AI & Automation
Personas
Ecommerce
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
Last month, I was working on a complete website revamp for a Shopify e-commerce client. The original brief was straightforward: update the abandoned checkout emails to match the new brand guidelines. New colors, new fonts, done.
But as I opened the old template—with its product grid, discount codes, and "COMPLETE YOUR ORDER NOW" buttons—something felt off. This was exactly what every other e-commerce store was sending.
You know the drill: aggressive subject lines, giant discount percentages, and corporate templates that scream "automated marketing." The problem? These campaigns were driving unsubscribes faster than conversions.
Instead of just updating colors, I completely reimagined the approach. What if we stopped treating discount emails like promotional blasts and started treating them like personal conversations?
Here's what you'll learn from my experiment:
Why traditional discount email templates actually hurt retention
The psychology behind high unsubscribe rates in promotional campaigns
A proven framework for turning discount emails into relationship builders
Specific tactics that doubled email engagement while reducing unsubscribes
Real examples from my client work with actual performance metrics
This isn't about sending fewer emails—it's about sending better ones. Let me show you exactly how I transformed promotional emails from subscription killers into conversation starters.
Industry Reality
What every marketer thinks they know about discount emails
Walk into any marketing agency, and they'll tell you the "proven" formula for discount email campaigns. It's become the standard playbook across the industry:
The Traditional Discount Email Formula:
Eye-catching subject line with discount percentage
Hero image showcasing the offer
Product grid with original and discounted prices
Urgency-driven copy with countdown timers
Multiple CTAs throughout the email
Most email marketing "experts" will tell you this works because it's direct, clear, and creates urgency. The metrics seem to support it too—high open rates from promotional subject lines, decent click-through rates from prominent CTAs.
The problem is, everyone's looking at the wrong metrics. Sure, these emails might drive immediate clicks, but what about the long-term health of your email list? What about brand perception? What about customer lifetime value?
The conventional wisdom focuses on short-term conversion at the expense of long-term relationship building. Every discount email becomes a transaction, not a conversation. Every promotional blast trains your customers to wait for sales instead of valuing your regular pricing.
But here's the uncomfortable truth: if your discount emails look like everyone else's, your customers are treating them like everyone else's—which means ignoring them or, worse, unsubscribing from them.
The industry has created a race to the bottom where brands compete on who can shout the loudest about their discounts, completely missing the opportunity to build genuine connections with their audience.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
When I started working on this Shopify client's email strategy, they were facing a classic problem: their promotional emails were getting decent immediate results but hemorrhaging subscribers. Every discount campaign brought in some quick sales, but also triggered a wave of unsubscribes.
The client sold handmade products—beautiful, artisanal items that took weeks to create. But their email campaigns made them look like just another discount retailer. The disconnect was jarring.
Their previous setup was textbook e-commerce marketing. Bright red banners screaming "20% OFF EVERYTHING!" Product grids showing crossed-out prices. Subject lines like "FLASH SALE: Don't Miss Out!" and "Last Chance - 24 Hours Only!"
The numbers told the story. Open rates were actually decent at around 28%, but unsubscribe rates spiked to 3-4% during discount campaigns (normal is 0.5-1%). Worse, the customers who stayed engaged were training themselves to only buy during sales.
During one particularly painful campaign review, the client mentioned something that stuck with me: "I feel like I'm spamming my own customers."
That's when I realized the real problem. It wasn't the frequency of emails or even the discount strategy itself. It was that they were treating their email list like a broadcast channel instead of a community.
The breakthrough came when we analyzed their customer support emails. These were personal, helpful, and had a completely different tone. Customers actually replied to these emails, asking questions, sharing feedback, building relationships.
So I proposed an experiment: What if we wrote discount emails the same way we wrote customer support emails?
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Instead of following the standard promotional template, I developed what I call the "Personal Letter" approach to discount emails. The goal was to make every promotional email feel like a personal note from the business owner, not an automated marketing blast.
The Personal Letter Framework:
Step 1: Ditch the Template
We completely abandoned the traditional e-commerce email template. No more product grids, no more promotional banners, no more corporate layouts. Instead, we designed emails that looked like personal newsletters—clean, simple, text-focused with minimal imagery.
Step 2: Change the Subject Line Strategy
Instead of "FLASH SALE: 20% OFF!" we used subject lines like "You had started your order..." or "Quick question about your cart." The goal was curiosity, not urgency.
Step 3: Write in First Person
Every email was written as if the business owner was personally reaching out. We used "I" instead of "we," shared personal insights about the business, and addressed specific customer pain points we'd observed.
Step 4: Address Real Problems
This was the game-changer. Instead of just announcing a discount, we used the email to solve actual problems customers were facing. For abandoned cart emails, we included troubleshooting tips for common checkout issues.
Step 5: Make Discounts Feel Personal
Rather than broadcasting percentage-off sales, we framed discounts as personal gestures. "I noticed you've been browsing our collection, so I wanted to offer you early access to our seasonal pricing." Same discount, completely different context.
Step 6: Encourage Replies
We explicitly invited customers to reply with questions, feedback, or just to say hello. This transformed one-way promotional blasts into two-way conversations.
The implementation was surprisingly simple, but the psychology behind it was powerful. Instead of feeling like promotional targets, customers felt like valued members of a community.
Story-First
We led with narrative instead of offers—sharing the story behind products before mentioning any discounts
Problem-Solving
Every email addressed a real customer pain point first—discount was positioned as a solution
Two-Way Street
We explicitly encouraged replies and responses—turning broadcasts into conversations
Personal Touch
Written in first person as if the founder was personally reaching out to each subscriber
The transformation was immediate and dramatic. Within the first month of implementing the personal letter approach, we saw a complete reversal of the previous email performance trends.
Unsubscribe Rate Impact: Unsubscribe rates during discount campaigns dropped from 3-4% to under 1%. More importantly, overall list health improved as customers stopped associating promotional emails with spam.
Engagement Transformation: The most surprising result wasn't the metrics—it was the replies. Customers started responding to promotional emails, asking questions, sharing feedback, and even just saying thank you. Some emails generated 20-30 personal replies.
Long-term Retention: The personal approach created stronger customer relationships. Instead of training customers to only buy during sales, we built anticipation for regular communication from the brand.
But here's what really mattered: the client stopped feeling like they were spamming their customers. The stress and guilt around promotional emails disappeared, replaced by genuine excitement about connecting with their audience.
The lesson became clear—when you treat promotional emails like personal conversations rather than marketing broadcasts, customers respond like friends rather than targets.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
This experiment taught me seven crucial lessons about email marketing that completely changed how I approach promotional campaigns:
1. Template Fatigue is Real
Customers develop banner blindness for promotional email templates. When every discount email looks the same, they all get ignored the same way.
2. Context Matters More Than Discount Size
A 10% discount positioned as a personal gesture outperforms a 20% discount positioned as a promotional blast.
3. First-Person Writing Creates Connection
"I" emails feel personal. "We" emails feel corporate. This simple change in perspective transforms the entire relationship dynamic.
4. Problem-First, Solution-Second
Leading with customer problems before offering solutions (including discounts) makes the entire email more valuable and less salesy.
5. Replies Indicate Real Engagement
If customers aren't replying to your emails, you're broadcasting, not communicating. The goal should be conversation, not just conversion.
6. Unsubscribe Rates Are Leading Indicators
High unsubscribe rates during promotional campaigns predict long-term list decay and brand damage. Fix the approach, not just the frequency.
7. Email is a Relationship Channel
The most successful email strategies treat every message as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship, not just drive immediate sales.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS companies implementing this approach:
Write discount emails like founder updates—personal, direct, story-driven
Address specific user pain points before mentioning pricing offers
Use trial extension emails as relationship-building opportunities
Frame discounts as "early access" or "insider pricing" rather than mass promotions
For your Ecommerce store
For e-commerce stores implementing this strategy:
Replace product grids with story-driven layouts that happen to include products
Use abandoned cart emails to solve checkout problems, not just push sales
Write seasonal promotions as personal letters about the collection
Encourage customer replies to build community around your brand