Fresh approach to email list management

Cold email outreach is often misunderstood as a numbers game - send more, get more. But the truth is, quality always beats quantity. Your success largely depends on the quality of your email list. A well-curated list means you’re reaching the right people with the right message, while a poorly managed list can lead to low engagement, high bounce rates, and damage to your sender reputation. Here’s a few key steps to refine your cold email lists for better results: 1️⃣ Segment your audience: start by dividing your list into segments based on criteria such as industry, job title, company size, or previous interactions with your brand. 2️⃣ Regularly clean your list: over time, email lists can become cluttered with inactive or invalid addresses. Regularly clean your list to remove bounced emails, unsubscribes, and unengaged contacts. This not only improves your deliverability rates but also ensures you’re focusing on prospects who are more likely to engage. 3️⃣ Use data enrichment tools: tools like Clearbit, ZoomInfo, or Hunter.io can help you enrich your email list by adding valuable data points such as the prospect’s role, company details, and social profiles. This extra information enables you to personalize your outreach even further. 4️⃣ Monitor engagement metrics: pay close attention to open rates, click-through rates, and responses. If certain segments of your list are underperforming, it may be time to re-evaluate those contacts. Use these insights to continuously refine your list and improve your targeting. 5️⃣ Leverage intent data: incorporate intent data into your list-building process. This data shows which companies are actively researching solutions like yours, allowing you to target prospects when they’re most interested. Tools like Bombora or 6sense can provide these insights. If you do something extra special to your email lists, share below 🤓 #Sales #ColdEmail #EmailMarketing #Outreach #SalesStrategy

“...we were in a really bad place and you've almost single handedly dragged us into a much more healthy state...” 🥹 A recent B2B client messaged me this. Here’s more 👇: “…a massive, massive thank you for everything you have done – thinking back on what our marketing was like before you joined, we were in a really bad place and you've almost single handedly dragged us into a much more healthy state. So a huge heartfelt thank you, not sure what we would have done without you…” I LOVE getting messages like these! So. What did I change? Their cold email system Here’s the exact 11-step playbook that took them from noise to traction: 1. Your email setup is essential ↳ If your inboxes aren’t healthy, nothing else works ↳ We moved them to Google Workspace + warmed up over 21 days ↳ SPF, DKIM, DMARC needed to be sorted fast. 2. Deliverability matters most ↳ Bounce rates need to be less than 3% ↳ Used Reeon → NeverBounce → Debounce for catch-alls ↳ If reply rates dip, check inbox health first 3. Build lists smartly, not blindly ↳ DON't buy from databases ↳ Built new lists with Store Leads + BuiltWith ↳ Get emails from people attending trade shows! 4. Use frameworks not templates ↳ Rebuild emails using this structure: ↳ Personal Hook → What You Do → Proof → Soft Ask ↳ Corporate fluff was binned 5. Keep sequences short and sharp ↳ 7-message drips don’t work anymore. I used just 3 Max ↳ First message = relevant trigger. Second = add value ↳ Final = relaxed, low-pressure offer 6. Make personalisation authentic ↳ 1 solid line of context beats 5 fake ones ↳ Ours came from LinkedIn posts, press releases, or recent funding ↳ We tied that detail into the value, not just name-dropped 7. Lead with value, not pressure ↳ Volunteer an audit. No ask. ↳ Told them upfront: no obligations, just insights. ↳ Followed up 3 days later with a genuine invitation to go deeper. 8. Use lead magnets that actually help ↳ No ebooks. No gated PDFs. Just usable stuff. ↳ Built a calculator that was helpful to their ICP. ↳ They used it immediately to close 2 deals. 9. Track the right benchmarks ↳ We aimed for 2.4–5.8% reply rates and hit 4.2%. ↳ 38% of replies → meetings within 2 weeks. ↳ <1% reply? It’s not your copy, it’s your list or offer. 10. Subject lines should feel human ↳ We tested 9 subject lines. The winner? “quick one” ↳ Anything pitchy (“Scale your ops now”) got deleted. ↳ If it doesn’t feel like something you’d say aloud, bin it. 11. Tools help, but insight converts ↳ Yes, I use automation, but every insight was hard-earned. ↳ This playbook came from 2 years of testing and fine-tuning. ↳ Just clarity and compounding lessons. 💬 “Not sure what we would have done without you…”. Yes or No: Is your cold email system working the way it should? 👇 Be honest. 👣 Follow me, Kobi Omenaka, for sharp insights on trust-first marketing, podcasting and audience growth 📨 DM me if you have ANY questions about this post

Why most $10M+ companies get their lead lists all wrong. The usual playbook: Buy random lists from the same "A to Z" vendors, spray and pray, and hope for the best. Here's the data-driven approach that actually works: Start with your unicorns ↳ Find accounts with 95%+ retention ↳ Look for customers who ask for multi-year renewals ↳ Focus on customers doing 2X+ expansions ↳ Identify those giving referrals unprompted Scale with precision ↳ Build rich data profiles of more such accounts  ↳ Use Convert or Ocean for lookalikes ↳ Enrich with technographic and intent data ↳ Run validation via waterfall enrichment flow Multi-channel deployment ↳ Stack LinkedIn and calls on top of email  ↳ Leverage Clay-like tools for 1-to-1 personalization ↳ Nail your offers, stack 2-4 for best results ↳ A/B test messaging across channels We've found companies that follow this exact framework see 2X higher response rates compared to traditional list building. Better lists + more channels = better responses = more pipeline.

Here's how to save a dying email list without destroying your deliverability 👇 A few months ago, we were approached by a company that had collected ~150k emails over the life of their business (a subscription platform). They were primarily sending transactional and promotional emails, and the list had gone almost entirely cold at a ~10% open rate. They wanted to re-engage the email list that they'd built by launching a value-focused newsletter for their brand, so they reached out to our team at Tailwind. We turned that 10% open rate into a highly engaged list of 50,000 subscribers (and growing) with a 50% open rate 🚀 So, what's the secret? It comes down to creating content that gives people a genuine reason to open your emails (more on this soon), and a smart, conservative “migration” strategy. Let's focus on the migration strategy piece. Simplified, it’s a 3-step process: 1. Start by adding any contacts/emails that have engaged recently to your newsletter list (this will give you a good foundation to build on) 2. On a weekly basis, add relatively small, manageable cohorts from the dormant list to the newsletter 3. Aggressively churn non-openers That last step is the most important, and where most operators will go wrong. In our approach, if someone doesn't open their first four or five newsletters, they're off the list. Sounds harsh? Maybe. But remember - if you’re starting from a largely dormant list, these folks weren't opening emails anyway! Better to protect your deliverability than keep sending to permanent non-openers. On a weekly basis, this could look like adding 5,000 subscribers from the dormant list and removing 3,000 non-openers from past cohorts. You’re growing by 2,000 subscribers/week, and your engagement stays consistently high because you're only keeping your openers. The results speak for themselves. Not only did we achieve that 50% open rate, but these subscribers actively engage with promotions, respond to surveys, and reply to emails. An engaged list of 50k is more valuable than 150k non-openers!

Their email list was dying, so we tried something radical: we STOPPED creating new content every week. Stop writing brand new newsletters every week. I discovered that recycling 50% of our newsletter content actually INCREASED engagement. (And cut our workload in half) It's called the "Immortal Newsletter" strategy: 50% is timeless, high-performing content on rotation 50% is fresh, trending insights Evergreen + ephemeral The benefits? + Zero subscriber complaints about "repeat" content + 2x faster to produce + Higher open rates than our previous "100% fresh" approach The secret? Most subscribers don't read every single newsletter. So they're actually missing your best content. I was skeptical too. But after 3 months of testing with a Growth Sprints client (and doing it myself for 2+ years), I can't believe more companies aren't doing this. Get off the checkbox marketing treadmill, stop writing brand new newsletters every week and start driving impact. PS - I'm thinking of sharing the exact system we use to select which content to recycle and how we rotate it (for free, no engagement ransom required). Would you want that?

We grew an email list from 0 to 500K subscribers in just 10 months. If I were starting from scratch today, here's exactly how I'd do it again: 1) Nail the Lead Magnet: The fastest way to grow your email list is by offering something valuable in exchange for an email. Think of it like this: people won't give up their email for nothing. Create something they can't ignore: a discount, exclusive content, or a tool they can’t find elsewhere. For us, offering free travel guides was a game-changer. 2) Optimize for Opt-Ins Everywhere: Your website, blog, and even social media accounts should work like opt-in machines. For example: - Add pop-ups and fly outs on key pages. - Place CTAs above the fold. - Use scroll-triggered modals when visitors are engaged. We tested endlessly, and this attention to detail paid off big. 3) Tap Into Paid Growth Early: Ads get a bad rep, but when done right, they’re a growth accelerant. We launched targeted ads promoting our lead magnet and built a funnel that turned traffic into email signups. Paid campaigns helped us scale fast while testing which offers resonated with our audience. 4) Partner with the Right People: Collaborations can grow your list faster than any single effort. Whether it’s co-branded giveaways, email swaps, or shoutouts, find brands or creators that share your target audience. A well-executed partnership will unlock exponential growth. One really unique thing we did: We bought a bunch of viral social accounts and rebranded them for our business. This was huge in kickstarting massive and sustainable growth. And we fast-tracked the social proof we needed to build trust and scale quickly. 5) Focus on Quality, Not Just Quantity: A big list is meaningless without engagement. From Day 1, we focused on high-value emails to ensure subscribers opened, clicked, and stayed. Here’s a pro tip: Consistency wins. Sending emails weekly or bi-weekly keeps your list warm and engaged. 6) Build a Content Machine: Pair email growth with an organic content strategy that feeds your funnel. Blog posts, social media, and SEO aren’t just good for traffic—they create trust. The more valuable content you share, the more people will want to hear from you. 7) Leverage Cheap Marketing Channels in Ways Others Haven’t: This is going to ruffle some feathers but we absolutely dominated cold email for user acquisition. To the tune of 6 figure subscriber acquisition. No one was doing cold email for B2C the way we did it. This proved to be the most scalable yet cheapest acquisition channel we had. — To recap: - Offer something valuable for free to grow your list. - Use every channel—paid and organic—to drive opt-ins. - Build relationships with partners who already have your audience. The result? A system that scales. Your list is the one asset you fully own—start building it ASAP!

🔄 Engagement isn’t a one-time event—it’s a journey. The key is managing audience flow at every stage. Just wrapped up a deep dive into email audience management, and I realized something transformative: we've been focusing on the wrong metrics all along. Most email marketers focus on open rates, click rates, and revenue. But they forget the most important piece—audience flow and the dynamic nature of engagement. Engagement isn't static. Your email list is always moving. The subscriber who buys or opens every email today might be completely disengaged tomorrow. This natural ebb and flow follows purchase cycles and personal needs. People are either becoming more engaged or checking out. Your job? Constantly monitor and drive movement from unengaged → engaged → converted. 📥  A Simple Framework for Audience Flow 🔄 At its core, there are two major buckets: ✅ Active (<180 days) – Has opened an email in the past 180 days ❌ Inactive (180+ days) – Has NOT opened an email in 180+ days The biggest mistake? Most email programs have the same % of unengaged subscribers over time because acquisition is masking the churn. The real problem? They never truly re-engage. 📊 Beyond the Basic Buckets 🗂️ While many start with simple segmentation (active within 180 days vs. inactive beyond 180 days), true audience management requires constant monitoring of movement between segments: ⮕ New subscribers ⮕ Unengaged subscribers ⮕ Engaged non-purchasers ⮕ Active purchasers 🚀 Start Caring About Movement Between Segments 🔍 An engaged subscriber today could be unengaged tomorrow. Engagement is not static—it follows the purchase cycle (or another conversion metric). Key Metrics to Track Per 1,000 Subscribers: ⮕ Revenue generated ⮕ Surveys completed ⮕ Reservations/bookings made ⮕ Logins (if applicable) 🌍 Beyond Email: Are They Engaged Somewhere Else? 📡 ✅ Visiting your website or logging into your app ✅ Making purchases without opening emails ✅ Showing engagement signals outside of email 🎯 Re-Engagement Tactic 🔥 Instead of just focusing on email opens, look at the last purchase date (or another key action). Someone who bought last month but hasn’t opened an email in 90+ days might need a different re-engagement strategy. 💡 The goal? Don’t just build an email list—manage it. Do you actively manage your audience flow? Let’s discuss👇

Struggling with retention? Start here👇 If your emails aren’t even making it to inboxes, nothing else matters. First thing to check? Your deliverability. Are your emails landing in inboxes, or are they going to spam? Are you sending to people who actually engage with your emails? Have past marketing mistakes (like poor segmentation) hurt your sender reputation? Fix this first! Step 1: Segment your list based on engagement. ↳ Send more frequently to people who clicked or opened in the past 7–14 days. ↳ Cut back on sending to those who haven’t engaged in months. Step 2: Focus on content that resonates. ↳ Is your email clear and compelling? ↳ Does it offer real value to the recipient? ↳ Is there a strong CTA that makes taking action easy? Step 3: Optimize for sales, not aesthetics. ↳ Fancy design won’t save an email with weak messaging. ↳ The right copy and offer will always win. Once you nail these basics, you can move on to optimizing automations and refining your overall strategy.