The Goal Digger Podcast

Episode 934: The Email Advantage—The Marketing Strategy That Gets Stronger Over Time

Host: Jenna Kutcher
Date: November 26, 2025

Episode Overview

In this true masterclass-style episode, Jenna Kutcher delivers her most comprehensive, up-to-date guide on email marketing—the strategy she claims is not only still relevant, but getting more powerful as digital platforms and algorithms evolve. Jenna walks listeners through building an email list from scratch, understanding why email remains a foundational asset, and leveraging both timeless principles and emerging trends (like personalization and AI). Designed to outlast fleeting trends, this episode equips entrepreneurs, creatives, and women in business with actionable strategies to make email the growth engine for their brands, without the burnout of endless content creation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Jenna’s “Email Awakening” and Why Email Still Wins

(06:20 – 11:30)

• Jenna recounts learning about email lists from her first business coach, thinking “list” meant “to-do list” at first (!).

  “I remember this feeling of deflation, I was a girl who had worked so hard to grow her Instagram… Turns out [my coach] wasn’t talking about a to-do list… he was talking about my email list, which didn't exist because I didn’t know why I would need one.” (07:07)

• The “ownership” advantage: Social platforms change or disappear, “but your email list is the asset you own.” (09:20)
• High ROI: $36–$43 for each $1 spent on email (10:10), outperforming social posts easily.
• Customers actually prefer email for brand updates (10:50): “90% of people say they’d rather get brand updates via email.”
• Email offers personalization and intimacy impossible with social feeds.
• Memorable Analogy:

  “If social media is a cocktail party… email is a coffee date. It’s intimate, it’s invited.” (09:55)

2. The Future of Email: Trends to Watch

(12:10 – 29:16)

A. Hyper-Personalization

• Gone are the days of “Hi everyone”:

  “The future of email is that every email can and will feel custom-written for your readers.” (13:30)

• Even simple segmentation can transform your engagement.
• Example: Two subscribers—one sees Pinterest, one sees podcast tips—in the same newsletter, tailored to each.

B. AI & Automation

• AI doesn’t replace your voice; it lets you be “more present, more human.” (15:40)
• Use AI for brainstorming, drafts, subject lines, and analytics.

  "With AI, you could spend 10 minutes brainstorming... and you just bought yourself 90 minutes to be with your family." (16:05)

• Automate sequences like welcome emails, birthdays, re-engagement. Set up once, tweak occasionally.

C. Interactive Emails

• Polls, quizzes, clickable carousels, and even direct shopping turn emails into experiences.
• Example: A poll on morning routines, delivering instant results—a simple way to “invite participation” and personalize further. (21:10)
• A single interactive email can outperform many plain-text ones.

D. Privacy & Permission

• Only email those who’ve opted in—minimize spam risk, maximize trust.
• Make unsubscribing clear and easy.

  "You want to make unsubscribing super easy… you want to build trust, let people know they can opt out." (24:24)

• Small, engaged lists outperform massive, indifferent ones.

E. The Newsletter Renaissance

• Newsletters are “having a massive comeback.”

  “Think of your newsletter almost as a product you’re delivering, not just a piece of content.” (27:06)

• Jenna returned to writing her own weekly newsletters for added connection and depth beyond Instagram.
• Consistency and value are more important than perfection.

F. Omnichannel Integration

• Use email as the hub; integrate with social, podcasts, classes, and more.

  “If you think of your marketing almost like a wheel, email is the hub… everything else is a spoke extending out.” (29:11)

• Even basic automations (e.g., a shop triggering delivery emails) can uplevel the subscriber experience.

3. Six Practical Strategies (Action Steps)

(34:15 – 52:44)

1. Tend Your Garden: Plant and Prune

• Keep growing with intention; create simple, high-value lead magnets.
• Regularly “weed out” unengaged subscribers with re-engagement campaigns.

2. Segment to Get Personal

• Start simple: two opt-ins = two segments.

  “Everything is an experiment, it’s not a success or failure, it is information that guides you forward.” (40:00)

• Test offers to see what resonates (share of story: Drew’s health coaching business, 41:30).

3. Automate With Heart

• Set up a welcome sequence:
  • Email 1: Your story.
  • Email 2: Your “why”/core beliefs.
  • Email 3: Quick win + invitation to reply.

4. Befriend AI

• Use ChatGPT to brainstorm subject lines or refine drafts.

  “The goal is not to sound like a robot. It’s actually the opposite… to get back your time so that you can rest, live more, be present.” (46:55)

5. Design For Everyone

• Over 50% of email opens are mobile. Use single column layouts, large tap targets, and accessible fonts/colors.
• Jenna recommends Flodesk for design (49:10).

6. Stay Human—Prioritize Replies & Connection

• Reply invitations (“hit reply”) sparked direct conversations and boosted engagement.

  “My favorite metric isn’t actually open rates, it’s replies. I love when real humans hit reply and talk to me.” (51:22)

• Favor plain text, fewer images—mimics a one-to-one email, feels less like a brand broadcast.
• Serve first, sell selectively (“jab, jab, jab, right hook” method).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Email Ownership:

  “I was basically building my business in rented space.” (07:53)

• On AI Empowerment:

  “AI is a tool, just like your email platform. It is not replacing your voice. It is giving you back your time to be more present, to be more human.” (15:47)

• On List Size Myth:

  “A smaller, engaged list will beat a huge, indifferent one every single time. And I will be here to remind you of that if you ever forget it.” (26:08)

• On Building a Legacy:

  “As you think about your email strategy for next year and beyond, remember, you’re not just building a list, you’re building a legacy. Every email is a brick in the foundation.” (1:01:31)

• On Where True Connections Happen:

  “My most meaningful connections… live in the inbox every single week. For years upon years, I’ve shown up in the inboxes of the people I care about the most.” (59:38)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Jenna’s origin story and email ‘awakening’: 06:20 – 11:30
• The case for “ownership” of your audience: 09:20 – 10:10
• The ROI of email marketing: 10:10 – 11:00
• Email vs. social analogy (‘coffee date’): 09:55
• Emerging trends in email marketing: 12:10 – 29:16
  • Hyper-personalization: 13:30
  • AI & automation: 15:40
  • Interactive emails: 21:10
  • Privacy & small lists: 24:24
  • Newsletter renaissance: 27:06
  • Omnichannel integration: 29:11
• Six practical strategies (how-tos, segment by segment): 34:15 – 52:44
• Final mindset and connection thoughts: 59:38 – 1:02:00
• Action Challenge (‘send to one person’): 1:02:00 – 1:03:28

Actionable Takeaways

• Don’t chase algorithms—own your audience with email.
• Start now: Even one personal, helpful email is forward motion—perfection isn’t required.
• Segment your list and personalize—even small steps matter.
• Lean into automation, but never lose humanity in your communications.
• Invite replies and real conversations; connection wins every time.
• Your email list isn't just a marketing tactic—it's a relationship- and legacy-building tool.

Summary Tone

Jenna is warm, approachable, encouraging, and practical. She shares stories from personal experience, weaves in data, and always circles back to her core message: build a business—and an email list—that serves real people with heart and intention.

Closing Challenge (and Most Memorable Call to Action)

“Picture each subscriber, just one of them… What are they genuinely struggling with? What do they need to hear today? Now go write an email to that one person. Not a sales email, not a perfect email, not an overly polished one. Just write to that one person, just like you’re writing to a friend. Tell them something true. Give them something valuable. Invite them to respond. Let them know that you really are there and be there and hit send. Because that… is inbox intimacy. That is the future of email marketing and it starts right now. It starts with us.”
(1:02:00)

For More

• Free masterclass: GrowAnEmailList.com
• More tools and resources: goaldiggerpodcast.com