Email marketing still works. But the way many brands use it is quietly doing more harm than good.
In this sessions episode, Kay looks at why generic “send to all” email blasts damage performance over time, erodes trust, wastes budget, and why a more targeted, considered approach consistently outperforms volume-led sending.
The real problem with email blasts
If you’re sending the same email to everyone on your list, regardless of who they are or what they care about, you’re relying on hope rather than strategy.
The thinking is usually simple, send it to enough people and someone will buy. But high volume does not equal high value. Email works best when it’s precise, not loud.
A good way to think about it is like watering a garden. A wide spray covers everything, wastes water, and still doesn’t reach the roots properly. Precision feeding delivers far better results with far less waste.
The hidden damage of “send to all”
Every time you blast your entire list, there’s a cost that doesn’t show up in a single campaign report.
Mailbox providers track engagement. When large numbers of people ignore or delete your emails, your sender reputation suffers and future emails are more likely to end up in spam. Subscribers who feel like just another number start opting out. Over time, your brand name becomes something people skim past rather than open.
There’s also a very real financial cost. You’re paying your email platform to deliver messages to people who were never interested in the first place.
Why people stop paying attention
Most inboxes are already overflowing. The average professional receives well over a hundred emails a day, so attention is scarce. When an email doesn’t feel relevant, it doesn’t get considered and it gets deleted.
Relevance matters more than most brands realise. If someone owns a cat and you email them about dog beds, you don’t just miss the sale. You signal that you don’t really understand them. That moment of disconnect reduces trust.
And then there’s personalisation. “Dear customer” doesn’t feel human. Messages that reflect what someone has browsed, bought, or shown interest in feel intentional. Intentional emails get opened.
A better approach: relevance over reach
Modern email marketing is about delivering the right message to the right person at the right time.
That starts with segmentation. Instead of one list, you build multiple conversations. Location, past purchase, browsing behaviour, lifecycle stage, and communication preferences all help shape who should receive what. Even basic segmentation can transform performance.
Once you stop treating everyone the same, email becomes useful rather than intrusive.
Why automation outperforms blasts
The strongest email results almost always come from automated and triggered campaigns than manual sends.
These emails arrive when they’re most relevant. A welcome sequence sets expectations and introduces the brand properly. An abandoned cart email reminds someone of something they were already considering. Post-purchase emails provide reassurance, care advice, or complementary products. Re-engagement flows quietly test whether dormant subscribers still want to hear from you.
Because these messages are timely and contextual, they consistently achieve higher open rates, stronger click-throughs, and better conversion rates than generic broadcasts.
Measure what actually matters
If you want email to perform, stop judging success by how many people you send to. Open rates tell you whether your subject lines resonate. Click-through rates show whether the content was worth engaging with. Conversion rates reveal whether emails are driving real outcomes. And list growth versus churn tells you whether your strategy is sustainable.
Sending more emails isn’t progress. Sending better emails is.
Precision always wins
Email is a privilege, not a right.
Treat your subscribers’ inboxes like a living room you’ve been invited to, not a billboard you’re shouting at.
When you prioritise quality over quantity, use data to guide decisions, and focus on relevance rather than reach, email stops being noisy and starts converting.
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