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.

Holistic email marketing for 6 & 7 fig e-com brands | CEO at GrowthTrigger

Are you a telehealth brand struggling with:

- High and rising customer acquisition costs.
- Low retention rates and declining lifetime value.
- Disconnected patient communication and retention workflows.
- Manual campaign management that drains internal resources.
- Lack of an in-depth retention marketing strategy or automation expertise.

You’ve come to the right place.

We help digital health brands scale profitably through automated, data-driven email & sms systems.

We’re NOT an email marketing agency. We’re your full-stack telehealth retention partner, combining deep technical execution with a performance-first mindset.

The Problem with Most Marketing Agencies

- Don't understand the unique nature or compliance requirements of telehealth.
- Try to apply traditional DTC/Ecom strategies to a telehealth context.
- Focus on front-loaded sales and short-term metrics instead of long-term retention.
- Rely on generic campaign calendars without data or lifecycle insights.
- Deliver “pretty” emails instead of conversion-optimized, personalized journeys.
- Require constant input and hand-holding from your team.

→ At best, leads to boosted attribution numbers on your email dashboard
→ Fails to have a real impact on business growth & profitability


The GrowthTrigger Difference

We guarantee measurable results that go beyond vanity metrics, building automated retention systems that truly move the needle for your business.

Our strategies focus on more than just revenue. We:

- Leverage 0-party data to personalize communication across every customer lifecycle stage.
- Capture more UGC to enhance your omnichannel experience.
- Automate customer support for improved loyalty and efficiency.
- Integrate education and compliance content to improve adherence and patient satisfaction.
- Drive retention with empowering onboarding sequences.
- Enable founders and clinical teams to focus on care delivery, not campaign execution.

→ The Result: Real, Business-Wide Impact

- Lower acquisition costs and higher marketing efficiency.
- Stronger patient retention and lifetime value.
- 25–50% increase in email-driven revenue within 30–90 days.
- Hands-free, automated retention systems running 24/7.
- Ultimately, a more scalable and profitable telehealth business.

Ready to grow profitably through automated retention systems?

We’re here to help.

- - - - -

Want a free consultation?

👉 Book a call from: https://calendly.com/verneri-growthtrigger/audit
👉 Visit our website: https://growthtrigger.xyz/

Or contact me via:

📧 Email: verneri@growthtrigger.xyz
💬 LinkedIn DMs

Verneri Brander

I used to think networking was stupid.
 
I saw it as purely transactional -
people meeting each other for the sole purpose of getting something from the other person.
 
That mindset stuck with me for a long time.
 
Then I moved to Barcelona.
When I arrived, I knew two people.
 
In 2025, I started going to a few business and networking events.
 
Not because I had some grand strategy -
mostly just to meet people and get out of my comfort zone.
 
Without those events, settling in would’ve been way harder.
 
Making friends.
Finding my people.
Building any kind of social life from scratch.
 
Fast forward to now.
A big part of my social circle consists of people I met at those events.
 
Founders. Operators. Builders.
People with similar mindsets, ambitions, and lifestyles.
 
Spending time together is genuinely fun.
And genuinely inspiring.
 
And today, I finally see it.
 
Networking doesn’t have to be that inauthentic, exploitative thing you imagine when you hear the word.
 
It can simply be about putting yourself in rooms with people you respect -
and seeing what happens when real relationships form.
 
Sometimes that leads to friendships.
Sometimes to business.
Sometimes to nothing at all.
 
And that’s okay.
 
As my business keeps evolving, so does my role.
 
2026 will likely mean more travel.
 
More time in places like Dubai, the US, and other hubs where the concentration of ambitious people in my niche is much higher.
 
Not to “network” in the traditional sense -
but to stay close to the kind of people and environments that raise your standards without saying a word.
 
Funny how something I once dismissed is now becoming a bigger and bigger part of the journey.
 
What do you think about networking? 💬

The Only Email & SMS Marketing Partner for Telehealth Companies | #1 Klaviyo & Customer.io Partner from Finland | CEO at GrowthTrigger

Every international email & sms marketing agency is going after the same crown.
 
They all focus on serving: 
- DTC brands
- Shopify brands
- Brands using Klaviyo
- Brands selling 6-8 figures
- English-speaking businesses
 
This market is already a red ocean, and the competition will only get bloodier.
 
Right now, these agencies are fighting against:
- A handful of high-level, established agencies
- Hundreds of ”email bros” dragging down the reputation of the whole business model
- Up-and-coming AI tools that will start replacing agencies in a lot of the repeatable, mechanical work.
 
Now, my point is not to say this isn’t a good market.
 
But to win in a red ocean, you need to outwork, outsmart, or outbid everyone.
 
And in the past 1.5 years, we decided to take a different approach at GrowthTrigger:
 
→ We searched and found the blue ocean where demand is higher than supply
→ We built a unique skillset and expertise in serving that hyper-specific niche
→ We repeated that in both the international and Finnish-speaking markets.
 
This has turned out to be the best decision we’ve ever made for the business.
 
In just about 1.5 years, we’ve become the best and the only email & sms marketing specialist for telehealth businesses in the US.
↪ Serving this market requires a level of understanding about compliance, telehealth funnel, and custom backend that takes 1000s of hours to garner
↪ After building this expertise, we have literally no competition that would be able to match our level of service
 
Meanwhile in the Finnish-speaking market, Olli Aaltonen has led the team in becoming the most trusted and reputable provider of lifecycle marketing for brands ranging from DTC brands to SaaS and service businesses & more.
↪ In Finland, simply our lifecycle marketing focus and expertise is unbeatable by anyone in the country.
 
Today, we still serve the traditional DTC brands just like we used to, but finding our unique advantages has completely changed the game, and is bringing +80% of our total revenue these days.
 
So if you’re...
1. A telehealth brand
2. A Finnish business looking for lifecycle marketing
... I can guarantee our expertise is unmatched.
 
📲 DM me or Olli Aaltonen and let’s chat!

No alternative text description for this image

How We Helped a Telehealth Brand Gain an Extra $205K in Sales in 15 Days

Find the video walkthrough of the whole strategy in the pinned comments 💬

Extra $205K in Sales in 15 Days for a Telehealth Brand

Your order confirmation email is wasted real estate.

It has 80–90% open rates on AVG.

And still... most order confirmation emails are just:

“Thanks for your order” + Logo + Receipt.

If you’re running a telehealth brand, here’s how to turn that first email into a high-retention touchpoint:

→  𝐀𝐝𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
Give clear next steps based on what they just purchased.
Why? To reduce post-purchase anxiety and cut support tickets.

→ 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐂𝐓𝐀 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐨𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬
Reinforce that they’re not alone in this journey.
Why? You’ll earn trust and cut churn, straight from the get go.

→ 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Ask a question. Invite replies.
Why? Build relationships & prime inbox engagement for future emails.

That one simple order confirmation email?
It’s your highest visibility real estate.
Don’t waste it.

90% of brands put their email CTAs in this one spot because it "looks good." 

But on mobile, it's literally unreachable. 

Here's the placement mistake costing you clicks:

Some years give you numbers.
Others give you answers.

I’ve had both.

And here’s one thing I keep learning:
Nothing is good or bad by default.
Nothing is a failure or a win in isolation.

It’s just... data.

It’s what you decide to do with it that defines the story.

You can call the last 12 months a loss.
Or you can call it a live-fire test of what doesn’t work...
so you're one iteration closer to the thing that will.

Because the truth is:

→ A year “wasted” on the wrong biz might be the only reason you recognize the right one.
→ A failed launch might give you the clarity that years of theory never could.
→ And the thing that broke you might be the thing that builds the next version of you.

Perspective is the real leverage.

You can’t always control what happens.
But you can always choose what it means.

And that choice?
That’s the difference between quitting at chapter two…
or writing a story worth telling.

Most telehealth emails are still stuck in “generic + boring” mode.

But they don’t have to be.

Even a basic product showcase becomes 10x more engaging when you match the season, moment, or mindset your audience is in.

In these two recent campaigns, we:
 → Used generative AI to make the design timely
 → Aligned copy with cold season + post-holiday reset mindset
 → Turned boring emails into something people actually want to engage with

Same product.
Way better delivery.

Stop sending emails that look like everyone else's.

Most ecom brands kill their email conversions with this one design element. 

They think they're being helpful by adding it at the top. But it's tanking click rates by 20-50%. 

Here's the counterintuitive fix:

There's a psychology trick hiding in every product photo you use. 

Most brands never think about it. The ones who do see instant click rate improvements.

Here's the detail making or breaking your conversions:

If your telehealth brand only captures emails and phone numbers after someone starts your health questionnaire...
You're leaving tens or hundreds of thousands in revenue on the table, every month.

Here’s why:
→ The questionnaire takes minutes to complete.
→ It filters in only the 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭, most sales-ready traffic.
→ Everyone else? They bounce. And you never see them again.

Which is wild when you think about it - because you paid to get them there.

Most of them 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 to fill out a multi-step form on the first visit.

But they might be ready to:
→ See how it works
→ Hear from a real patient
→ Learn more about the results
→ Get a limited-time offer or incentive

All you need is a low-friction, high-converting email & SMS popup.

Not some generic “10% off” banner.

But something designed to:
✅ Speak to the core desire (weight loss, longevity, better hair/skin...)
✅ Offer real value or insight
✅ Give you a second chance to build trust and retarget

That’s how you grow a 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 of warm, owned leads - instead of paying $X per click just to lose them forever.

And when done right?

We’ve seen this one change add 6 figures in monthly revenue by turning cold traffic into high-intent flows that nurture, educate, and convert.

Stop chasing only the 1% ready to convert today.
Start capturing the 99% who just need a bit more time.

The Only Email & SMS Marketing Partner for Telehealth Companies | #1 Klaviyo & Customer.io Partner | CEO at GrowthTrigger

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