How We Turned $38K into $137K

Hey, it's Arik.

I want to show you something that perfectly illustrates why preparation matters more than execution when it comes to email marketing.

We have a client in the health niche (I can't name them since I'm sharing real numbers) that just wrapped up one of their biggest quarters. But what they accomplished between September and December is a masterclass in strategic email marketing.

Let me break down the numbers and show you exactly how strategic preparation turned a solid two-month period into an absolutely explosive holiday season.

Let me walk you through exactly what we did and how it all came together.


The Foundation: September and October Performance

During September and October, this brand generated $38,164.66 in total revenue, with email accounting for $18,952.12 of that (nearly 50% of their entire business revenue). That's exactly where you want to be as a health brand with strong customer relationships.

We were strategically preparing customers for the holiday season in ways that most brands completely overlook. Every email we sent, every flow we optimized, every segment we tested was designed with November and December in mind.


The Strategy: Building Momentum Before the Storm
Here's what we focused on:

1. Expanding Our Reach
We started opening up our email sends to wider segments, bringing back subscribers who hadn't engaged in months and introducing newer subscribers to the brand's core products.

2. Building Excitement
Instead of waiting until Black Friday to start building excitement, we began creating anticipation early. We highlighted bestselling products, shared customer success stories, and started planting seeds about upcoming opportunities.

3. Optimizing Our Flows
We revamped key automated flows in June, and September-October was when we really started seeing the compound effects of those improvements.

The health space is perfect for this approach because customers are already invested in their wellness journey, and they want to hear about products that can help them.


The Payoff: November - December Explosion
Then November and December happened, and everything we'd been building toward came together in the most beautiful way.

Total business revenue jumped to $137,597.87, a 261% increase from the previous period. Email attributed revenue more than doubled to $46,469.44, representing a 145% increase.

Even though email's percentage of total revenue dropped slightly to 33.77%, this was actually great news. It meant other channels were also performing incredibly well, but email remained the crucial foundation driving consistent, profitable revenue.


What Made the Difference
Looking back at these results, several key factors contributed to this success. The early preparation was absolutely crucial. By starting our holiday strategy in September rather than waiting until November, we had time to build momentum gradually rather than trying to create urgency out of nowhere.

The flow optimization work we'd done earlier in the year was paying compound dividends. Small improvements in conversion rates and messaging had time to accumulate and show their true impact during the high-traffic holiday period.

Our approach to segment expansion was also strategic. Rather than blasting everyone with the same message, we gradually brought back inactive subscribers and tested different approaches with different audience segments. This meant that by the time November rolled around, we had a larger, more engaged audience ready to receive our holiday campaigns.


The Compound Effect in Action
What I find most fascinating about this case study is how it demonstrates the compound effect of strategic email marketing. Every optimization we made, every flow we improved, every segment we refined contributed to the final result.

The Welcome Series improvements we made in June were still paying dividends in December. The Browse Abandonment flow optimizations were catching more customers six months later. The audience expansion we did in September created a larger pool of engaged subscribers for our November campaigns.

This is why I'm so passionate about taking a long-term approach to email marketing, especially in the health space. Your customers aren't just making one-time purchases, they're embarking on wellness journeys that can last years. When you build systems that support and nurture those journeys, the results compound over time.


Lessons for Your Business
If you're running a health brand or any business with strong customer relationships, there are several key takeaways from this success story.

Start your peak season preparation months in advance. Don't wait until your busy period to begin building excitement and optimizing your systems. Use the quieter months to test, refine, and prepare for when traffic and engagement spike.

Invest heavily in your automated flows. While campaigns get the attention and drive immediate results, flows are what create consistent, long-term revenue. A well-optimized Welcome Series or Abandoned Cart flow will continue generating revenue for months or years after you set it up.

Think about your audience expansion strategically. Don't just focus on acquiring new subscribers, work on re-engaging inactive ones and gradually expanding your reach to segments that might be interested but haven't engaged recently.

Pay attention to the relationship between campaigns and flows. They should work together to create a complete customer experience, not compete with each other for attention.

Track the right metrics. Revenue per recipient often tells a more important story than total revenue because it shows efficiency improvements, not just volume increases.

What You Can Do Right Now:

1. Take a close look at your current automated flows. When did you last optimize your Welcome Series, Browse Abandonment, or Post Purchase sequences? Small improvements in these areas compound over time and can dramatically impact your results during peak periods.

2. Start planning your next major season or campaign months in advance. Use slower periods to build anticipation, expand your audience, and test different approaches rather than just maintaining the status quo.

3. Review your revenue per recipient metrics. Are you seeing improvements in efficiency, or are you just growing through volume? Both are important, but efficiency improvements often indicate stronger customer relationships and better long-term prospects.

4. Consider how your campaigns and flows work together. Are they creating a cohesive customer experience, or do they feel disconnected? The best email programs create seamless journeys that guide customers from awareness to advocacy.

See you next Thursday,
Arik