How to Design Email Marketing That Connects and Drives ROI

I don't know about you but I miss getting letters in the mail.

My grandma was a prolific letter writer. She was 1 of 14 kids and grew up in rural South Dakota.

She'd send birthday cards filled with stories about my cousins, aunts, and uncles; updates on the weather; news from our annual family reunions and the little old ladies she cared for at the nursing home; and memories of days gone by, when she lived on the farm or when we were little.

I loved getting letters from her and have stash in my closet even today. (The one above is from the 1990s.)

I wrote her back with what was going on with my friends, the weather in Wyoming and later Colorado, what was going on with work, and when I was coming home again. Occasionally, who I was dating made it in if they were deemed Grandma Rie worthy.

We wrote because we wanted to stay in touch. 

The best email marketing does that. It doesn't feel like a sales pitch. It feels like someone checking in to say hi, telling a story, or sharing the family news.

This month, let's look at how you can design an email that connects and gives you the best ROI for your marketing buck.

1. Why Include Email into Your Marketing Mix?

Skip to #2 if you feel like you've heard this before, but in case you’re not convinced email is right for you, read on.

1. It's direct and personal. It’s from me to you. 
2. It can go out fast. (Strategy should take time, but you can usually get an email out in a day if you need to.)
3. You can send it at the right moment in time. (Think abandoned shopping carts or welcome emails.)
4. You can nurture relationships based on activity or inactivity.
5. You own your customer database. 

2. The Anatomy of a High-Impact Marketing Email

Did you know you can design your email for maximum ROI? For every $1 invested in your email marketing, you should see $10–$36 earned (if you do it right.) Make sure you get the biggest bang for your email marketing buck with these tips in our latest blog post.

3. IRL: Sashco Log Home Newsletters

Maybe you already know the value of your email marketing and want to be more consistent but you haven't had the bandwidth, or your team has experienced turnover. That was the case with my clients at Sashco. I pop in now and again to pitch in as needed so they can get their marketing done and they stay top of mind with their log home contractors and homeowners.

4. Action Step: Create a Welcome Email

When someone signs up for your email list, send a welcome email.

Nurture them by—

• Giving them a small next step to take towards their goals.

• Providing more resources (white paper, tips sheet, checklist, etc.)

• Linking your most popular blog posts to read.

• Inviting them to follow you along on socials.

• Letting them know what they can expect next.

5. The Social Proof is in the Pudding

Last month, we talked about how to bring more of YOU and less AI into your social media marketing, and here’s why. It connects. And just so you know, I’m not blowing smoke up ‘yer know what. Here are the numbers.

This post. On Facebook alone. 142.7K Views. 79.6K Viewers. 286 Interactions. 7d 20h Watch time. 100 Follows. (July 10, 2026)

Crazy! I can’t guarantee you’ll go viral, but listen to your market, publish content made for humans, by humans, and that’s helpful to humans, and who knows what will happen?