Stefan Stefanov

Making magic happen through Email 🦅👁️

You know retention should be a growth engine.
But instead, it’s mostly a source of stress.

👉 If you’re an agency, you’re juggling more accounts - but the systems behind them are patched together and breaking.
👉 If you’re a brand, in-house retention sounds smart… until you’re buried in clunky ESPs, missing data, and slow handoffs.
👉 Or maybe you're running retention - but something feels off. Results are flat. Ops are messy. Team’s flying blind.

You’re not alone. And the pain is real.

Fragmented flows.
Campaigns delayed.
No clear ownership.
And every “quick fix” breaks something else.

You know it could run smoother. Perform better. Without the constant drag.

Now imagine this:

✅ Your lifecycle automations just work - logic is tight, handoffs are seamless
✅ Campaigns go out on time, on brand, without bugs or bottlenecks
✅ Your team knows what to do, and when - without Slack chaos or last-minute scrambles
✅ Strategy, tech, and execution are finally aligned

That’s what I help agencies and brands build:

→ Retention systems that grow without fires
→ Flawless backend ops across email, SMS, and CRM
→ Consulting that turns scattered teams into calm executors

Whether you need a deep audit, help structuring your in-house retention ops, or a partner who knows what “done right” really looks like:

Send me a DM.
Let’s make retention flow again.

Email Production Manager

Looking at the comment sections on LinkedIn… It’s getting crazy!

AI convos ftw lol 🤖

Even making them look more “natural”. with a small letter at the start of a sentence here and there. Long ass comments too.

Sh*t… it’s funny what this has turned into and I’m not questioning the authenticity of anyone but are you? 😆

Retention systems that run without you | Precision-built ops for growing teams | C.E.G. (Certified Email Geek)

Most marketers are addicted to quick wins.

Results this week. ROI this month. A/B tests that must show something by EOD.

But most meaningful progress compounds.

Take Zero-Party Data.

It takes time to collect.
Even more time to analyze.
But once it clicks, it can reshape:

• How you segment and message
• How your flows convert
• Who you attract in the first place

Delayed gratification isn’t a flaw in the system.
It 𝘪𝘴 the system.

What long game are you playing in your marketing right now?

The most misunderstood thing in email?

You tell me 🫵 

IMHO, thinking it’s all about sending emails.

Treating email like a send button means:
Write copy → hit send → tweak subject lines → optimize opens.

Staying top of mind is a big part but don’t get me wrong.

Email isn’t purely a channel.
It’s a system.

And when that system is broken, no amount of clever copy or AI will save it.

What breaks most often?

• Chasing “winning” metrics that lose money
• Testing popups, flows, and campaigns in isolation
• Prioritizing output over structure
• Chasing retention on the expense of acquisition and quantity over quality

Email only works when you build for 𝗲𝗻𝗱-𝘁𝗼-𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, not isolated tactics.

What’s the most common email misconception you keep running into - with teams, clients, or leadership? Let’s make a list in the comments 🗒️

AI will save you time... until it doesn’t.

Here’s what I keep seeing:
• AI-generated SOPs missing key steps
• Summaries that include made-up “facts”
• Action items based on information that doesn’t exist

Why?
Because the person using AI hit copy/paste... and never checked the output.

We 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 the speed AI offers.
But unless you build internal guardrails, you’re just speeding into chaos faster.

What’s worked for us:

✅ Teach the team how to prompt 𝘢𝘯𝘥 QA
✅ Never use output without reading every line
✅ Create a simple AI-use policy (summaries, docs, outlines - what’s okay, what’s not)

AI isn’t the problem.
Undefined usage is.

Does your org have an internal AI playbook? Or winging it for now?

Most walls are made of paper.

If there’s one belief I’d want to build into every team I work with - it’s that.

That just because something 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 fixed, doesn’t mean it is.

That constraints often aren’t real.
That policies can be rewritten.
That “we’ve always done it this way” is the weakest argument in any meeting.

The teams that move fast?
They poke at the wall.
They ask better questions.
They assume improvement is possible.

It’s a mindset thing.
Not ego. Not rebellion. Just... forward energy.

That belief is contagious.
And it spreads fastest from leadership down.

Do your people feel like they can push boundaries?

P.S. Shout out Steven Bartlett for the phrase. Love it!

Do you know your numbers?

Most leadership teams think this just means financials.

But what about the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 deliverables?

• How many emails did you actually send?
• How many versions, translations, and last-minute clones?
• How much troubleshooting and app setup work quietly piles up?

Not everything needs to be counted as a single “unit.” But if you don’t have a way to scope the invisible work, it’s going to cost you - in capacity, morale, and retention.

A quantifiable scope = predictable workload = less chaos.

And everything outside that scope?

Well… there's no free lunch (as we say here).

How do you track the “untrackable” in your team?

Been thinking about this lately:

Agency roles used to feel... fixed.

Account manager does this. Copywriter does that. Strategy stays over here.
Clean boxes. Clear swim lanes.

But lately?

I’m seeing the opposite.

More fluidity.

And it could work - as long as two things are true:
1. Boundaries are clear enough to avoid chaos
2. Redundancy is avoided (no one’s tripping over each other)

The old rigid structure?

Might be holding teams back more than it’s helping so I'm curious... What are you seeing inside your org or with agency partners?

“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦?”

Everyone loves the idea of “surprise and delight.”
But when you’re managing client work, it’s not that simple.

So here’s the question I’ve been thinking about:

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰?

You know the kind:
• A quick dive into an analytics tool to explore something adjacent
• A one-off Loom with a strategy tweak
• A deliverable they didn’t expect - but actually needed

Small moments.
High leverage.
Zero expectation.

But if you’re not careful, these turn into scope creep.
Which means they either stress your team…
Or train clients to expect more than they’re paying for.

So here’s how I’ve started approaching it:

A 3-part framework to protect margin and enable surprise:

1. Baseline clarity - lock down what’s in scope, clearly and early.
2. Buffer zone - build 10-15% bandwidth into your process for “discretionary effort.”
3. Use it intentionally - don’t throw extras randomly. Use them to reinforce trust or momentum when it matters most.

This way, surprise is a strategy - not a burnout driver.

Curious how you approach this.
Do you intentionally leave room for “unscoped value”?

Stop chasing shiny tools. Start asking better questions.

I’ve seen teams throw money and time at new tech stacks…
Only to realize the real issue wasn’t the tool.
It was their thinking.

❌ “Tool X will fix our lifecycle”
❌ “Let’s just buy Y - it works for [cool brand]”

But pause. Ask:

✅ What core problem are we solving?
✅ Is this helping the customer experience?
✅ Could we do this with what we already have?

Because 80% of the time?
You can.

You either already have the feature,
Or a workaround exists - if you’re willing to dig.

Before the next big purchase or “urgent” implementation:
Ask how it improves what’s already working.

Optimization beats overhaul.
Systems over novelty.

Your turn:
What’s a tool your team bought… just to optimize (the lately so popular buzz word) “vanity metrics”?

Incrementally getting better in any (ideally all) of these will bring you the highest ROI.

Not talking about money and work but what fuels them and being the best version of yourself.

Not only for you but for the people around you.

And this might be the best post on LinkedIn ever cause all the work strategies and "hacks" don't matter if you feel like crap.

Master these 10 habits in 2026. 
Feel amazing, reclaim agency + self-respect. 

1. final food 4 hr before bed 
2. screens off 30 min before bed 
3. avoid blue light 2hr before bed, use red/amber
4. book in hand 10 min before sleep 
5. go to bed same time every night 
6. light in eyes when waking (sun or 10k lux)
7. walk for 10 min immediately following eating 
8. daily exercise (even if for 20 min)
9. eat good stuff, ditch the junk 
10. foster friends, family and love 

They read as simple. I promise they'll change your life. Make them non-negotiate life habits. Do them every_single_day.  Once you establish the habits, it is very easy to maintain. Stick with it for two weeks and start getting the dividends.

What do Unilever, Carnivore Snax, Dēpology & 120+ other 7-8 figure ecommerce brands have in common?

They all use No Limit Email to increase profit and improve cashflow.

Why?

Unlike other agencies and internal teams, we deliver more than Email and SMS marketing, we focus on your profit, and what matters most, your cashflow:

-  Access a team of eCom strategists, copywriters and designers to ensure your project is successful.

- Include Email, SMS, Direct Mail & Push Notifications Into Your Strategy Wholistically to drive repeat revenue.

- Track your retention metrics like LTV:CAC, cohort sales, cohort churn, new customer repurchase rate and time between purchases.

Want to see how much better the NoLimit approach performs?

See Our Case Studies: https://www.nolimitemail.com/.

Your 2 options after reading this:

1- Continue with your current email team that only cares about their own metrics & ‘30% of revenue’ - that’s a myth.

2- Try 1 free audit with us, and see how much profit you’re missing out on.

The best way to reach me is via email (mike@nolimitemail.com).

Or

DMing me ‘ROADMAP’ via Linkedin messages.

Michael Galvin

We used email segmentation to generate $2.6M+ for a client in 180 days.

AND we've built 200+ segmented campaign strategies across every industry. 

Here's the thing though:

Some brands get 2x ROAS from their campaigns.
Others get 8x ROAS.

Last month I spent 20+ hours compiling our complete campaign segmentation playbook.

The same system we use for 7 and 8-figure brands across eCommerce.

Inside you'll find:

- Essential segmentation strategies every brand needs
- Audience targeting frameworks with proven conversion tactics
- Behavioral triggers and timing optimization
- Creative personalization that boosts click-through rates
- Testing methodologies for campaign segments
- Real examples of campaigns we've run (with actual ROAS data)

Want it? 

Connect with me 
Like this post
And comment "SEGMENTS" below

Then I'll you the link!

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optimized-seller

amz-listing-masters

no-limit-email

Certified Customer Value Optimization Specialist

Certified Search Marketing Specialist

SMS Strategy Certified

Klaviyo Product Certified

Certified Optimization & Testing Specialist

Email Marketing for 8-Figure eCom Brands | Clients include: Unilever, Carnivore Snax, Dēpology & 120+ more brands.

Book Your Free Audit Call

When you’ve designed 1500+ pop-ups for 120+ brands over the last 5 years.

It’s easy to spot which ones generate the most leads & which ones underperform.

So I spent 2+ weeks creating a “Profit Boosting Pop-up Playbook” (worth $2,000+).

It covers EVERYTHING there is to know about creating high performing pop-ups from scratch.

Every detail. Every nuance. Every secret strategy that most gurus try to hide.

Want access?

1. Connect with me
2. Like this post
3. Comment “SEND”

I’ll then send this over to you.

P.S - Reposts get priority sending

Let me be direct:

eCommerce email marketing has turned into a template factory.

And honestly, it's painful to watch.

Every agency is recycling the same tired guarantees:
"We'll get you to 35% email revenue in 60 days"
 "Double your automation performance or don't pay"

It's like they all attended the same webinar and decided thinking for themselves was too much effort.

Here's what frustrates me most: none of this works if you don't understand WHO you're actually talking to.

I figured this out years ago.

That's why I built my entire system around something most agencies completely overlook:

Zero-party data collection paired with behavioral triggers.

Because understanding what your customers TELL you combined with what they DO beats assumptions every single time.

Most brands are drowning in behavioral signals and ignoring all of them:
Cart abandonment timing patterns
Category browsing sequences
Email engagement history
Repurchase cycle variations

This isn't complicated - it's just work most people won't do.

While other agencies are mass-blasting generic "Don't miss out!" emails to everyone...

You could be delivering precision-targeted messages based on actual customer behavior and preferences.

The performance gap? Massive.

Stop competing on claims everyone's making.
Start competing on intelligence no-one else is gathering.

The $100m+ e-com brands we work with use these tactics to reduce subscription churn. 
 
I've spent 6 months putting our churn strategy into one doc.
 
Inside you'll find:
 
- How to track subscription revenue and customer behaviors
- Why subscribers leave (the real reasons)
- Creating an email strategy to keep subscribers engaged
- Must-have email flows to reduce churn
- Tracking and improving your churn-reduction campaigns
 
Want it?
 
Connect with me and comment "CHURN" down below and I'll send it to you.

Unpopular opinion: performance marketing is in decline.

Over the past few years, brands who focused on performance marketing saw great success.

It's become an unhealthy crutch for many brands.

Not because media buying is bad.

But because brands got reliant on ads for sales, they forgot about customer data and engagement.

Now with data privacy and restrictions on ad platforms, they'll realize the "performance marketing" they were used to was more of a sales function than marketing.

There's no demand created, no value delivered, no qualitative insights gathered.

To get out of the hole, the onus is on brands to build direct relationships with customers.

And brands who collect and automate owned data to personalize customer journeys will see greater growth.

It starts by collecting better data:
→ Where are people getting stuck in the customer journey (helps reduce cart abandons)
→ What benefit your product provides that people are most interested in (helps with messaging)
→ Which type of buyer is most likely to convert (helps with targeting)
→ When are they looking to buy your product (helps with purchase trends)
→ Why are they looking for this solution (helps you come up with better offers)

Unfortunately, you can't get this from dashboards.

While you might not see immediate ROI, it will definitely help you manage CAC more effectively and move products more efficiently.

It's not a revolutionary concept.

But it will require a mindset shift for brands who truly want to put customers first.

Email marketing really boils down to 2 fundamental pillars.


1. Acquisition 
2. Retention

Sure, things like product quality, customer service, brand community, flow, segmentation, ZPD all matter.

But I'm focusing on the highest-leverage activities for a 6-7 figure eCommerce brand.

Ideally, you'd optimize every channel and touchpoint simultaneously.

But realistically, you're constrained by resources - bandwidth, team capacity and capital.

So prioritize initiatives that deliver maximum ROI with minimal friction.
1. Nail down your profit margins and CAC payback
2. Optimize your landing pages for conversion
3. Build out your core email automation sequences

I don't want to hear "but we need cash flow now so we have to focus on acquisition."

Wrong.

A solid retention infrastructure that maximizes conversions is what creates a scalable business.

Once that's locked in, scale one acquisition channel that aligns with your brand.

Don't get lost in the weeds optimizing every tiny detail.

Focus on: impact, certainty, simplicity.

Acquisition and retention.

Paid media, site experience and email.

So many emails these days lack entertainment value.

No one loves your product that much.

Educate your audience? Sure.
But don't make it boring.

The best emails don't feel like marketing.

They feel like content your audience would actually choose to consume.

If you're constantly pushing products and their 2847 benefits, people will stop opening.

What does your audience care about?
What challenges do they face daily?
What content do they consume for fun?

Send emails that entertain.

Talk about trends in their world.
Share observations they relate to.
Reference culture they're part of.
Be useful without always selling.

Sometimes don't mention your product at all.

Because people don't want to be sold to 24/7.

The $100m+ e-com brands all have a dialed in cross-sell flow strategy.
 
AND one thing is clear...

You don't need to sell more products.
You need to sell the right products at the right time.
 
My team told me not to but today I'm giving away our cross-selling playbook for free!
 
Inside you'll find:
 
- What makes a good and bad cross-sell flow
- Key emails and templates of a successful cross-sell flow 
- Implementing your cross-sell flow
- Pitfalls to avoid
- Advanced cross-sell tactics, examples and case studies
 
Want the complete cross-sell guide?
 
Connect with me and comment "CROSSELL" below.
 
And I'll send it to you.

Design matters more than you think in email marketing.

Here's why:

Your sales pitch can only be made when your copy is consumed.

Several things happen in someone's inbox:
They don't see your email at all
They see your email but don't open it
They open by swiping because they're clearing their inbox
They open and read your email

1️⃣ depends on whether your email lands in their inbox.
 That's a deliverability issue. (or maybe they don't check emails)

2️⃣ largely depends on your subject line.
 Basic copywriting. Hopefully you're not over-reliant on clickbait's too.

3️⃣ is where there's opportunity to be captured.
 It's just like social media. How do you stop the scroll? Creative.

You need to capture their attention above-the-fold, in a split second. Or else they're on to the next email.

4️⃣ is a matter of how well you DRAW attention.
 The purpose of design in email is to support copy. You need to help communicate the message.

Ugly designs don't draw attention.

People see an ugly email, they run 💨

Cluttered emails don't draw attention.

No white space, people's eyes glaze over 🥱

Squarish pictures and blocky sections are just not pleasing to the eyes.

I'm not saying all successful brands have super well-done emails.

And just because your emails look good doesn't mean you automatically get sales either.

But it sure does help.

If you're looking to revamp your email strategy...
Go to reallygoodemails .com or milled .com to draw inspiration
Keep a swipefile of designs you like
When you write copy, keep it succinct
Invest in a good designer. Your emails are assets.

Remember, if you want people to remember your brand, you need to give them a reason to remember you.

Beautiful emails are step one.

If you want to give the perception of quality, show you appreciate quality with well-designed emails.

Stop comparing your email performance to "industry standards."

Blindly chasing benchmarks is setting yourself up for failure.

"Industry averages" lump you in with brands that have nothing in common with yours.

Here are two real brands we've worked with:

🧴 Brand A sells luxury skincare for anti-aging.
High price point, considered purchase.
Targeting women 45+ who research extensively.
Products last 60-90 days.

🧴 Brand B sells affordable daily face wash.
Low price point, impulse buy.
Targeting Gen Z who buy based on trends.
Products last 30 days.

Both get categorized as "beauty & personal care."

But the customer behavior is COMPLETELY different.

The purchase decision timeline is different.

The replenishment cycle is different.
The level of brand loyalty is different.
The type of content that resonates is different.

Yet benchmarks would tell you they should perform the same.

This is why cookie-cutter strategies fail.

So yes, use benchmarks when you're just starting out.

But once you have your own data...
Establish your baseline
Track your patterns
Improve against yourself

That's the only comparison that matters.

Stop stressing over metrics that weren't built for your business.

I wanted to do a bit of an analysis on the impact of SMS collection in pop-ups.

And I was surprised by a few things: 

1️⃣ We see up to a 65% drop in popup engagement rate when adding SMS collection.
Why? People abandon the form when asked for their phone number.

2️⃣ Most people checkout immediately from the popup, not from the welcome email.
Why does this matter? If they don't complete the SMS step, they never see the discount code on the success page.

3️⃣ Lead:customer conversion rate decreases anywhere from 4-18% with SMS opt-in.
Why? You're adding friction at the highest intent moment. More steps = more drop-off = fewer buyers.

4️⃣ SMS campaigns still show high attributed revenue and the highest revenue per recipient.
Why? The people who DO give their number are already highly engaged. But you're missing all the customers who bounced.

5️⃣ SMS subscribers recover better in checkout abandonment flows.
But total revenue is still lower because you converted fewer leads into customers in the first place.

The takeaway?

SMS looks amazing in attribution reports.

But it's killing your conversion rate at signup.

You're trading actual customers for a channel metric.

So focus on optimizing for getting more people to become customers first.

What's more important to you?

Attributing revenue to your welcome email...

Or actually getting the sale?

Here's the reality:
50-60% of people never open your welcome email.

That means half your potential customers can't access the discount code you promised them.

They signed up ready to buy.

But now they have to:
Leave your site
Search their inbox
Find your email
Copy the code
Come back to checkout

Every extra step kills conversions.

Show the code on the success page immediately.

Remove the friction.

Convert more browsers into buyers.

We don't use double opt-in for any of our clients.

And all their emails successfully land in the inbox. 

Here's the thing:

Confirmation emails look sketchy no matter what you do.

You can polish them up.

But they'll still feel off because:
1️⃣ Nobody wants to click "confirm subscription" when they think you're about to spam them
2️⃣ They signed up expecting their discount code - not another hoop to jump through
3️⃣ Everyone who doesn't confirm becomes a frustrated prospect who never got what you promised

What works instead?
Only send campaigns to engaged segments (people who actually open/click)
Build exclusion lists for spam traps and fake email addresses
Run deliverability audits monthly to catch blacklist issues early
Auto-remove hard bounces and emails that soft bounce repeatedly
Got someone who's received 20+ emails without engaging? Cut them loose.

This approach keeps your sender reputation strong.

While letting your list grow naturally.

Plus, if you're sending stuff people actually want to read, deliverability takes care of itself.

Intent is everything.

Brands that move intent from curiosity to interest get the follow.

Brands that trigger experiences when customers show higher intent lead to higher conversions.

Brands supporting a user's purchase intent means bringing them closer to a buying decision.

Brands must shift a customer's intent from "I just bought" to "I want to use".

Same goes for your website, your packaging, your customer service, your loyalty program, your social media and literally every brand touchpoint.

If you don't understand intent, you're just trying to sell with brute force.

Be a good brand today.

Don't annoy your customers :)

The effort-reward ratio of true RFM segmentation isn't worth it for most brands.

RFM stands for Recency, Frequency, Monetary.

It scores customers on:
How recently they bought
How often they buy
How much they spend

Sounds great in theory.

But here's the problem...

True RFM can create 125+ possible segments.

To have meaningful results for each segment, you'll need a MASSIVE list.

And probably 4x the number of resources put into each campaign.

If you need to move fast...

You're better off just dealing with these:
Prospects
Customers
One-time customers
Two+ customers

Different campaigns.
 Split flows.
 Different offers.
 Different subject lines.
 Different angles.
 Different CTAs.
 Different goals.

Yes, RFM is useful.

But does it make the most sense for you at THIS point of your business?

Otherwise, play it smart.

Send more, move faster, get more products in hands.

FYI: Your customers don't care about your email open rates.

No one wakes up excited to read marketing emails.
No one wants another discount code cluttering their inbox.
No one enjoys being "nurtured" through a 47-email sequence.
No one likes feeling like a number in your CRM.
No one wants to be "segmented" and "optimized."

But if you can make emails actually valuable...

You now have engaged subscribers.

I've seen how DTC brands were bleeding money on acquisition.
And started focusing on retention instead.

I've seen how the best brands treated email like a conversation, not a broadcast.
You now have customers who actually open your emails.

I learned and started implementing it for our clients.
Suddenly their email revenue doubled.

The old playbook is, well, old.
It's been too company-journey focused.

Once you flip it around and truly understand and focus on the customer, marketing gets way easier and sales come faster

20 alternate promo idea's instead of just the standard "X% off sitewide" play.

Try these:
Tiered discounts with cart value threshold
Free gift with purchase
Free shipping with threshold
Multi-product bundle
Free gift with threshold
Mystery gift with purchase
Tiered discounts with items threshold
Volume deals 
Double/triple points weekend
Up to X% off selected items
Collection-wide sale
Limited-time bundle
Limited edition product available
Express shipping
Free gift wrapping
Free access to Y for X months
Free X year warranty
Entry to giveaway/lucky draw
5 random people getting full refunds
Free upgrade for bigger size

Your main sale should stay simple. Don't overcomplicate it.

But if you're running extended promos or need fresh angles for 2026, these give you options.

Brand indoctrination emails and About pages are probably the most misunderstood assets in eCommerce.

Here's the brutal truth:
It's never about what you want to say.
It's about what they need to know to choose you over everyone else.

What NOT to include:

If your welcome emails are talking about your:
Company history (no one cares how you started in your garage 🙄)
Industry awards (people know you can pay for these 💸)
"Commitment to quality" (shouldn't this be a given? 🤷♂️)
"Passion for excellence" (every brand claims this 🥱)
Team photos with generic bios (unless there's a compelling reason)
Mission statements filled with corporate jargon
Or anything any other brand in your space can claim...

... remove them immediately.

What SHOULD be in there:
Your welcome email and discovery page should answer one question:
"Why should I buy from YOU instead of the 47 other brands selling similar products?"

This means talking about:

✅ Your unique methodology or process
 (The thing only YOU do)

✅ Your controversial stance
 (The hill you're willing to die on)

✅ What you refuse to do
 (Even if it costs you sales)

✅ The problem you solve differently
 (Not just better—differently)

✅ Your unfair advantage
 (What competitors can't easily copy)

Real examples:
❌ "We're committed to sustainable practices"
 ✅ "We reject 40% of our supplier's batches because they don't meet our standards—even when it delays launches"

❌ "Founded in 2018 by two friends"
 ✅ "We spent 3 years reverse-engineering luxury formulas to create the same results at 1/3 the price"

❌ "Award-winning customer service"
 ✅ "We answer every email within 2 hours or you get 20% off your next order—no questions asked"

The test:
Read your welcome email out loud.

Replace your brand name with a competitor's.

Does it still make sense?
If yes, you're being generic.
If no, you've found your differentiation.

The bottom line: your welcome sequence isn't about making people like you.

It's about making the right people choose you.

Rethink your differentiation.

Then use it everywhere.

Most shoppers today anticipate a discount when they buy again.

What if you could leverage that expectation?

By receiving something valuable in return.

A review in exchange for a discount.

We already know reviews are a powerful conversion driver.
Number of reviews
Depth of reviews with customer stories
Detail in reviews with demographics, fit info, etc.

Without these elements, it might appear you're manipulating the system and it won't be effective.

So your goal is to strengthen all three areas.

Here's an interesting approach to test.

Replenishment email 1 👇
Headline: Hold on, no discount yet
 Subhead: But you can unlock it by sharing a review!
10% off for a written review
15% off for a photo/video review

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Everyone wins.

Here's why brand collabs print money for DTC brands.

It's all about creating novelty.

When you launch a collab, you're stacking psychological triggers:
→ Scarcity and urgency (limited run)
→ Fresh demand (something new to buy)
→ Social proof + herd mentality (everyone wants it)

Let me paint a picture.

You run a coffee pod subscription.

A customer just bought 4 months of supply.

Will they come back to your site anytime soon?

Probably not.

They've got what they need.
They know your catalog.
There's zero reason to return.

But what happens when you drop a new blend?

Boom. New demand created.

Now take it further.

Partner with a celebrity barista for that blend.

You've just added social proof and herd mentality to the mix.

Make it a limited edition run of 2,000 capsules only.

Now you've layered in urgency and scarcity.

This works for basically any product category.

It's psychological trigger stacking + leveraging each other's audiences.

Check out these collab campaigns below.

We helped our partner brands execute these.

Every single one crushed revenue targets.

taplio

The Battle

Stefan Stefanov

Michael Galvin

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Performance ScoreStefan Stefanov's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreMichael Galvin's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Stefan Stefanov

Michael Galvin

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Stefan Stefanov's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreMichael Galvin's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreStefan Stefanov's LinkedIn Performance