Your Email List Is Sitting There. Are You Actually Using It?

You have a list of people who liked you enough to hand over their email address. People who attended your event, downloaded your resource, bought from you, or simply said yes when you asked. And what are you doing with them?

For most businesses, the honest answer is: not much.

The email list gets built, added to, and then largely ignored. Maybe you send something when you have news. Maybe you send something at Christmas. But consistent, intentional email marketing? That is where most businesses fall short.

And it is one of the biggest missed opportunities I see.

Why Email Marketing Still Outperforms Every Other Channel

Social media is borrowed land. Your Instagram following, your LinkedIn connections, the platform owns that audience, not you. If the algorithm changes, if the platform changes its rules, if your account gets flagged, your reach disappears overnight.

Your email list is yours. Nobody can take it away.

Email also converts. Across all of my clients, I consistently achieve open rates of 35 per cent and above. The industry average sits around 20 to 25 per cent. When you write the right email, to the right person, at the right time, it works.

What Is the Best Way to Use an Email List for a Small Business?

The most effective thing you can do with your email list is treat your newsletter as a content hub rather than a broadcast channel.

Instead of sending standalone emails with a single message, think about pulling everything together. Your latest blog post. A recap of a recent event. A piece of industry news. A client win you are proud of. Something personal that shows who you are behind the business.

Done well, a newsletter does not feel like marketing. It feels like a conversation. It keeps your audience warm, your brand front of mind, and your community engaged between the moments when you actually need something from them.

How to Repurpose Content You Already Have Into Email Marketing

Here is the thing most businesses miss. You are probably already creating content that would work brilliantly in an email. Blog posts, social media content, event highlights, case studies, team updates. The content exists. It just needs pulling together.

Your email newsletter does not have to be created from scratch every time. Curate what you already have. Add a personal introduction. Give it a point of view. Send it consistently.

Consistency is the part most people skip. A newsletter sent once in a while does not build habit. A newsletter that lands in inboxes every two weeks becomes something people look forward to.

How Often Should You Send Marketing Emails?

For most small businesses, bi-weekly is the sweet spot. Frequent enough to stay top of mind, infrequent enough that you are not burning out or filling inboxes.

What matters more than frequency is consistency. Pick a cadence and stick to it. Your audience will begin to expect it, and expectation builds trust.

What to Do This Week

Pull up your email list and ask yourself honestly: when did I last send something? When did I last give these people a reason to remember me?

If the answer is uncomfortable, that is fine. Start now. Write something short, genuine and useful. Send it. See what happens.

Your list is sitting there. Use it.

Frequently Asked Questions About Email Marketing

What email open rate should I aim for?

Industry average open rates sit between 20 and 25 per cent. If you are achieving 30 per cent or above, you are performing well. Consistently hitting 35 per cent or more, as I do across my clients, indicates strong subject lines, a well-segmented list and content that genuinely resonates with your audience.

Is email marketing still effective in 2026?

Yes. Email marketing consistently delivers higher ROI than social media for most businesses. Unlike social platforms, you own your email list. Nobody can change an algorithm and take your audience away from you.

What should I include in a marketing email?

A mix of educational content, personal updates and occasional promotional messages works best. A good starting point is 70 per cent value-led content, 20 per cent brand and culture, and 10 per cent promotional.

How do I grow my email list?

Offer something genuinely useful in exchange for an email address, a resource, a guide, a discount, or access to exclusive content. Make signing up easy and visible on your website, and promote it consistently on social media.

Katie Leuw is a Fractional Head of Marketing based in Hertfordshire, specialising in email marketing, LinkedIn and marketing strategy for growing businesses. Get in touch at katie@katieleuwmarketing.com