“Your email list is your business’s most valuable asset. Treat it as the lifeblood of your company, because it is.”
— Derek Halpern
The Email Marketing Advantage, Put on Your Big Knickers for a Real Marketing Strategy
Shocker alert…I’ve got all kinds of knickers in my drawer, and they each serve a purpose. There’s my reliable, everyday big knickers—y’know, the ones that’ve got me covered, keep things nice and secure. Then, there’s my one G-string lurking in there too, that I haven’t touched in ages.
Why? Well ….. because…my cousin once called it “rectal floss,” and gawd save us, the thought of anything flossing any part of me down there put me off for life.
And just like that G-string, social media can sometimes feel pretty lightweight, and a bit…well…frivolous. It can get you the likes, the comments, maybe even follows, but how much substance does it really have? Those carefully crafted posts? After a day or two, poof…they’re gone, buried in the endless scroll never to be seen again.
But email? Now that’s your “big knickers” marketing strategy.
It’s the approach that has you fully covered, sticks around, makes a real impact, and brings the stability your business needs, unlike that lacy little G-string—nice to look at, but in danger of disappearing somewhere the sun don’t shine.
The 1% Rule
I first heard of this from reading one of Denise DT’s blog posts (she’s a money mindset mentor) she said that every time she ran a promotion or a launch 1% of her email list would buy, and it proved true for her…every time.
Would that prove true for my clients too?
Even though I was skeptical I had to find out so I started collating the data from the past 2 years for one of my longest-running clients, take a look at the results – they speak for themselves:
| Date | Promo | List Size | Orders | Conversion rate |
| Jul 2022 | Promo 1 | 5496 | 60 | 1.09% |
| Aug 2022 | Promo 1 | 5468 | 44 | 0.80% |
| Aug 2022 | Promo 2 | 5468 | 62 | 1.13% |
| Sep 2022 | Promo 1 | 5473 | 33 | 0.60% |
| Oct 2022 | Promo 1 | 6032 | 74 | 1.23% |
| Nov 2022 | Promo 1 | 5891 | 83 | 1.41% |
| Nov 2022 | Promo 2 | 5891 | 109 | 1.85% |
| Dec 2022 | Promo 1 | 5851 | 52 | 0.89% |
| Jan 2023 | Promo 1 | 5790 | 65 | 1.12% |
| Feb 2023 | Promo 1 | 6313 | 93 | 1.47% |
| Feb 2023 | Promo 2 | 6313 | 142 | 2.25% |
| Mar 2023 | Promo 1 | 6266 | 36 | 0.57% |
| Mar 2023 | Promo 2 | 6266 | 62 | 0.99% |
| May 2023 | Promo 1 | 6301 | 97 | 1.54% |
| Jun 2023 | Promo 1 | 6254 | 63 | 1.01% |
| Nov 2023 | VIP & Black Friday | 7500 | 120 | 1.60% |
| Average conversion rate | 1.22% |
The thing is, knowing that 1% of your list will buy every time you run a promotion is wonderful, why? Because you can pretty much predict with laser accuracy your income based on the size of your list, the number of promotions you run a month, and your average order value.
And that feels solid.
No need to play the social media roulette of ‘will they won’t they see my post’ never mind read it, never mind take action. This is the real power of direct communication to a list that ‘you own’, a list that no one can take away from you and isn’t sitting on a Facebook page that could be shut down for no good reason at a moment’s notice.
Show Me the Money – Why Email Wins on ROI Every Time
Here’s another eye-opening statistic for you, the Institute of Direct Marketing cites that email marketing gives a return on investment of around x44. It’s easy to read stats like this and gloss over them so stop and read that again.
X44
That means that for every $1 you invest in email marketing, you’ll make about $44 in return.
That’s huge. Once again I looked to see if this statistic was accurate for my client.
I’ll be honest with you, this time I found that it didn’t ring true, in the lowest month the ROI was x12, the highest was x28 but still, none of our other marketing activities brought in anything close to this.
Email Stays, Social Fades – Keep Your Brand in the Spotlight
Social posts come and go, but emails stick around—meaning your brand stays top-of-mind longer. This means email’s “shelf life” gives your customers the chance to revisit (and buy!) on their terms.
I’ve known purchases to be made from emails I sent a month ago, and every day I get notifications telling me that people are buying from emails that were sent weeks ago.
Use Social Media for the Spark, but Make Email Your Sales Engine
I’m not saying never post again and let your social media accounts gather dust in the corner. Social media is a great way to introduce your brand to lots of people, please do hang out and be social with your people on social media but don’t break their trust and try to sell to people on social media who have never heard of your brand before – it’s a cardinal sin.
Use email to nurture long-term connections, build reliable relationships, consistent sales and long-term growth.
So, if you haven’t already, strap on those “big knickers” and start building an email list that’ll truly have your back. No disappearing posts, no empty likes. Just real connections, real results, and real growth.
