email marketing without relying on guesswork, this episode will show you how to build a culture of testing that leads to better decisions and stronger results.
INSIDE THIS EPISODE
1. Why experimentation is one of the most valuable skills every email marketer can develop
2. The surprising haiku email experiment that reduced click rates instead of increasing them
3. Why sending emails only to engaged subscribers caused open rates to drop and why Tayler still can't explain it
4. What happened when she reduced her email frequency to see if fewer emails performed better
5. How a nurture-first email strategy is changing the way she approaches sales campaigns
6. How to decide what to test in your email marketing based on your business goals
#59: Small List, Real Revenue: How Andi Smiley Uses Email & Pinterest to Sell Her Offers Without Sales Calls
Episode 59
Monday, July 20, 2026 • Duration 54:35
Most people believe they need a massive email list before email marketing starts generating meaningful revenue. Podcast coach Andi Smiley believes the opposite.
In this episode, Andi shares how she filled every spot in a brand-new offer using a relatively small email list, two emails a week, and zero sales calls. She also explains why storytelling, not hard selling, has become the foundation of her email strategy, how Pinterest quietly drives podcast growth, and why consistency matters more than having thousands of subscribers.
If you've ever wondered whether your email list is "too small" or worried about emailing people too often, this conversation will completely change the way you think about email marketing.
INSIDE THIS EPISODE
1. Why a small email list can generate meaningful revenue
2. How Andi filled a brand-new offer without using sales calls
3. The mindset shift that helped her start emailing twice a week
4. Why storytelling makes sales emails feel natural instead of pushy
5. How many emails people usually read before making a buying decision
6. Why unsubscribes aren't always a bad thing
7. The simple email system Andi uses to stay consistent every week
8. How Pinterest helps grow her podcast, website traffic and email list
9. Why podcast episodes should have only one call-to-action
10. The metrics Andi actually pays attention to and the ones she worries about less today
#58: How to Use Data, Personalisation, and Testing to Get Better Results from Every Email Campaign with David Guttman
Episode 58
Monday, July 13, 2026 • Duration 52:29
Most people treat email marketing as its own separate thing. David Guttman,serial entrepreneur, business strategist, and mentor to CEOs of eight-figure companies says that is exactly the problem.
In this episode, the man who has built, scaled, and exited multiple eight and nine figure companies across 40+ industries breaks down the data-driven, persona-led, omni-channel approach that has driven results everywhere from telemedicine to Forex trading firms. And he does it with a live case study built right inside the conversation.
If you want to move from guessing what works in your email marketing to actually knowing this episode is where to start.
Inside This Episode
1. Why treating email as a standalone channel is one of the most costly mistakes businesses make
2. What persona-driven marketing actually means and how a single image change increased utilization
by 35%
3. How to figure out which data points actually change subscriber behaviour and which ones do not matter
4. The difference between strategy and tactics in email marketing and why mixing them up slows
everything down
5. Why David tests five things at a time instead of two and how to do it with small lists
6. What a control group is, why you need one, and how to set it up without a data science degree
7. The email marketing myth David wants to bust: more emails is not always better
8. A real case study of an omni-channel campaign built live from scratch during this episode
7. How she grew from 28 to 387 leads in two months by showing up consistently on LinkedIn
8. Her approach to email length and the unconventional way she studies other people's emails
9. The "build in public" strategy that helps beginners get proof of work without having clients yet
10. Her free guide for LinkedIn users who want to turn their profile into an email list landing page
If this episode got you thinking about your email marketing, imagine having a community where you can get help 24/7. The Email Clinic is where freelancers and service providers come to start, grow, and sharpen their email marketing skills together. Live copy reviews, live training, community chats and more.
👉 Join us here: nestuge.com/emailclinic
EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️
[02:21] – How Breanna transitioned from fashion into email marketing
[10:18] – A simple strategy that made email marketing easier for her client
[15:59] – Her biggest email marketing mistake
[17:28] – The most important email sequence every business should have
[18:05] – Why the post-purchase sequence is the foundation of good email marketing
[20:33] – The second essential sequence to add
[22:19] – The third sequence your business needs
[23:03] – Other supporting emails that boost your funnel
[25:24] – How Dr. Sapphire applies onboarding sequences for courses and clients
[28:58] – Different types of post-purchase emails (and when to use them)
[31:49] – Bringing Human Design into your email sequences
[34:42] – What makes a post-purchase sequence effective
[38:57] – A real-life case study from one of Breanna's clients
[47:22] – One email marketing myth Breanna wants to bust
[50:17] – How to connect with Breanna
[51:32] – Dr. Sapphire's take on the myth
Loved this episode?😉 Leave a review and a rating on your podcast listening platform.
CONNECT WITH US
Instagram: instagram.com/dr.sapphire_
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ayebanoabenwari
Threads: threads.com/@dr.sapphire_
Website: sapphirelearninghub.com
Download These 12 Emails Free: sapphirelearninghub.com/services/
7. The VIP Circle, what it is, how it works, and why 38.5% of recipients clicked the special perk
8. Why quality over quantity is the real email list growth lesson from this quarter
9. That the ANCOR framework looks like in action across attract, nurture, convert, and retain
10. What Dr. Sapphire is testing and building in Q3, including a revamped lead magnet and new automations
Resource from Episode
Link to the CAC replay: https://sapphirelearninghub.nestuge.com/replayticket
Join the Email Clinic here: nestuge.com/emailclinic
Episode Timeline ⏱️
[00:43] – Introduction to the Q2 Email Marketing Report
[01:38] – The big numbers: 1,804 active subscribers, 654 new subscribers, 234 unsubscribes
[02:42] – Average open rates for April, May and June and the decline that raised questions
[03:06] – Total emails sent across the quarter: 53,351
[03:55] – How the Client Acquisition Challenge drove 754 total signups
[06:14] – The three-level promotion strategy: personal, paid influencers, and guest sharing
[07:23] – How individual landing pages and UTM tracking gave granular data per collaborator
[08:51] – The ad experiment that didn't work and why they turned it off early
[10:24] – The lesson on audience message mismatch and why it caused the unsubscribe spike
[13:58] – Spotlight email: "You Need New Shoes" , the 2.4% unsubscribe rate explained
[17:49] – The full stats: 33.2% open rate, dynamic content, and multiple link clicks
[19:16] – Theories on why this email triggered so many unsubscribes
[20:21] – Introducing the VIP Circle: rewarding the most engaged subscribers
[27:06] – Keeping, killing, or iterating, what stays and what changes in Q3
[30:00] – Q3 plans: automations, customer journeys, and a revamped lead magnet
How the Opt-In CopyBot and Welcome Sequence CopyBot can cut your writing time dramatically
What it looks like to build a business that runs from anywhere in the world and the email strategy behind it
GUEST RESOURCES
Guest: Samantha Burmeister
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nomad.copy
Lead magnet: www.nomadcopyagency.com/sapphire
NEW: The Email Clinic is open!
If this episode got you thinking about your email marketing, imagine having a community where you can get help 24/7.
The Email Clinic is where freelancers and service providers come to start, grow, and sharpen their email marketing skills together. Live copy reviews, live training, community chats and more.
👉 Join us here: nestuge.com/emailclinic
EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️
[01:26] – Sam's background: from finance and tech sales to nomadic copywriter in 85+ countries
[02:38] – Writing copy from her 79th country and landing a client because of it
[03:26] – Her first seven-figure client launch and what made it work
[04:18] – How she got her very first freelance client ,from within her own network
[05:50] – Why the opt-in page is the starting point of every great funnel
[06:25] – What goes on a high-converting opt-in page: the exact copy elements
[09:12] – How to drive traffic to your opt-in page organically, on social, and beyond
[15:11] – What happens after someone opts in: the welcome sequence strategy
[16:23] – Introducing the Opt-In CopyBot write your page in minutes with AI
[17:26] – The Welcome Sequence CopyBot and how the two tools work together
[18:44] – How to think about your freebie funnel as one connected system
What she tracked, what she missed, and the metrics she wishes she had from the start
Why leveraging a season, a day, or a moment is one of the most underused list growth strategies
How to turn a one-off collaboration into a long-term brand partnership that keeps growing your list
NEW: The Email Clinic is open!
If this episode got you thinking about your email marketing, imagine having a community where you can get help 24/7. The Email Clinic is where freelancers and service providers come to start, grow, and sharpen their email marketing skills together. Live copy reviews, live training, community chats and more.
👉 Join us here: https://sapphirelearninghub.nestuge.com/
EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️
[00:51] – Introduction: how Dr. Sapphire grew her list by 307 people without ad spend
[01:07] – Why list growth must be intentional and the question she gets asked most
[01:41] – The International Women's Day idea and how it started
[03:03] – How she productized existing content into the Email Marketing Career Bundle
9. Why you should define what success looks like before you run any test, not after
10. The email marketing horror story that took a $200 million company to zero in 60 days
Guest Resources
Guest: David Guttman
Website: www.guttmanmedia.com
Link to the Anti-MBA course:https://www.guttmanmedia.com/anti-MBA
NEW: The Email Clinic is open!
If this episode got you thinking about your email marketing, imagine having a community where you can get help 24/7. The Email Clinic is where freelancers and service providers come to start, grow, and sharpen their email marketing skills together. Live copy reviews, live training, community chats and more.
👉 Join us here: https://sapphirelearninghub.nestuge.com/
Episode Timeline
[02:27] – David's background: 35 years, 40+ industries, 15 businesses bought and sold
[07:37] – The role email marketing plays across different businesses and industries
[08:27] – Why email should never be treated as a standalone channel
[09:46] – Open Rates Confession: the email mistake that took a $200M company to zero in 60 days
[12:12] – The telemedicine case study: how persona-driven marketing increased utilisation by 35%
[14:48] – What data to actually collect and how to decide which data points change behaviour
[18:56] – Building hypotheses and testing them: the ABC to ABCDE approach explained
[22:20] – What omni-channel marketing actually means and how many channels you need
[23:16] – The two things that matter most in any omni-channel campaign
[26:33] – Live case study: building a data-driven omni-channel email campaign for an edtech company
[31:11] – The control group explained simply and why you need one in every test
[36:36] – Why everything should be automated and why you should never stop testing
[40:01] – The biggest mistake people make when testing: not defining success in advance
[42:40] – How he uses strategy and testing in email marketing
[46:26] – The Anti-MBA Course: what is in it and how to get it free
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