Why Smart Business Owners Are Still Missing the Boat

The $1 Million Question Every Business Owner Should Ask
If I told you there was a marketing channel that could generate $36 for every $1 you spend,
would you ignore it?
Yet that’s exactly what most business owners are doing with email marketing.

After 21 years in this space—since the early days of Constant Contact when most people thought
email marketing was “just spam”—I’ve watched the same pattern repeat thousands of times.
Business owners who could transform their revenue streams continue to sit on the sidelines,
convinced that email marketing doesn’t work or that people hate getting emails. I was one of the first Constant Contact users and I know that when email marketing is done well, it is a powerful
means of marketing and staying in front of your database.

The reality? You are leaving money on the table every single day.

The “Email Fatigue” Myth That’s Costing You Customers
“People are bombarded with emails. Nobody reads them anymore.”
I hear this objection weekly, and it reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of how email
marketing actually works in 2025.

Here’s what the data really shows:
– Email usage is growing, not shrinking: The average person checks their email 74 times a day.
– ROI is increasing: Email marketing ROI has grown from $38:1 to $36:1 (still the highest
of any digital channel)
– Engagement is strong: Average open rates across industries hover around 21-22%.

The businesses complaining about “email fatigue” are usually the ones sending boring, irrelevant
emails to lists they haven’t maintained. Meanwhile, their competitors who understand email
marketing are quietly building relationships and driving sales.

The truth: People don’t hate emails. They hate bad emails.

Why Your Customers Actually WANT to Hear from You
Let me share something that might surprise you. In a recent survey:

73% of consumers say they prefer email communication from brands
50% of people buy from marketing emails at least once per month
59% of consumers say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions

Your customers aren’t avoiding your emails because they don’t want to hear from you. They’re
avoiding them because you’re not giving them a reason to care.

The businesses winning at email marketing understand this simple truth:
Every email should either educate, entertain, or offer exclusive value. Period.

The Constant Contact Days: Lessons from the Email Marketing Frontier
When I started with Constant Contact in their early days, email marketing was the Wild West. No
best practices, no automation, no fancy segmentation tools.
But you know what we had? Direct access to our customers’ inboxes.

That’s still the most powerful thing about email marketing today. While social media algorithms
decide who sees your content, and paid advertising costs continue to skyrocket, email gives you
direct, unfiltered communication with people who’ve raised their hand and said, “Yes, I want to
hear from you.”

Three things haven’t changed since 2004:

Consistency beats perfection – Regular, helpful emails outperform sporadic “perfect”
campaigns
Permission is everything – Build your list ethically, always
Value first, sell second – Give before you ask

The “My List Is Too Small” Excuse That Cost One Designer $15,000

Let me tell you about Sarah, an interior designer who fought me tooth and nail about email
marketing.
“I only have 37 contacts in my database,” she said. “Email marketing is for big companies with
thousands of subscribers. It’s not worth the effort for someone like me.”
Sound familiar?
After weeks of gentle persistence, she finally agreed to send one email to her tiny list of 37
people. Nothing fancy—just a simple message sharing her latest project with some behind-the-
scenes photos and design insights.
The result? Three people called to schedule consultations within 48 hours.

Three consultations from 37 emails. That’s an 8% response rate for high-value service
calls—better than most Fortune 500 companies achieve with their million-subscriber lists.
Sarah’s average project value? $5,000. Those three emails generated $15,000 in new business.
Her reaction? “I can’t believe I waited so long to try this.“

The Real Reason Most Email Marketing Fails
After watching thousands of campaigns over two decades, I can tell you exactly why most email
marketing fails. It’s not because people don’t read emails. It’s not because lists are “too small.”
It fails because business owners treat email marketing like advertising instead of
relationship building.
They blast the same message to their entire list, wonder why open rates are low, then conclude
email marketing doesn’t work. Meanwhile, businesses that segment their lists, personalize their
content, and focus on providing value are seeing open rates of 40%+ and click rates of 8-12%.
The difference? One approach treats subscribers like numbers. The other treats them like
people.

Your 30-Day Email Marketing Reality Check
Ready to stop leaving money on the table? Here’s your starter framework:
Week 1: Foundation
– Clean your current email list (remove bounces, inactive subscribers)
– Set up a simple welcome sequence for new subscribers
– Create one valuable lead magnet (guide, checklist, template)
Week 2: Content Planning
– Plan 4 educational emails that solve real problems for your customers
– Write 2 emails that showcase customer success stories
– Prepare 1 exclusive offer for subscribers only
Week 3: Automation Setup
– Build a 3-email welcome sequence
– Create abandoned cart recovery (if e-commerce)
– Set up birthday/anniversary campaigns
Week 4: Optimization

– Test subject lines (A/B test everything)
– Review open and click rates
– Survey subscribers about what they want to hear about
The goal isn’t perfection—it’s progress.

The Bottom Line
Email marketing isn’t dead, dying, or even slowing down. It’s evolving, and the businesses that
evolve with it are reaping massive rewards.
While your competitor’s debate whether “people still read emails,” your customers are checking
their inboxes 74 times a day, waiting for something worth their attention.

The question isn’t whether email marketing works.
The question is: Are you going to be the business that figures out how to make it work, or
the one that watches from the sidelines while others profit?

Want to discuss your email marketing strategy?
If you’re ready to stop leaving money on the table and want practical ways to make email marketing work for you, join me this Thursday at Coffee Talk with Shelly.
It’s a free, live Zoom session for women 50+ entrepreneurs where Shelly will share winning email marketing strategies you can start using right away.

Visit Shelly’s LinkedIn profile to reserve your spot.

Shelly Berman
Business Development and Communication Strategist