How to reduce CAC with owned email channels

With CAC rising is EMAIL the? UK’s Most Underrated Acquisition Channel? In the UK, email is often underestimated in terms of customer acquisition. Meanwhile, in the U.S., it's a top-performing channel, with 81% of businesses using for acquisition (v. 80% for retention), with an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent (DMA) you can understand why. So why the disconnect in the UK? A big part of it comes down to GDPR & perceived limitations around high-quality data. But after sending billions of acquisition emails for some of the UK’s biggest brands, I can say with confidence: email works—when done right. Here are my top 10 tips for using email as a scalable acquisition tool & ensuring you qualify traffic: 1. 🚫 Don't buy or rent data to send emails yourself Sender reputation determines inbox placement. You could buy the best list, but if you haven't engaged with them before, you are unlikely to inbox. Only work with senders who mail their data. (nb. Delivery is everything to them, so they will ensure your offer drives engagement or they wouldn't send) 2. 🤝 Trust senders to know their audience Ask providers what’s historically performed well—designs, content, send times. Use their insight to maximise your campaign effectiveness. 3. 🧪 ROI rarely comes from a single send Create a structured testing programme. Experiment with subject lines, creative formats, audiences, timing. Think performance, not one-and-done. You wouldn't run a one hit wonder on meta - so don't do it on email. 4. 🔁 Use a multi-touchpoint approach Just like paid media or social, consumers need multiple exposures before they convert. Plan repeat sends to build familiarity and intent. 5. 🖼️ Tell your story, but make it scannable Email gives you space—use it! Combine visuals, GIFs, storytelling. But keep it easy to skim, with prominent CTAs. Guide the reader clearly. 6. 🙅♀️ Skip the “Hi [First Name]” In acquisition, personalisation by name isn’t effective. You haven’t earned a relationship yet—focus on value and relevance first. 7. ✨ Nail your above-the-fold content The top section drives most engagement. Make sure your primary USP shines here. Grab attention fast, and give users a reason to click. 8. 👁️ Think beyond opens—email is brand awareness Even unopened emails contribute. People read subject lines and from-names when deciding what to engage with. An email from “M&S – 50% Off Sale” makes an impact, even if it’s deleted. 9. 📊 Question low open rates Thanks to auto-image loading, open rates are often inflated. So if your open rates are low, it may point to real quality issues—look deeper. 10. 🚀 It can be a pure acquisition channel Email makes it easy to exclude existing customers. Clean deduplication ensures you're reaching only new potential buyers. Email isn’t just a retention tool—it’s a powerhouse for acquisition, brand visibility, and testing at scale. UK marketers who embrace its potential will unlock a competitive edge that many are still missing.

Email can be an experimentation battleground to improve your CAC. Think about it. We spend tens of thousands of dollars each month to send cold traffic to our websites in the hope of acquiring new customers. We aggressively test offers, hooks and creatives through paid media giants. Yet we're often sat on a relatively cheap asset (our email list) that can already help to validate some of our hypotheses. And while this audience is definitely more warmed up than cold traffic, I consider it criminal we don't leverage this channel more as a source of customer insights. Some ideas that can help acquisition teams improve targeting: 🧲 A/B test hooks and offers aggressively in Welcome Flows & Abandoned Carts to optimise profitability 🧲 Feed qualitative insights as to why customers don't convert back to acquisition teams through both these flows 🧲 Use mass campaign sends to A/B test offers, creatives and messaging - especially around social proof within creatives 🧲 Conduct research from 1st to 2nd purchase to find out what results customers get from your products; use the new angles you discover in ads 🧲 Use signup form data to improve hooks and creatives 🧲 Collect advanced UGC via customer success stories, transformation images and even blogs through email automation and repurpose them into paid media creatives There are many ways to generate these on autopilot and start sending the insights back across to acquisition teams to improve the whole business holistically. Work in harmony for best business outcomes. #facebookads #klaviyo #emailmarketing

“Email is a goldmine.” You’ve heard it. Probably said it. But here’s the truth: Most brands are just standing on top of that gold. Not mining it. What passes for email strategy at most $10M+ DTC brands? → One-size-fits-all flows → Monthly promo blasts → Maybe a “VIP” segment based on spend And that’s it. The real opportunity isn’t just more sends. It’s smarter sends. When we rebuild a brand’s email engine, here’s what actually moves the needle: ✅ RFM-based segmentation tied to actual LTV ✅ Predictive modeling to time replenishment and winback ✅ Embedded triggers across web, SMS, and paid to sync messaging by cohort It’s not just email. It’s owned media with real teeth. The result? → Better conversion on every paid channel → Lower CAC via stronger retention → A P&L that doesn’t break when you pause spend You’re not sitting on a goldmine. You’re sitting on a strategy you haven’t activated.