5 Easiest Email Marketing Wins In 2026

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful NYE and you’re ready to get after it in 2026.

In this newsletter, I will cover some of my biggest takeaways from last year, and share some of my plans and goals for 2026.

2025 was a foundational year for me. 

I worked all year with Chris Orzechowski who helped me with tons of different things.

I started a newsletter.

I wrote 50+ articles on email + retention marketing.

I worked with bigger and better clients.

I became Head of Copy at an eCommerce agency.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, of course.

They say when you become an entrepreneur, it will take you 1-2 years to understand what’s even going on. I think it’s 100% true. 

Today marks two years since I launched my website and transitioned from my in-house marketing manager role to freelancing.

Sometime during 2025, I finally felt like I kinda had an idea of what I was doing.

It’s safe to say this newsletter has become my favorite thing to write each week.

Truth is, I’m not a hugely organized person. I don’t have 8 weeks of content planned ahead. I kinda write what’s on my mind and what I’m currently doing with my clients or learning on the side.

I plan to keep it this way in 2026, because that’s the only way I can keep the ball rolling.

Anyway, back to today’s newsletter.

If you’ve been closely following my content, then you can go ahead and skim the majority of this newsletter, as much of it is re-stating what I’ve been saying for the past 6 months.

But stick around if you feel like you need a reminder or haven’t put these into practice yet.

Here are my 5 easiest email marketing wins for 2026:

1. Send Ugly Emails

If you’re running A/B tests on Meta ads, there’s a high chance you’ve noticed the less visually aesthetic the ad looks, the better it performs. 

The same philosophy applies to email marketing.

You should inject more UGC, memes, and gifs into your emails. This is the type of content your audience is used to consuming every day, and it feels more authentic.

For example, one of the best holiday emails I received this year was a simple text-only campaign from Graza. 

Another reason why these emails work is because they’re pattern breakers. Customers don’t expect you to send plain text messages with casual language, so when you do, you’re one of the brands that stand out.

2. Collect Zero Party Data 

If you’re not familiar with zero-party data, it’s the info customers intentionally and proactively share with your brand, like preferences or purchase intentions.

The easiest way to collect zero party data is to add a quiz to your sign up form.

For example, when someone clicks on a Meta ad, they’ll be presented with a quiz asking what’s the burning problem they’re looking to solve, or whether they’re shopping for themselves or someone else.

In exchange for sharing that info, you give them a reward, like a discount or a free gift with their first purchase. It’s super simple, yet it will instantly unlock better marketing opportunities.

You can personalize your welcome sequence, recommend products that they’re actually interested in, and later on, cross-sell complementary products targeting the same use case. 

I’m honestly surprised how many brands still don’t do this…

3. Segment Based On Customer Lifecycle

Segmenting your email list isn’t just a good idea — it also gives you a comprehensive view of your business health.

At minimum, you should know how many people on your list are non-buyers, one-time purchasers, and VIP customers (placed at least 4 orders). You should also track what percentage of your list has churned, and how many customers are still active.

If you’re still blasting the same campaigns to your entire list, you’re alienating customers who need different messaging. A loyal VIP customer won’t relate to the same content a first-time buyer will. 

I won’t list all 12 segments you should have set up here, but you can watch this video where I cover them in detail.

4. Dial In Your Post Purchase Marketing

Post-purchase automations remain highly underrated. 

If you go on social media, everyone keeps raving about maximizing welcome flows and cart abandonments. 

While those automations are important, the effort-to-reward ratio often isn’t worth it (especially if you’re a brand doing under $10M/month).

The post-purchase flow solves an actual problem — the one-time buyer problem. You should analyze your purchase data and find out how many days it takes for an average customer to return for a 2nd purchase.

If it’s 30 days, then you know that’s your window to try and re-convert them. Then build out a comprehensive post-purchase marketing flow, with relevant offers and campaigns.

Use these 36 post-purchase email examples for inspiration.

5. Use My 80+ Email Marketing Questions Audit Checklist

Ideally, you’d want to audit your email strategy at least twice a year.

A well-done audit can help you find quick revenue wins, increase email engagement, improve
deliverability, retain more customers, and uncover new ways to grow your email list.

I just updated the list of questions this morning. It covers email automation, campaigns, deliverability, design/layout, pop-up form, copywriting, and broad performance.

This audit checklist is completely DIY — if you want me to audit your email account, get in touch here.

What I’m Working On In 2026 

This year, I’m looking to go deeper with 1-2 brands rather than spreading myself thin across multiple projects. That means saying “no” to one-off engagements and “yes” to long-term partnerships.

If you’re interested in working together, apply here. 

I also have exciting things planned for the newsletter. 

I’ve received messages on incrementality, attribution, and analytics, so expect more content on that. I’m also planning interviews with top marketers and brand owners, as well as more post-purchase flow breakdowns.

Sometime this year, I want to launch my first product. I’m still deciding what that will be (and you’ll play a huge role in helping with that), but I have a few ideas on my mind.

Besides that, I will continue to write tons of email copy for eCommerce brands.

Useful Resources

Check out some of my recent guides/resources:

80+ Email Marketing Questions Audit Checklist

75 Ugly Email Campaign Examples

36 Post-Purchase Emails That Turn One-Time Buyers Into Repeat Customers

Thanks for reading…

Happy New Year!

Siim