My guiding question for this was: “If we had to do it all over again, what would I definitely pay attention to from day 1?”

Here are my main takeaways from 8 years in the industry if your goal is to start 2026 with the right people by your side:

1 – Screening and assessing deeply:

This one is crucial, we usually go through hundreds of applicants for each vacancy. The process of applying with us is quite lengthy and often intense, with several interview rounds and assessments to be overcome. This can be disheartening at times, and it causes plenty of applicants to lose patience and drop out (which actually makes the process even easier for us). This sounds harsh, and it is also quite resource intensive on our end, however, this is the only way we have found to ensure finding the right fit for each position. There is no point in recruiting someone you are unsure about, as the saying goes “It’s either a ‘hell yeah!’ or a ‘no’” – there is no in-between. And each time (or most of the times) we have settled for the “maybe’s” it turned out to be much more costly than simply doing a thorough job during the assessment stage.
It’s really hard to stress this point enough, making sure to get the right people on board is key and it can definitely make the difference between success and failure of an enterprise.

2 – Attention to Details Matters (a lot actually):

This one goes both for recruitment and retention.

When it comes to recruitment, it also goes both ways – on one side there’s you (your company, or the people doing your recruitment), and on the other side there are the people being recruited.

From your end, showing attention to detail says something about you and your company, the way you present yourself when writing a job post, or an email, are you going to make sure to avoid typos? Will you use the right subject lines, CC the right people, etc? When inviting someone to an interview, are you going to be punctual? Will all the links work?

The same goes for the onboarding process, are things clearly laid out, do people know where to find what material, and so on and so forth? Those early interactions are crucial since they will determine how you (or the people representing you – and therefore your company) will be perceived – if you want to work with the right talent, slow down and pay attention to those details. In a nutshell: Don’t be sloppy.

When it comes to screening applicants, you should hold the people who apply to work with you to the same standard – if they can’t even be bothered to write an intro email that is free of typos and wrong punctuation, how can you expect them to handle a 6 or 7 figure client?

Actions speak louder than words, and the devil is in the details or as someone once told me “the way you do one thing is the way you do everything”.

If on paper everything seems great, but your “A Player Candidate” is late for the interviews, doesn’t correct their spelling mistakes when writing you, or doesn’t follow the instructions given in the assessment, you can be almost certain that this is exactly how they will approach the work with you and your clients (sooner or later).

But it doesn’t just end with recruitment, it’s also important for retention as I said in the beginning – although here it plays out a bit differently. Yes, you still want to make sure that your emails are well written, and so on, but things are usually more casual and human when it comes to internal communication, which is completely fine (that’s how it should be).

The details that matter when it comes to taking care of your existing talent are more linked to interpersonal skills, meaning – it could be the person’s anniversary or birthday and you might have just spent a full hour on a meeting with them completely oblivious to that fact, therefore not once acknowledging it. It could be that someone has entrusted you with some confidential concerns or feedback, but you didn’t pay enough attention to the fact that you “accidentally” gave away important information to the person’s manager, which technically you shouldn’t have known about since it was given to you in a confidential way. You might be writing an announcement about upcoming events or changes in the company, but you didn’t slow down to make sure that everything is clear, you are not confusing or unnecessarily alarming anyone, or you didn’t consider that people might have questions or feedback about it and don’t know where to bring them up – and so on and so forth. Those details matter, a lot.

3 – Going the extra mile for the Team:

Once you have the right people on your side, it’s easy to fall into thinking that they now work for you, when in fact, it’s the other way around – in a way, you as the manager/ director/ owner, work for them at least as much as they work for you. If you keep that in mind it will make your approach to taking decisions (both business and team-related ones) a much more calibrated one. If you have done such an effort to find the right people, and you have been fortunate enough to succeed in this endeavor, now it’s on you to retain them and keep them engaged, and trust me, it is worth it.

The way this will look for you and your company will depend on many factors, it’s not all about monetary compensation (although, yes, this is undeniably a big part of it).

It will depend on the size of your company, and the benefits you can offer, but it will also depend on the person in question and what makes them tick, not everyone has the same goals or preferences – the point here is to develop the inclination to explore this, to dig into the matter, get to know your people well and make this one of your priorities.

I could probably rant on this for hours, but to close this part with a few practical thoughts, here are a few things you can (and should!) do:

• First, the obvious one, attend to your people and treat them with respect. Don’t assume that you know everything, because if that were to be the case, you wouldn’t need them in the first place, it’s good to drop the “top-down” approach at times. Make sure everyone has a voice, no matter what position they might occupy, everyone has a unique perspective which can be valuable and should be treated as such. Also, no one would enjoy working in an environment that makes them feel like a faceless number, you are dealing with people here.
• Find ways to check in with your team regularly. This can be done via meetings or feedback forms. You need to develop a good insight into your team’s pulse at all times – both in general (the team as a whole) and individually. This serves two purposes, on one hand, you need to be able to anticipate any potential issues/ discontentments that might be brewing up among your team – you might not always be able to solve everything immediately, but at least, no issue should catch you by surprise. On the other hand, it is important for your people to have a place to bring up constructive criticism, concerns, worries, and feedback (even if mostly positive at times). They should clearly know where/ whom to go to for what kind of issue they might be dealing with, and they should know that you care about whatever they might have to bring up (depending on the scale of your business, you might obviously need somebody to help you processing, filtering, and attending to all of this – however, as the owner/ leader/ manager you should always be in the loop of the general sentiment).

Explore different initiatives your team might enjoy, and find ways to connect them to each other beyond just the day-to-day work. This is a tricky one, I’ve seen many places just go for the stock “top 5 fun activities for teambuilding”, if that’s you then my advice would be to rather do nothing instead. If what you’re doing seems forced or isn’t authentic to your company and your culture, then it will just remind people of their school years and all those “fun” activities nobody really ended up enjoying.

This can breed resentment, and it will make it seem like you don’t care (and the truth might be that you don’t care enough, in which case, revert back to the first half of this point). The truth is, there is no readymade or stock activity you can just Google and then try to plug into your team, you will need to sit down and explore this deeply – find something that resonates with your people (maybe even ask them), think about things that are aligned with your culture and that could be developed and engrained organically – test different things, and start small. If they work well, you can think about how to incorporate more of those activities, or how to scale them and make them even bigger.

An example from our side: we have this thing called the Hustler of the Month/ Quarter (also a reference to our name, we also at times call our people hustlers… anyway). It started out as this small thing, where someone would just give someone else a shoutout on our team calls, and over time it became this big thing where people can submit a “nomination”, which then gets assessed internally, we then have our designers create funny banners of the person nominated, which then gets presented on our Quarterly Team call, the person nominating the person gets to say a few words about them – and in the end, the entire team gets to vote. We even started including monetary bonuses (used to be gift boxes) where now the Hustler of the Month gets 0.5% of our quarterly profits, and the Hustler of the Quarter a full 1%.

You get the idea, but again, this has to come from within, so 1) develop interest and curiosity and 2) try different things, see what resonates, and then scale it.

When you’re not distracted by dozens of SKUs, you can focus your messaging, refine your positioning, and tell better stories. Email marketing becomes less about variety and more about velocity: repeating the message in fresh, creative, and high-converting ways.

But first – let’s talk about the unique advantages that come with having a single-product store.

Why Having Just One Product Is a Superpower

Before diving into strategy, it’s worth acknowledging that one-product brands have some serious strengths:

Focused Brand Identity

With just one item to promote, your brand story becomes crystal clear. Every email, landing page, and piece of content can revolve around a singular promise – creating a tight, memorable identity in your customer’s mind.

Simplified Operations

Inventory, fulfillment, customer support, production… everything gets easier when you’re dealing with just one SKU. That clarity can translate into better delivery, faster updates, and fewer headaches behind the scenes.

Deep Expertise

Focusing on one thing gives you the opportunity to perfect it. You’re not just another brand selling something – you become the expert. And that level of care and specialization can be a powerful part of your messaging.

Subscribers Are More Than Just Buyers

It’s easy to fall into the trap of only sending emails that push for the next purchase. But when you’re working with one product, the real value of your list goes way beyond the buy button.

Here’s why keeping subscribers engaged still matters:

Referrals

A subscriber who’s already bought might not need a second product – but they might refer a friend. And that friend might be your next loyal customer.

User-Generated Content

Engaged fans often create the best UGC – photos, testimonials, social tags – that help build credibility and trust. You just need to give them the nudge.

Community & Brand Affinity

The more you immerse people in your brand, the more likely they are to talk about you. That kind of organic word-of-mouth doesn’t just build awareness – it compounds your growth.

So don’t treat post-purchase subscribers as “done.” Keep the relationship alive with content that educates, celebrates, and invites participation.

Now that we’ve covered why single-product brands have unique advantages, let’s dive into the 5 specific email marketing strategies that will help you scale:

1. Turn Customers Into Advocates

Customer stories and testimonials are email gold – especially for one-product stores, where proof is everything.

Use quotes, reviews, UGC, and even short interviews to show your product in the real world. One story per email = endless content ideas.

📩 Try this subject line:
“She said it changed her routine forever.”

One product means fewer repeat purchases – which makes referrals even more important.

Incentivize word-of-mouth by rewarding customers for sharing their love. Use email to promote referral programs, social sharing campaigns, or even testimonials.

📩 Try this subject line:
“Love your [Product]? Tell a friend, get $10.”

2. Create Benefit-Focused Series

Instead of listing all your product features at once, space them out. Build a mini-series that highlights a different benefit in each email – almost like a slow reveal.

This not only builds anticipation, but also educates the customer in digestible chunks.

Sample sequence:

1. Why the design matters more than you think
2. What makes the materials so unique
3. The long-term benefit you didn’t expect
4. Real results, real fast

3. Build Trust With Education

Not every email needs to sell. Some should teach.

Send value-packed content around your product category – think tips, how-tos, or myth-busting content that positions your brand as the go-to expert.

Example topics:

• “How to clean your [Product] for maximum lifespan”
• “3 mistakes you’re probably making with [category]”
• “Why [Product Type] is better than the alternative”

4. Bring Founder Into The Inbox

When there’s only one product, there’s usually a story behind it. This is what we meant earlier when we mentioned the importance of going deep. 

Founders can build connections with honest, personal emails – sharing the “why” behind the product, the journey to launch, or lessons learned along the way.

These don’t just humanize the brand – they build loyalty and trust.

5. Use Lifecycle Emails

If the product has a typical lifespan or maintenance cycle, automated emails can drive re-engagement.

Think:

• 30-day check-in: “How’s it going with your [Product]?”
• Refill reminders: “It might be time to stock up”
• Replacement prompts: “Here’s when most people upgrade”

These flows are great for retention without being pushy.

6. Tap Into Seasonality

Even if the product stays the same, the world around it changes.

Create seasonal relevance by launching limited editions, bundling with accessories, or simply reframing your product for different times of year.

📩 Try this subject line:
“Meet the Summer Edition: Only 300 Available”

7. High Touch = High Retention

For one-product brands, customer loyalty isn’t about upselling – it’s about ongoing connection. That’s where high-touch retention marketing shines.

Instead of relying solely on automations or batch-and-blast campaigns, high-touch strategies create personal, relationship-driven experiences that make customers feel seen, heard, and valued.

What counts as high-touch?

• Post-purchase check-ins that feel like personal notes
• Surprise rewards or milestone gifts (e.g., “3 months with [Product]”)
• Feedback emails that actually ask for – and use – customer input
• Dynamic content based on behavior (like usage reminders or reorder prompts)
• Segmented education flows tailored to how someone uses the product
• UGC shoutouts or community features that make fans feel like insiders
  

Even if someone isn’t buying again, these kinds of interactions deepen trust, boost referrals, and increase brand love. And that’s the long game that turns one product into a movement.

Final Thought: When You Only Sell One Thing, You’ve Got to Say It Well

And that’s what makes email so powerful for one-product brands. You’re not building a department store – you’re building a movement around a single, unforgettable idea.

The key is to keep showing up with something fresh, something valuable, and something unmistakably you.

Anyone who’s worked in eCommerce knows the feeling: one late delivery cycle, a few loud complaints, and suddenly your review score nosedives. It doesn’t take long for reputation damage to ripple across channels, especially on platforms like Trustpilot.

But here’s the good news: you don’t have to wait months to recover. With the right strategy, you can engineer a comeback in a matter of hours. One sportswear brand recently did just that, climbing from a 3.1 to 4.3 Trustpilot rating in under 5 hours.

Let’s walk through what worked and what you can learn from it.

Why Review Scores Drop So Fast (And Recover So Slowly)

Most customers don’t leave reviews, unless something goes wrong. That means review platforms are inherently biased toward negativity, unless you actively rebalance the scale.

During Black Friday/Cyber Monday, one fast-growing sportswear brand ran into fulfillment issues. The fallout was immediate: their Trustpilot score fell from 4.3 to 3.1 almost overnight.

They’d tried review collection before, including quarterly campaigns aligned with dates like “Get to Know Your Customer Day”. But nothing moved the needle. To fix a real-time problem, they needed a real-time solution.

The Turnaround Strategy: Incentive + Urgency

This brand didn’t just ask for reviews. They gave people a reason to act—fast.

Step 1: SMS Blast with an Irresistible Offer

They launched a “Review & Win” campaign with a simple mechanic: the first 100 reviewers would get a free product.

The SMS went out at 2PM. Within 15 minutes, they had over 1,000 five-star reviews. The Trustpilot score jumped by 1.2 points before the end of the day.

Key to success:

• Direct, action-oriented CTA: The SMS message included a no-nonsense call to action that linked users straight to Trustpilot. This eliminated guesswork and guiding recipients to the exact next step.
• Urgent, value-driven incentive: By offering a free product to the first 100 reviewers, the brand created immediate motivation. The time sensitivity added a competitive edge that drove instant participation.
• Frictionless user experience: The campaign minimized clicks, forms, and distractions, making it incredibly easy for customers to respond in seconds, not minutes.

Start your “Review & Win” SMS campaign today. Book a free strategy call now!

Step 2: Email Follow-Up to Sustain Momentum

Next, they sent a plain-text email to the same segment. It featured an embedded five-star image: clicking 4-5 stars led to Trustpilot, while 1-3 stars routed customers to a private internal feedback form.

This move protected the public review score while capturing constructive feedback behind the scenes.

Step 3: Smart Feedback Routing

By sending unhappy customers to an internal form, the brand:

• Reduced the risk of further public backlash: By routing lower-star feedback to a private internal survey, the brand protected its Trustpilot score while still addressing customer concerns behind the scenes.
• Unlocked valuable operational insights: The internal feedback captured recurring pain points—like shipping delays or sizing issues, offering concrete data the team could act on to improve future customer experiences.
• Rebuilt trust by acknowledging frustrations: Even unhappy customers felt seen, thanks to a thoughtful feedback path that invited them to share their experience without being dismissed or funneled into a generic review request.

What You Can Do To Improve Your TrustPilot Rating

You don’t need a massive budget or team to run a similar campaign. Here’s how to adapt the playbook:

• Pair speed with clarity: SMS works best for immediate action. Keep it short, link directly to the review platform, and use first-person tone.
• Use micro-incentives: You don’t need to give away 100 items. Even 10 can create urgency, especially if the offer is framed as “for the first few.”
• Segment smartly: Send to your most loyal or recent buyers to maximize the likelihood of a positive response.
• Route feedback by sentiment: If you use stars in your emails, create different landing pages for 1-3 vs. 4-5 stars. This balances transparency with brand protection.

Real Results, Real Fast

This campaign delivered:

• +1.2 increase in Trustpilot score (3.1 to 4.3 in 5 hours)
• Over 1,000 5-star reviews in 15 minutes
• Massive brand sentiment shift during a vulnerable time

Not only did the strategy work, it helped rebuild trust and re-engage a community that felt neglected after fulfillment delays.

Your Brand’s Reputation Is Fixable

You don’t have to wait for the next holiday cycle to rebuild your score. You just need the right mix of incentive, timing, and message.

If negative reviews have you feeling stuck, it’s time to take back control.

Let’s build your bounce-back plan.

Book a call with our team and turn reviews into a growth lever, not a liability.

If you’re running an eCommerce brand in Europe or selling to EU customers, this isn’t a “nice to have” update. It’s actually a legal necessity.

So, what does this all mean for email marketers?

Defining the European Accessibility Act

The EAA mandates that key digital services must be accessible to people with disabilities. The deadline for compliance is 28 June 2025. This includes websites, mobile apps, e-readers, and electronic communications like marketing emails.

That means your email marketing channel needs to comply in order to avoid penalties. Email marketers are now responsible (even more than they were before), for ensuring every campaign they send is accessible. And accessible doesn’t just mean mobile-friendly. It means every email must be usable by people with visual, cognitive or physical impairments.

Email Accessibility 101: What Does an Accessible Email Actually Look Like?

Here are 5 important standards every email needs to pass in order to be accessible in terms of the European Accessibility Act.

1: The Text is Readable

Use clear language, short paragraphs, and logical formatting. Your email should be easy to scan and understand for as many people as possible.

2: The Images Have Alt Text

Every image should have a descriptive alt tag. This ensures screen readers can interpret your content for visually impaired users.

3: The Colors Are High Contrast

Make sure your text has sufficient contrast against its background. This helps users with low vision or color blindness to navigate the email.

4: The Semantic HTML Structure is Sound

Use proper HTML tags like headings, paragraphs and lists to give your content structure. This helps assistive tech to interpret your emails correctly.

5: It’s Easy to Navigate by Keyboard

Interactive elements like buttons and links should be easy to access using a keyboard alone. This is critical for users who don’t use a mouse or touch screen.

For Hustler Marketing Clients, Email Accessibility is Baked Into Every Template

Accessibility is already baked into our email design process. That commitment includes all the creative processes that go into a high-converting email, from initial strategy to A/B testing.

But with the new rules coming into effect this month, we’re raising the bar even further, across all of our teams.

Email Copywriting

• A renewed focus on simplifying language and removing jargon to make every email as readable as possible.
• Adding headings to reinforce clear information hierarchy: <h1> for main titles, <h2> for subheads, and <p> for body copy.
• Every image with text or meaning gets a text alternatives, to eliminate unlabelled graphics.

Email Design

• Fonts at a minimum 14-16px for legibility.
• Avoiding the use of color alone to communicate meaning.
• Layouts are all mobile-responsive and clean, with no flashing or autoplay content.

Implementation

• Our email technicians now tag content semantically using headings and paragraph formats.
• We make sure all the key parts of the email are keyboard-navigable, so users can tab through links and buttons with ease.
• Alt text is now a required step on all meaningful images, icons and buttons.

The internal processes and cross-team collaboration we’ve implemented are keeping our clients’ emails compliant without compromising on creativity or performance.

How to Prepare for Tighter Email Accessibility Standards (Without Losing Your Mind)

If you don’t have a dedicated email marketing service team handling your Klaviyo or Yotpo account, there are some things you can do to achieve some quick wins for email accessibility.

1. Start by auditing your email templates for accessibility. You can use tools like Email on Acid for critical pre-send checks.
2. Train your team on accessibility standards, with a special emphasis on the European Accessibility Act. Spot gaps in your email marketing strategy and email design process that you can address using the advice in this article.
3. Built alt text, contrast and semantic HTML into your design process (if they’re not there already).

Email Accessibility, the Hustler Way

Some brands will wait until the last minute to clean up their email accessibility, treating it like another box to tick. Others (like you, probably) already understand that accessibility is really just about respect, reach, and ultimately, performance.

At Hustler Marketing, we’re here for both. Whether you need to overhaul your approach, or simply sharped your email accessibility strategy, we’ll help you build email campaigns that are always compliant, creative, and conversion-worthy.

Book a call with our email marketing experts to talk about future-proofing your entire retention marketing strategy. 

In case you missed them, here are all previous entries in the series:

• Part 1: Email Automation Flows
• Part 2: Email Campaigns That Convert
• Part 3: Email Deliverability & Email List Hygiene
• Part 4: Email Segmentation
• Part 5: Email Design & Email Copywriting

Tariffs are temporary (hopefully). But loyalty isn’t.

Customer loyalty programs are one of the most effective and evergreen ways to turn an email subscriber list into an active community. And it’s that community that will insulate eCommerce brands from margin pressure and short-term economic shocks. Research suggests that eCommerce loyalty program members net between 12 and 18% more revenue than non-members every year.

When you have a base of returning customers who earn rewards, enjoy perks, and feel connected to your brand, you’re less dependent on expensive acquisition and more resistant to price sensitivity.

Let’s explore how loyalty programs can become your most strategic defense against tariff-driven uncertainty.

1: Points & Perks That Buffer Against Price Sensitivity

Points systems let you frame price increases in a positive light. Instead of saying “This now costs $10 more”, you can say:

“Earn 500 bonus points with every purchase this week”.

It shifts the conversation away from what customers lose to what they could gain.

With platforms like Shopify, you can use Yotpo Loyalty to:

• Assign point values to every dollar spent.
• Trigger bonus point events during tariff-driven price hikes.
• Offer double-points weekends to drive conversions without discounting.

Klaviyo Integration Tip:

Use Klaviyo’s custom properties to track loyalty tiers and point totals. This allows you to send segmented campaigns to VIPs (“Your perks just got better”) or trigger automations like “You’ve earned enough for a reward”). You can event rigger automations reminding readers how many points they have accumulated, and then show some ways they can redeem those points.

2: VIP Tiers That Encourage Retention

Tired programs help create emotional stickiness. when customers feel like they’ve earned status, they’re less likely to churn.

Whether you call your tiers Bronze/Silver/Gold or Insider/Premium/Elite, the mechanism si the same: acquiring a new status feels like a win, and motivates action.

You can use tariff-related price changes to amp up this effect. They can become a reason to promote VIP benefits:

• “As a Gold member, your pricing stays locked in for 20 more days.”
• “Elite members (like you!) still get free shipping, no matter the import fee.”

This approach reframes your customer loyalty program as a shield against volatility.

Shopify + Loyalty Expert Tip:

Combine Shopify Tags with loyalty tiers so fulfilment teams and customer service reps can offer perks manually (e.g., upgrade shipping or extend return windows during peak periods).

3: Make it Feel Like an Inside Deal, Not Just Another Customer Loyalty Program

The customers in your loyalty program are probably members of other loyalty programs, too. So they’re able to compare and judge how well yours stacks up.

That means they’re comparing deals and benefits, of course. But not every benefit needs to be monetary. Emotional benefits and exclusivity go a long way to crafting a customer loyalty program that stands out from the crowd.

For this period specifically, you can try:

• Early access to new (pre-tariff) products. Translation: “You’re part of our inner circle”.
• Loyalty-only limited editions. Translation: “You’re getting something other’s can’t.”
• First dibs on bundle pricing before a price hike hits. Translation: “We’re protecting your wallet.”

If you’re working with Klaviyo, use dynamic blocks in your emails to show exclusive content based on loyalty tiers. For example:

• Block A (shown to VIPs): “You have early access to our new drop.”
• Block B (shown to everyone else): “Upgrade your tier to unlock early access.”

This kind of dynamic personalization boosts perceived value without increasing costs.

4: Customer Loyalty Programs Strengthen Lifetime Value for Tariff Resilience

Here’s the simple math behind why customer loyalty programs work so well (especially when every cent counts):

• CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) on a new customers is around 5x higher than the cost of retaining an existing customer.
• CLV (Customer Lifetime Value) of loyalty program members can be up to 3x higher than that of non-members.

That means the more revenue you get from repeat customers, the less each new tariff cuts into your overall margin.

The moral of this story is simple: you don’t need to grow a huge list. You need to grow a sticky one.

5: Make It Visible & Make It Easy

Your customer loyalty program should be front and center, not buried in the footer.

Tactical tips to surface customer loyalty programs in the clearest and easiest ways:

• Use a persistent “Rewards” tab on your Shopify storefront.
• Add point balances in email headers (“You have 200 points to redeem!”).
• Include loyalty status on your post-purchase page.

Customers are more likely to take that extra step and join your program if you make it as easy as possible for them to do so.

Our suggestion: include your loyalty program in every basic blow. You can add a ribbon or a footer in all the emails of a specific email automation flow to maximize the chances of customers seeing it and taking action.

This is especially effective in Welcome and Post-Purchase email flows.

Your Customer Loyalty Program Is Your Homegrown Margin Insurance

Tariffs may raise your COGS, but loyalty raises your resilience. A thoughtful rewards program achieves two critical goals: rewarding customers, and cushioning your revenue against volatility.

So while others panic-discount to chase volume, you’ll be building something better: retention, advocacy, and consistent revenue, no matter the economic climate.

Let your competitors fight over one-time buyers. Your job? Turn uncertainty into loyalty with a customer loyalty program that integrates smoothly into your email marketing infrastructure. 

That’s because, obviously, you can only make a sale if someone opens your emails. And eCommerce email marketing is, in large part, a numbers game. To win, you need to send enough emails, of high enough quality, to get the opens that lead to sales. 

So with that in mind, what is a good open rate for email? In particular, what’s a good open rate (OR) for eCommerce – and how can you improve yours to boost email marketing revenue?

All great questions – and all tricky to answer in brief. But here’s the TL;DR if you’re not in the mood to read to the end:

• Set realistic expectations based on your industry and your niche within it.
• Invest in killer email subject lines (and preheaders).
• The right email list segmentation makes the difference between “viral” and “invisible”.
• Figure out the best email send times for your audience – it may not be what you think.

What is the Average Email Open Rate?

(Also: how long is a piece of string?)

We’re often asked for an average email open rate, to compare against actual rates.

It’s an important question, but it really depends on the industry and niche that you’re working in. Email marketing works differently in each one – and even within industries, certain segments get better average open rates than others. 

According to the latest Klaviyo data, there’s a non-trivial variance in campaign open rates different eCommerce segments:

• Clothing & Accessories: 40.48%
• Food & Beverage: 40.58%
• Health & Beauty: 37.82%
• Office Supplies: 37.79%
• Specialty: 50%

Their data puts the average at 39.74%. Bear in mind that this includes the impact of iOS updates, which really inflate open rates. So if your email open rates are somewhere in the 30’s, you’re doing okay. It could be a lot worse. But it could be a lot better, too, which is where a done-for-you email marketing service can make all the difference in the world (more on that a little later).

What’s the open rate formula?

Here’s how to calculate open rate figures for your monthly KPI report or that email marketing deep dive your CEO is bugging you about:

To calculate the email open rate, divide the number of emails that were opened by the total number of emails that were successfully delivered (not bounced). Then, multiply that result by 100 to get the percentage.

For example, if you sent 1,000 emails and 200 of them were opened, your open rate would be 20% (and your CEO will have some questions for you).

The open rate formula is pretty simple, but getting it to a healthier place takes time.

Here are some fixes to consider if you’re stuck at or below the average email open rate for your niche. 

How to Increase Email Open Rates: 4 Proven Strategies

Send More: Increase Email Frequency To Get More Opens

There’s no hard and fast rule about how many emails an eCommerce store should send. But “at least once a week” is a general rule of thumb. 

The more you send, the more data you have to analyze to find opportunities and spot anomalies. For example, if you notice that a certain send time correlates with a big drop in opens, that’s important. Change things up and find a better time for your audience. 

Basically, your subscribers’ behavior can tell you as much as a direct survey (if not more). You just need to be paying attention, and know how to interpret it. 

And you can only get to the point of having useful data on their behavior if you’re sending at a high enough volume.

Write Engaging Email Subject Lines – You Only Get One Chance (and 50 characters)

The email subject line is the first thing your recipients see. You have a very short space (around 50 characters) to get attention and motivate the click. And we’re all getting tired of cliche, gimmicky or overly aggressive email subject lines cluttering our inboxes. 

Here’s what you want to do instead:

• Personalize where you can. Adding a recipient’s name can be a nice touch – even if it is a little predictable.
• Keep it short: pack as much as you can into the character limit.
• Ensure that there’s follow-through from the subject line to the email content. 

Remember: you’re writing email marketing subject lines, not email subject lines for internal communication. So your focus should always be on what your audience needs. Sometimes that’s humor (great for nurturing content and newsletters). But sometimes it’s more about giving as much information as possible in 50 short characters, like during a sale. 

Pack Value Into Your Email Preheader Text, Too

The preheader text gives the reader a little more context about what’s in the email. Use this space wisely: highlight an offer, a unique selling point, or a teaser that complements the subject line. Think of it as your last shot at convincing the reader to click – not as just something else you need to fill in.

Most email clients display preheader text between 30 and 75 characters on mobile devices, while desktop clients can show up to 130 characters. To ensure visibility, we recommend that you keep preheaders between 40 and 100 characters.

Segment Your Email List

If you have great subject lines and engaging content, but your email open rates still aren’t as high as you’d like, you could be segmenting your list wrong.

Segmentation is kind of a science in itself, so it’s very easy to make mistakes that end up sabotaging your email revenue. Here are some of the biggest:

Over-Segmentation: Creating too many small, niche segments can water down your messaging (and make your email marketing team’s life more difficult without any gain in revenue).

Outdated Segments: Your email list is always changing, and so should your segments. Update them regularly as customers move through different stage of their customer lifecycle with you. But be careful: if you update your segmentation logic too frequently, the result could be duplication or confused messaging.

Only Using Demographics: Demographics like age, gender and location are an obvious starting point for segmentation. But there’s even more to consider, like behavioral and transactional data: purchase history, browsing habits, and others. This means digging into your GA4 data (daunting, we know, but worth it).

Failing to Exclude Customers: Forgetting to exclude certain segments, like sending a “Welcome” email to loyal customers or a “First Purchase Discount” to someone who just bought will irritate readers and skyrocket unsubscribe rates.

Optimize Your Email Send Times

It’s easy to assume that nobody will read your emails on a Monday morning, or that everyone will open at noon on a Wednesday because that’s what the latest industry guide says.

The truth is that this is one of the more dynamic parts of email marketing. So, don’t reach any conclusions until you test and analyze the best times to send your emails. Depending on your audience, certain days and times might give better open rates. And sometimes, it’s not the times you expect. We’ve got amazing results from a Sunday afternoon send. It’s all about your audience – so put in the work to find out what they like.

Sign Up for Our Email Marketing Newsletter

(And open it – just once a month, promise).

Get the inside track on email marketing trends and winning strategies with our monthly Hustler Marketing newsletter. We won’t tell you what our average open rate is, but we will share our knowledge and hard-won expertise to help you skyrocket yours!

But crafting converting landing pages isn’t just about clever copy or aesthetics—it’s about making customers trust you. That’s why creating the perfect landing page can get intimidating. It could be that your landing page design is too complicated or that your CTA or copy isn’t optimized.

Whatever the case, you ‘re not alone. This guide serves as your roadmap to crafting landing pages that transform casual browsers to loyal advocates. So, join us as we share the landing page best practices that have proved to compel action.

1. Save Time with  Landing Page Templates

Building a landing page that ticks all the boxes is challenging, especially if you’re just starting out or don’t have dedicated developers and designers. Pre-made landing page templates are a great starting point to create beautiful landing pages in no time. First,  select the template that matches your specific objective and customize it to fit your branding.

Where can you find professionally designed landing page templates? There are standalone landing page builders that allow you to use ready-made templates and tweak them to your needs. However, having a dedicated tool just to build landing pages might not be the best option. Not when you can hit two birds with one stone at least. How? By using affordable email marketing software to create not only targeted emails but also conversion-focused landing pages.

For instance, you might have an online course coming up and want to promote it through a dedicated email or email series. You should use your  And you get to design both with one tool.

All you need to do is browse built-in landing page templates that span industries and pick the one that aligns with your objectives and style. These templates help  you maintain a consistent brand identity since you can add branding elements like logos, colors, and fonts, and tweak them to match your landing page design.

Plus, you avoid writer’s block by providing pre-written copy and prompts for customization, ensuring effective landing page content. Additionally, the templates provided by popular email marketing services are mobile-optimized—and you can always preview how your design looks on all devices. That way, you ensure a seamless experience for all users.

2. Keep Essential Content Above the Fold

When it comes to webpages , the term “above the fold” refers to the upper part of the product. In other words, what users see first on their screens before starting to scroll down. Here’s how above and below the fold content looks like in different devices:

Online visitors’ attention spans are decreasing due to information overload. But if you keep essential content above the fold, it’s highly likely they’ll read every component they’ll find there.

That’s why you need to prioritize the most important information or actions and keep them at the top of your page.

By placing key landing page elements first, you help visitors understand what you do and why they should care without scrolling through the entire page. These elements include your key message, headline, value proposition, and your CTA.

Also, people using small screens are less likely to scroll through your whole page. So, ensuring key content is visible from the get-go is crucial for improving your users’ mobile experience.

3. Don’t Just Build, But Also Optimize Your Pages

The purpose of your landing pages is to drive conversions. So, when building a CRO plan, you need to analyze and optimize your pages. Start by scrutinizing user behavior.

Tools like Google Analytics or HotJar could be your trusted ally to dive into metrics like bounce rate, time spent on page, and website traffic sources.

You can visualize where users are clicking on your landing page through heatmaps. Also, consider leveraging session recordings to check how visitors navigate through your pages and pinpoint potential issues, such as slow loading times.

Once you’ve identified specific pain points in the user’s journey, it’s time to streamline your landing page design and messaging. Start by simplifying your layout and eliminating any unnecessary distractions that keep visitors from converting. Craft compelling and benefit-driven headlines that clearly communicate your value proposition.

One of the most important elements for boosting conversions is your landing page CTA. So, make it stand out by using contrasting colors and placing it prominently. Also, write actionable and precise CTA copy to encourage users to take the next step.

A/B testing is an integral part of optimizing your landing pages for conversions. Marketers should experiment with variations in headlines, CTAs, layouts, visual components, and forms. It’s key to test one element at a time to identify which change made a significant difference. Analyze your test results and implement the winning elements into your landing page creation.

And don’t leave out mobile optimization. With the increasing number of users accessing websites through mobile devices, you should optimize your landing pages for seamless interaction across different screen types. Test them on various devices to ensure they load quickly, and every component is properly displayed.

4. Include Credibility Elements

Most of your visitors have visited so many websites that they’ve become weary of typical marketing promotions. For this reason, they tend to distrust messages from the business itself. So, you’ll have to find a way to make a difference and get them to trust you. The best way to do so is by spicing things up with some social proof elements. Here’s why:

Adding the stories of satisfied customers offers authenticity to your claims. Credibility elements build trust while minimizing concerns for visitors that aren’t familiar with your brand. People trust online reviews almost as much as recommendations from friends and family.

So, including trust factors throughout your landing page paves the way for customer loyalty. Here are some credibility elements to include in your landing page:

• Customer testimonials: Testimonials are effective when they highlight the pain points your customers faced and how your offering addressed them. Even more so if the customer involved is someone they can identify with, and their story evokes emotions.
• Case studies: This type of social proof shows how your products or services helped consumers navigate through challenges and achieve business results. Case studies work great for B2B companies, especially if the real-world success story is backed up with data that prove the outcome.
• Trust badges: Trust badges, such as security seals or compliance certifications, signal your brand’s commitment to offering a reliable value proposition. To maximize their impact, ensure they are relevant to your users’ concerns. Also, it’s a good idea to place them strategically near your CTAs.
• Customer logos: Adding customer logos to your landing page is a bulletproof way to win trust. It shows visitors that reputable companies have put their trust in your products or services. Again, this is a great tactic for B2B marketers, as long as the logos you include are recognizable by your audience.

5. Match Your Message to Your Ads

It’s not uncommon to use multiple ads on different social media platforms. And it’s only natural to target different audiences with each ad campaign. But if you neglect to match your landing page message and design with your ad, it could turn users off, harming the effectiveness of your ad.

Let’s say a travel website creates an ad to promote a memorable vacation experience featuring images of luxurious villas. But when users click on the ad, they are directed to a generic homepage that offers a wide range of vacation options, including hostels or camping sites. This mismatch could lead to user frustration since they were expecting options matching the luxurious getaway they were promised.

Therefore, it’s crucial to create a consistent user experience by aligning your landing page message with the ads that drive traffic to it. Consider customizing your landing page value proposition, copy, and design for each ad. There should be a smooth transition from the core message conveyed in your ads to your landing page content. Whether it’s introducing a new feature or promoting a limited-time offer, your message should be prominent and consistent throughout the user journey.

It’s essential to include the keywords used in your ads in your landing page content, too. That way, you reinforce the connection between the user’s search intent and your offering.

For a cohesive user experience, your landing page visual components, such as images, videos, colors, and overall design should reflect the branding of your ad campaign. Also, your ad call-to-action must correspond to the action you want users to take on your landing page.

Last but not least, tailor your landing page content to match the audience segment you target with your ads. It’s important to incorporate language and benefits that resonate with their preferences and pain points to show them you know what they need and boost engagement.

Optimize Your Landing Pages for Conversions

Landing pages drive traffic, generate leads, and convert them into customers. So, it’s only natural that they deserve your utmost attention. A well-built landing page can skyrocket your conversion rates and find your way to your users’ hearts.

You should keep in mind that your work doesn’t end there, though. Keep researching your audience and A/B testing different components of your landing page to monitor what drives better results. By following the landing page best practices shared and keep optimizing, you’ll drive your audience to take the desired action–and watch your conversions skyrocket.

About the Author

Maria Fintanidou works as a copywriter for email marketing automation software Moosend, having created the Help Articles (FAQs) and overseen the platform’s translations in Greek and Spanish. She loves exploring new cultures and ways of thinking through traveling, reading, and language learning.

Many of us roll our eyes when we see an email in our inbox asking us to spend time answering questions about a brand – even a brand that we like.

And the discount offer in a survey email subject line usually sounds too good to be true (“100 free pairs up for grabs!”).

But (you knew it was coming) – there is a right way to do customer survey emails. And they can help you to understand your customers better, so you can make the right decisions when sales are lower than you’d like.

In this article, we’re taking a deep dive into customer feedback surveys:

• Need-to-know stats about how many people actually respond to surveys
• A quick case study on a high-end skincare company that saved themselves a LOT of money through feedback survey emails
• Quick guide to creating effective survey request emails, from subject line to sign-off

Feedback Survey Emails: the Good, the Bad, and the Spam-Worthy

It’s no secret that a lot of ecommerce email marketing surveys are poorly executed, and give readers unnecessary work.

That’s probably why the average response rate for feedback surveys hovers somewhere between 20 and 30%.

But email surveys are an essential tool in the email marketing toolbox, for a couple of reasons:

They give you the literal voice of the customer: your current and potential customers are engaging with your website and/or ads. So if you want to answer critical questions about your brand, there is nobody better qualified to answer them.

They’re pretty cheap: the costs are relatively low, even if you use a dedicated survey platform. 

Surveying customers shows you care: people in general may not like surveys. But they do like it when a brand listens. If you give them a chance to air their opinion – and then act on that information, you can make a lasting impression.

Email Marketing Case Study: Customer Survey Emails as a Source of Vital Business Intelligence 

One of our newest clients at Hustler Marketing is a high-end skincare brand that uses natural, safe ingredients. 

When they came onboard, they had great products and beautiful, rich digital experiences from website to social.

Despite all of that, sales weren’t what they wanted them to be – and the relatively high price tag looked like the most obvious culprit.

But we’ve seen this before, and we suspected the picture was more complex. So, before rushing to offer big discounts and special deals, the Hustler Marketing team pitched a different strategy: customer feedback surveys.

A Twofold Survey Invitation Email Strategy

Our team created 2 survey invitation emails, for buyers and non-buyers. These emails were plain text, and each contained a link to a simple Google Form with 5 clear questions.

We ensured that there was minimal friction: the survey was easy to complete, and there was an attractive discount incentive for those who completed it.

Buyers Survey: Focused on demographics, past purchases, satisfaction, packaging, shipping, customer service, overall experience, and suggestions for improvement.

Non-Buyers Survey: Gathered information on skincare habits, age, and reasons for not purchasing.

The Results of Our Customer Survey Emails

For non-buyers, the main barriers in order of priority were:

• I don’t know the brand well enough
• I want to try out a product sample before I buy
• Physical shopping is how I like to buy skincare products
• The price is a little high
• I need more information before I can make a decision

For buyers, the main areas for improvement were:

• There are some issues with packaging
• Product variety isn’t broad enough
• I liked the product, but the price is keeping me from buying again

The really interesting thing here was that price didn’t make #1 position for either segment.

So, if the store had resorted to discounts to boost sales, they would have lost out on revenue (completely unnecessarily). 

How to Create an Effective Survey Request Email

There’s a simple rule when it comes to survey request emails: reduce friction as much as possible.

Friction comes from things like:

Asking too many questions: the more questions you ask, the less time people spend answering each one. So pick a small number of questions that target the info you really want. In the case study we outlined earlier, we went with 5 short questions .

Demanding long form answers: instead of asking “how do you feel about our prices?”, use something like a scale. For example, the question can be: “Our prices are…”, with options ranging from 1 (really low) to 5 (way too high).

Not offering anything in return: you don’t have to offer crazy discounts, but you’re more likely to get engagement if readers feel like there’s something tangible in it for them.

Survey Email Subject Lines: Clear Trumps Clever

People see through email marketing copywriting tricks. So we recommend just being honest and straightforward.

Here are some examples of effective survey email subject lines we used for our skincare client:

• How is your order going? ✨ (curiosity)
• We hope you loved everything✨🌿 (caring)
• Your opinion = 25% off ✨ (help us help you)

Ecommerce Email Marketing That Gets Results: Hustler Marketing Makes it Happen

At the end of the day, getting to know your customer isn’t just about personalizing your email marketing. If you really listen, you can gain real business intel that translates into cold, hard revenue. 

So here’s some advice from an email marketing agency that’s seen it all: don’t forget the tried-and-test email feedback survey. Make it clear and simple, so the people who know your brand best can tell you what’s up.

As always, we at Hustler Marketing are here to help. Reach out to our friendly team to learn more about our done-for-you email & SMS marketing services, and how they could transform your retention marketing strategy for long term growth,

In fact, “client love” is one of our busiest internal Slack channels. We love seeing our clients win. And getting recognition for playing our part in that is an amazing bonus. That’s why we’re so excited to be the winners of Best Retention Marketing Agency for EMEA at this year’s Yotpo Partner Awards.

Keep reading to find out how we did it!

What are the Yotpo Partner Awards?

For eCommerce folks, Yotpo hardly needs an introduction. Yotpo is a cloud-based content marketing platform for managing and analyzing user-generate content like reviews, ratings, and photos. Yotpo helps businesses leverage this content to build trust with potential customers, increase online presence, and boost sales.

The Yotpo Partner Awards recognize excellence with Yotpo’s partner ecosystem. These awards spotlight agencies and technology partners for innovative strategies and exceptional performance in multiple categories.

The category we featured in was retention marketing, and the work that helped us net this award was our partnership with Sunwarrior

Sunwarrior: Helping Earth-Conscious Customers to Crush Their Limits

Sunwarrior provides plant-based, earth-friendly supplements that support athletic performance and provide essential nutrients for a holistic self-care regimen. Sunwarrior’s brand combines a youthful, go-getter vibe with a values-driven ethos. That combination has made them a major player in the health and wellness eCommerce space.

In other words: Sunwarrior is the kind of eCommerce brand that marketers love to work with – and we are grateful for the privilege. Hustler Marketing supports Sunwarrior with retention marketing (email & SMS marketing) and UGC ads. Our thriving partnership is what enabled us to bring home this awesome accolade.

Let’s take a deeper look at that partnership and the work that the Hustler Marketing team has done to help Sunwarrior achieve their marketing goals.

Activating a Passive Subscriber Base Through Innovative Retention Marketing Strategies

Sunwarrior was already a successful brand when they approached Hustler Marketing. They had a large subscriber base, but they realized that they were not getting maximum value from it. There was a real opportunity to uncover new revenue through strategic retention marketing.

To make that happen, Hustler Marketing developed a retention marketing plan that included Yotpo’s tools. They leveraged Yotpo SMS for targeted marketing campaigns, and Yotpo Loyalty to enhance post-purchase experiences.

By integrating Yotpo solutions with Hustler Marketing’s creative efforts in this way, they were able to move the needle on Sunwarrior’s retention revenue. The results included a 63% repeat buyer rate – a huge 152% increase – and 344X return on investment from SMS flows. Their highest-performing campaign achieved s 54X ROI.

This multi-faceted collaboration showed exactly what’s possible when you combine cutting-edge eCommerce tools with a team that genuinely cares about a brand’s success.

Full-Service Marketing Solutions: Retention Marketing & UGC Ads

As Sunwarrior super fans, we’re also proud to support this trailblazing brand with UGC ads and ad creatives. Through this service, we help Sunwarrior to expand their reach through paid social media advertising, tapping into hot trends and creating memorable content that engages new audiences and converts more customers.

Reach out to our friendly team to learn more about Hustler Marketing’s award-winning team could do for your brand. Who knows? Our partnership could be the next big thing in eCommerce marketing!