Email marketing. Selling to people who asked to hear from you.
Email goes to people who signed up or have already bought from you, and you pay nothing per click to reach them. It only works if it lands in the inbox and the list was built lawfully. We set up the list, the automated flows, the newsletter and the sending, and judge all of it on sales.
What it looks like
The first email after someone signs up.
This welcome email goes out within minutes of a sign-up, while the shop is still fresh in mind. It keeps the promise made on the form, says how often the next emails will come and makes leaving easy. The example is an illustration, and the business in it is made up.
- The subject line and preheader say what is inside. No fake Re: and no false urgency.
- The sender is the shop's own name and domain, with SPF, DKIM and DMARC in place.
- Every marketing email carries an unsubscribe link, and Gmail and Yahoo expect one-click unsubscribe from bulk senders.
Thanks for signing up. Your code STEEP10 takes 10% off your first order and works until the end of the month.
A brewing tip to start with: three to four minutes with water just off the boil suits most black teas.
We send one email every two weeks. If that turns out to be too many, the link at the bottom takes you off the list in one click.
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- Gmail spam-rate limit
- 0.3%
- CAN-SPAM opt-out deadline
- 10 business days
- Opens affected by Apple MPP
- about 55-60%
- Facts checked
- 7 Nov 2026
What you get
From the sign-up form to the email that sells.
You pay the email platform directly, on an account in your company's name, and the list stays yours. We charge for the work and quote after the first call, once we know the scope.
A list built on consent
In the UK and the EU, marketing email to individuals needs prior consent, with a narrow exception for existing customers known as the soft opt-in. In the US, CAN-SPAM allows the first email but demands a working opt-out.
- Sign-up forms that say what people will get and how often
- A consent box at checkout that starts unticked
- A record of when and where each person agreed
- Soft opt-in used only where every condition is met
- No bought, rented or scraped lists
Automated flows
A flow is written once, and each email goes out when a customer does something on your site. It keeps selling in the weeks when nobody has time to write.
- A welcome series after sign-up
- Abandoned basket, in two or three emails
- Post-purchase: how-to, review request, reorder
- Win-back for customers who have gone quiet
- Replenishment reminders when a product runs out
Newsletter
A newsletter earns its place when there is something to say: a new range, a season, advice people use. Sending for the sake of it only raises unsubscribes.
- A three-month plan of topics
- Segments: buyers, non-buyers, trade accounts
- A subject line and preheader that say what is inside
- Layouts that read well on a phone
- Subject line tests on part of the list
Deliverability
Gmail, Yahoo and Microsoft require bulk senders to authenticate with SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Gmail and Yahoo also require one-click unsubscribe and a spam rate under 0.3%.
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your domain
- A one-click unsubscribe header plus a visible link
- Spam complaints watched in Google Postmaster Tools
- A gradual warm-up for a new sending domain
- Bounced addresses removed after each send
Comparison
Newsletter and automated flows.
A newsletter goes to everyone at once. A flow sends one email to one person, when they do something. Most businesses need both, and we build the flows first, because they sell while the newsletter is still being planned.
| What differs | Newsletter | Automated flows |
|---|---|---|
| When it goes | On a schedule, to the list or a segment | When a customer does something |
| Effort | New copy for every send | Written once, revised now and then |
| What it carries | News, advice, offers | Welcome, basket, post-purchase |
| How it is judged | Clicks and sales per send | Sales per flow, month after month |
| Risk | Unsubscribes when there is no news | Stale copy nobody checks |
| Who needs it | Businesses with regular news | Any shop with a basket |
How it runs
The first month, week by week.
-
Week 1
List and domain
Where the addresses came from, whether consent was recorded and who bought last. We check SPF, DKIM and DMARC and whether mail already lands in spam.
-
Week 2
Platform and sign-up
We pick the platform and connect it to your site or shop. Sign-up forms and an unticked consent box at checkout go in.
-
Weeks 3 - 4
First flows
Welcome and abandoned basket first, then post-purchase. Each flow goes to test addresses before it reaches a customer.
-
Then
Newsletter and reporting
The newsletter runs to its plan, with a monthly report: sales per flow and per send, unsubscribes and spam complaints.
Who this is for
Who it works for, and who it does not.
It makes sense if:
- You sell something people buy more than once
- You have customers who agreed to hear from you, or a site where they can sign up
- Someone can answer when a customer replies to an email
It does not make sense if:
- You want to mail a bought list of consumers. In the UK and the EU that needs consent they never gave you
- Customers buy from you once every few years, and there is nothing useful to send in between
- You want open rates as the headline result. Since Apple's privacy changes, they say little
Email is cheap only when the list is clean and the mail reaches the inbox. If a list was gathered without consent, we sort it out first, and it will probably shrink. The Gmail, Yahoo and Microsoft rules on this page were checked on 7 November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about email marketing.
Can we email customers who never opted in?
It depends where they are. In the UK, PECR allows the soft opt-in: you got the address during a sale or negotiations, you market only similar products, and people could refuse at that point and in every email. EU countries have a similar exception, taken from the ePrivacy Directive and written into each country's own law. In the US, CAN-SPAM lets you email first, but each message must identify itself as an ad, carry a valid physical postal address and offer an opt-out you honour within 10 business days.
How do we prove consent?
Under the GDPR you must be able to show that a person consented, and withdrawing must be as easy as giving consent. So for every address we keep when it signed up and through which form. Anyone who objects to direct marketing comes off the marketing list for good.
Why do our emails land in spam?
Usually it is a domain without SPF, DKIM or DMARC, a list full of old addresses or too many spam complaints. Gmail requires a complaint rate under 0.3% and recommends staying under 0.1%. Since November 2025 Gmail has been rejecting more of the mail that breaks its rules.
What do Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook require?
Anyone sending more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail addresses needs SPF, DKIM and DMARC, one-click unsubscribe and a low complaint rate. Yahoo asks much the same and wants unsubscribes honoured within two days. Outlook.com began sending mail from high-volume senders without SPF, DKIM and DMARC to the junk folder in May 2025, and its help pages now say such mail is rejected with error 550 5.7.515.
Why don't you report open rates?
Since 2021 Apple has hidden from senders whether and when an email was opened, so an open can be logged when nobody read the message. Litmus says this now affects roughly 55 to 60% of all email opens. We report clicks, sales and unsubscribes instead.
Which platform do you use?
It depends on your shop and your list. We look at whether the platform connects to your site, for example a WooCommerce or Shopify store, whether it sends from your own domain and how it charges. Mailchimp prices by number of contacts, while Brevo charges by emails sent. We open the account in your company's name.
What can a CAN-SPAM breach cost?
The FTC's compliance guide puts the penalty at up to $53,088 for each email that breaks the law, and both the business being promoted and whoever sends the email can be held responsible. The law makes no exception for business-to-business email. We set up the footer, the opt-out and the suppression list before the first send.
Who owns the list if we part ways?
You do, along with the platform account, the flows and the templates. At handover you get an export of the list with the date and the form behind every consent, because without that record you cannot prove consent. Monthly work ends with 30 days' written notice.