Welcome, let's start with a question
Here's something to think about before we dive in. If Instagram or Facebook shut your account tomorrow, how many of your customers could you still reach?
For a lot of small businesses, the honest answer is "hardly any". That's the problem email solves, and it's where our whole course begins.
Over the next 18 levels, we'll build one complete email programme together, a step at a time. By the end, you'll have a set of emails that bring customers back to buy again. Today we're laying the foundations: why email still works, who our example business is, and what your emails are actually for.
Renting followers versus owning a list
Let's use an analogy. Social media followers are like a market stall on someone else's land. Lots of people walk past. But the landlord sets the rules, changes them whenever they like, and decides how many passers-by actually see your stall.
And they don't show you to many people. One 2026 study of more than 870,000 posts found that the average Facebook post reached about 1.25% of a page's followers. Instagram did better at around 3.2%, but that was still down 14% on the year before. So if you have 1,000 followers, a typical Facebook post might reach about a dozen of them.
An email list is different. It's more like your own shop with your own customer address book. Your email goes straight to the person's inbox. No algorithm decides whether your customers deserve to see it that day. And if you ever move to a new email platform, you take the list with you.
That's what we mean when we say you own an email list but you rent your social followers. Social media is still great for being discovered. Email is where you keep in touch with the people you've found.
Does email really still pay?
Fair question. Email has been around for decades, so surely it's had its day?
Not according to UK marketers. The Data & Marketing Association's Marketer Email Tracker 2026, a survey of 250 UK marketers, puts the return at roughly £41 for every £1 spent on email. That's up from about £38 in its 2021 tracker. Keep in mind it's a survey average reported by marketers themselves, so treat it as a sign of email's strength, not a promise for your shop.
Why does it work so well? Because email is cheap to send, it lands in a place people check every day, and it's aimed at people who already know you. That last point matters most. It's much easier to sell again to a happy customer than to win over a stranger.
What email is for: repeat sales
So what should your emails actually do? In this course, the main job is repeat sales. You've already done the hard work of winning a customer. Email helps that first purchase turn into a second, a third and a tenth.
That breaks down into a few practical goals. Getting first-time buyers back for a second order. Reminding regulars when it's time to restock. Telling loyal customers about new products before anyone else hears. Bringing back people who've drifted away.
Notice what's missing? "Sending a newsletter because everyone else does." Every email you write in this course will have a clear purpose.
Meet our example business
Let's meet the business we'll build for. Say hello to Ember & Oak, a small candle shop run by Priya from her workshop in Bristol. She sells hand-poured soy candles online and at two local markets.
Priya has about 2,400 Instagram followers and roughly 600 past customers from her online shop. Here's her problem. Most customers buy once, usually as a gift, and never come back. A candle burns for around 40 hours, so plenty of those customers need a new one. They've just forgotten about her.
Sound familiar? Priya's goals for email might look like this:
- Get 20% of first-time buyers to place a second order within 90 days.
- Remind regular customers to restock about six weeks after they buy.
- Fill her autumn launch with orders from existing customers before she promotes it on social.
See how each goal is specific and linked to repeat sales? That's what we're aiming for.
Your turn: set your goals
Now think about your own business. Grab a notebook and write down two or three goals. Ask yourself: what would a customer buying again look like for me? How often could they reasonably buy? What do I want them to do next?
Keep each goal concrete. "More sales" is too vague. "Get one in five first-time buyers to order again within three months" is something you can actually measure.
Your task: draft a note to your customers
To finish each level, you'll write an email for Ember & Oak and check it against a short checklist. Today's is a short note telling Priya's existing customers what her emails will give them.
Here's a starter:
Subject: What you'll get from Ember & Oak emails
Hi there, it's Priya from Ember & Oak. I'm starting a small email for customers. About twice a month, you'll get first look at new scents, a nudge when your candle's probably running low, and the occasional subscriber-only offer. No spam, ever, and you can stop them any time.
Now write your own version, for Priya or for your business. One important note: draft it, but don't send it yet. There are UK rules about who you're allowed to email, and we'll cover those properly in the next two levels.
Lesson checklist:
- Does it say who it's from in the first line?
- Does it tell the reader clearly what they'll get?
- Does it say roughly how often you'll email?
- Does each benefit link back to one of your goals?
- Is it short enough to read in under 30 seconds?
Key takeaways
- Social followers are rented: the platform decides how many see your posts, and often it's only a few per cent.
- An email list is owned: it reaches the inbox directly and moves with you if you switch platforms.
- UK marketers in the DMA's 2026 tracker report roughly £41 back for every £1 spent on email.
- In this course, the main job of email is repeat sales from people who already know you.
- Good goals are specific and measurable, like Priya's 20% second-order target.
- Every level ends with an email to write and a checklist to check it against.