Email Marketing = The Leg Day of Marketing
There’s one day almost every gym-goer dreads: leg day. It’s so unpopular that many skip it entirely, preferring to train flashier muscles. (I admit, I have skipped it too) But avoiding it creates imbalances and limits your gains and potential strength.
In the digital marketing world, there’s a channel with the same reputation—the “leg day” of marketing, if you will: email. Many businesses dismiss it as outdated or ineffective, favoring flashier channels like paid ads or influencer marketing. But nothing could be further from the truth. While everyone is chasing TikTok fame and likes on Instagram, email marketing is quietly generating more leads than any Social Media platform.
According to Email Tool Tester, the ROI for email marketing is over 3,000% on average— far higher than social media, which sits at 180%. I like to think of email as the quiet, middle-aged powerlifter in the corner, deadlifting 5x his own body weight. Why is he so strong? Because he trains his legs!
Building an Email Marketing Plan:
Like building your legs, slow and steady is the best way to build your email marketing plan. Everyone starts at different points. If you’re just starting your business and have no one to email yet, you can’t compare yourself to a mega corp.
Step 1: Choosing Your Exercise.
What Will You Focus On? Nobody goes to the gym just to stretch; they need a hook, a tangible reason why they are going to even bother.
Discount/promo: “Get 20% off your first order.”
Free Stuff: An eBook, guide, or free webinars that tie into your business.
Early Access: Be the first to know about a new product.
Step 2: Setting Up the Barbell.
Building Your Sign-Up Form
Keep it simple: If you’re just starting, get a service like Mail Chimp, Klaviyo, or HubSpot
Short: Keep the sign-up form short, only name and email.
Easy: Add it to a homepage, after a blog post, and make it easy to find. While some marketers swear by pop-ups, I do not recommend them. It can annoy the user and hurt the experience.
Step 3: Your First Set.
Getting people to sign up!
Social media: Share your story and encourage people to join your “insider list.”
Personal network: Ask friends/family to join.
Partnerships: Team up with complementary businesses for cross-promotions.
Step 4: Progressive Overload.
Congrats, you got them to sign up! Now what? It’s time to nurture the leads.
Welcome email: Thank them and deliver what you promised. (eBook, discount, guide)
Follow-up: Send useful content, testimonials, case studies, or success stories to build trust.
Soft Offer: Introduce a product or service, but frame it as solving a problem.
Re-Engagement / Ongoing: If they haven’t purchased, continue with a mix of educational emails or promotions.
Frequency: Just like trainers warn against hitting the gym too hard on day one, you don’t want to overwhelm your subscribers. Avoid flooding their inbox. Keep a steady rhythm. Start slowly, build consistency, and adjust based on engagement by segmenting your lists.
Step 5: Track Your Progress.
In the gym, you wouldn’t squat without knowing how much weight is on the bar. The same goes for email. Tracking your numbers shows if you’re actually getting better.
Open Rate: Are people even opening your emails?
Click-Through Rate (CTR): Once they open, are they engaging?
Conversions: The ultimate rep — are they taking the action you wanted?
Unsubscribes: If lots of people are bailing, you may be pushing too hard.
Look for trends over time, adjust, and keep adding weight to the bar.
Conclusion
Email marketing might not have the flash of social media or paid advertising, but just like leg day at the gym, it’s what builds real marketing strength. Start small, be consistent, and keep adding “weight” over time. Skip it, and your growth will stall—but commit to it, and email becomes a quiet powerhouse that drives leads, builds loyalty, and delivers one of the highest ROIs in marketing.
Don’t skip leg day—or email day. 💪
