These 50 email marketing questions are tailored to business educators (i.e., coaches, consultants, speakers, experts, course creators, professional service providers).
1. What is a “good” open rate?
The industry standard is 20%. Anything above that is good.
2. How long should my emails be?
My emails are almost always under 300 words. In rare cases, for value emails, they might be 500 words.
3. How many links can I put in my emails?
Two or fewer links are less likely to trigger your email to land in the spam or promo folder.
4. What’s the best time to send emails?
Read 20 articles and you’ll get 20 answers to this question. In reality, there’s only one way to test. One of my clients (who has 60,000 people on their list) finds that 7 AM and 10 AM EST work best for them. His audience is mostly in the US.
5. What should I say in my emails?
You must wow the sh*t out of people. “Providing value” is not enough. Give them ah-ha moments. Send valuable information that your prospect has never seen before. Trigger the dopamine centers in their brain so people generate positive associations with your information. Use stories, lessons, and case studies to illustrate and color your points.
6. How often should I send emails?
At least 3 times per week. Competition is fierce. Similar to friendships, if you don’t stay in contact, your relationships wither away and eventually fade. Some people advocate for daily emails. You’d better provide great insights in each email. If people receive too many emails from you and think, “meh,” they won’t stick around. If you send rubbish, your subscribers will quickly unsubscribe.
7. Won’t I annoy people if I email them too often?
No. People get annoyed if they receive irrelevant or boring content. Delight, entertain, and educate.
8. How do I find out what to send them?
You won’t. Not at the start anyway. Reflect on previous clients and their biggest challenges and questions. Start there. Lurk in related Facebook groups and on Reddit posts to see the common challenges people have.
9. I don’t have time to write emails. Have any tips?
- Create a notes file on your phone. Anytime you think of an insight, story, or client interaction that has something interesting, jot it down.
- Download OpenAI’s ChatGPT app on your phone. The microphone symbol next to their search box uses Whisper. This is the best speech-to-text transcription tool I’ve ever seen. And it’s free! Wild.
- During 2 minutes of downtime during the day, open your notes, pick a topic, and record it into Whisper. Give it the prompt, “Clean up this text.” This gets you a pretty decent email.
10. Should I send broadcast or autoresponder messages?
Both. Most of your emails should be autoresponder messages. As a business expert, you probably don’t have time to create compelling emails daily. An autoresponder is an asset to your business. Then, send broadcast messages for one-time promotions.
11. What’s the most efficient way to create emails?
Create them in bulk. You lose productivity from changing tasks throughout the day. It takes time to get “into the groove.” Crafting them back-to-back makes it faster.
12. Which is better, a pretty design HTML or plain emails?
Plain. If you’re an e-commerce store or fashion label, design is more important. For coaches and consultants, plain is best. That’s how you write to a friend. HTML emails and having too many images will land you in Gmail’s promotions tab or, worse, the spam folder. People signed up for the knowledge in your head, not your graphic design skills.
13. What’s a good click-through rate?
According to Campaign Monitor, the average click-through rate is 2-5%. I created an email campaign with a 12.26% average CTR rate. CTOR (click-to-open rate) is a much more useful metric. This means, of the people who opened, how many clicked.
14. What software should I use?
Depends. I use Kit (ConvertKit). It’s easy and user-friendly. I chose it because adding and editing emails is lightning-fast. If you just want to paste in an email and move on, it’s great. Plus, if you want more power, Kit has some decent automations.
Aweber is fine too. The tool was one of the first email tools back in the day. It’s slow. It can take 45 seconds to open, edit, and close an email. Aweber has a big advantage over Kit. With autoresponders, you can set emails to go out at any interval you want, e.g., send a specific email at 7 AM for each subscriber’s time zone. This is huge for adding automated sales campaigns. Kit can send autoresponders “after X hours or days,” but you can’t make it go out at a specific time. You have to use broadcast messages for that.
15. What if I want an email tool with more automation power?
The most popular choice for business experts, coaches, and consultants is ActiveCampaign. If you want to laser-target your messages to subscribers based on their actions and behavior, use automation. However, it can be sluggish and frustrating when complex automations don’t work. If you’re not a techie, it can feel overwhelming.
16. Should I set up automations or send a basic email sequence?
Automation is powerful but complicated. Be careful. If you have the time, resources, and team, invest in automation. Otherwise, just stick with a basic autoresponder sequence (emails that go out at a pre-determined time, one after the other). It’s much easier to start with something like Kit and move on to something with automations later on if you want.
17. What’s the fastest way to launch an email list?
Sign up for Beehiiv or Substack. Those platforms allow you to send from their servers and remove the friction of starting. However, Kit is more tailored to what business educators (i.e., coaches, course creators, consultants, experts) need.
You can host your landing page on their server, so you don’t need hosting. However, to make it more professional, redirect it to your own domain later.
18. What is email deliverability?
Deliverability is the art of ensuring your emails are received by your subscribers. ISPs (Internet Service Providers) can block emails if your emails get flagged as spam.
19. How do I improve my email deliverability?
Send emails that get opened, read, scrolled, clicked, and replied to. Do everything you can to reduce your spam complaints and unsubscribes. Flush your email list of subscribers who don’t click on your emails after 60-90 days.
20. How do I stop people from unsubscribing from my list?
You can’t. Some people will always unsubscribe. Set the right expectation BEFORE people subscribe so there are no surprises for them. Fulfill the expectation.
For example, if you plan to send daily emails with occasional promotions, tell people before they sign up.
21. Isn’t social media better than email marketing?
No. Social media and email marketing work together. Social media is a lead acquisition strategy (stranger to acquaintance). It helps you build your email list. With email, you turn leads from acquaintances into fans and clients.
Email marketing takes leads and turns them into clients. Email is more intimate and personal. Plus, it’s an asset you own. Social platforms will come and go, but email has stood the test of time (so far).
22. How do I stop overthinking email marketing?
It’s hard. I could easily create emails for other clients, but it was difficult for my own business. I was closer to it. The emails had to be “perfect” (perfection doesn’t exist). Instead, write emails knowing that you WILL delete and change many of them in the future.
As your email list grows and you realize what people need, you’ll make adjustments, delete some, and shift things around. Know you’ll make mistakes. Emphasize learning and data over perfection.
23. What should my welcome email say to hook new subscribers?
Don’t make it a boring lead magnet delivery. Make it an event. Bullet out 10–15 things they’ll learn in your upcoming autoresponder sequence. Create open loops so they think, “I can’t wait for tomorrow’s email.”
24. How many emails should I include in my sales sequence?
Depends on the length of the promo. For a 5-day promo: 1 email a day, 2 on the second-last day, 3 on the last day. Send to unopens in the evening with a new subject line for extra reach — if your open rates are already solid.
25. How do I segment my email list without overcomplicating things?
Two lists: prospects and buyers. That’s it. Complexity kills momentum when you’re small.
26. Can I reuse emails I sent last year? How?
Yes. Most people won’t remember. Change the subject line and send it again. Only a fraction of your list saw it the first time anyway.
27. How do I write subject lines that get clicks without sounding spammy?
Avoid spam trigger words. Use proven formats: “How to [Result],” “This [Thing] Got [Result],” or “[Name], want [X Benefit]?” Always deliver on the promise inside.
28. Should I personalize emails with first names?
Yes. You’ll get better open rates. Some hate it, but it works.
29. What’s the best way to pitch my service without sounding salesy?
Start a waiting list. Mention it casually in your PS. Build demand. When a slot opens, let them know. Or write story-based emails that answer objections.
30. Can I send the same email more than once?
Yes. Send in the morning, resend to unopens in the evening with a new subject line.
31. How do I make sure people actually read the whole email?
Write good stories. Break up text. Bold key points. Cut fluff. If even someone outside your niche finds it interesting, you’ve nailed it.
32. How often should I clean or prune my list?
Every 30–90 days. Don’t wait a year.
33. Should I use emojis in subject lines?
Only if your brand is casual and fun. Otherwise, skip them.
34. How do I prevent my emails from sounding robotic if I’m using AI?
Feed AI your own words via transcription and have it rewrite them. Don’t let it write from scratch.
35. Is it okay to tell personal stories in my business emails?
Yes — in moderation. Tie them quickly to a business lesson. Use them as seasoning, not the main dish.
36. How long should I wait before pitching something to new subscribers?
Build trust first. Use content emails with a light PS link before going hard on the sales.
37. What are the signs that my email list is actually hurting my brand?
Sign up for your own list and read your emails like a subscriber. If you sound arrogant, off-brand, or like a jerk, fix it.
38. Should I send emails to my entire list or segment every time?
For promos, send to everyone, but give an opt-out link for that promo only. For nurture content, segment if it’s worth the extra effort.
39. What kind of content actually builds trust over time?
Real stories from your own experience — wins and failures. Make it specific and real.
40. What’s a good ratio of free content to promotional emails?
Mix them. You can add promos in every PS. Or do alternating weeks of content and promos. Just set expectations when they sign up.
41. How do I get more replies to my emails?
Keep it short. Ask a direct question. “What’s your biggest challenge with [topic]?” works every time.
42. How do I make my call-to-action stand out?
Use blue, bolded links with benefit-driven text. Capitalize the first letter of each word for emphasis.
43. What day of the week gets the best engagement?
Tuesdays and Thursdays.
44. How can I ethically create urgency in my emails?
Only on real deadlines — live events, coaching spots, launches. Don’t fake it for digital products that could be sold anytime.
45. What do I do if my emails are landing in Gmail’s Promotions tab?
Use plain text, 0–1 images, under 300 words, and max two links. Test with a spam-check tool like Folderly.
46. What should I do to avoid the spam folder?
Same as avoiding Promotions, but accept that promos will often land there. Focus on inboxing for nurture emails.
47. Should I offer a lead magnet or a free consult to grow my list?
Neither is perfect. Better: sell the value of joining your newsletter/tips list, then drip lead magnets inside your welcome sequence.
48. Can I swear or use edgy language in my emails?
Yes, if it fits your brand. Corporate? Probably not. Rogue pirate vibe? Go for it.
49. What’s the best way to introduce a new offer or service to my list?
Survey them first. Build the offer to solve their exact problem. Announce it with a curiosity-driven hook.
50. How do I know what I should actually write to my list?
Look at past emails with the best opens/clicks. Check popular videos in your niche. Ask your list directly.
So there you have it, answers to the 50 top questions about email marketing.
So there you have it, answers to the 22 most common questions about email marketing.
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