The Email Marketing Trends No One's Telling You (and why your platform isn't the problem)

Kathy Farah
Sep 30
4 min read

You can spend hours researching platforms, watching YouTube comparisons, and reading feature breakdowns.

But here’s what I’ve learned after years of working with business owners: whether you’re comparing Flodesk to Kit (formerly ConvertKit) or you’ve been on Mailchimp for three years, the problem is usually the same.

A cold list that isn’t making sales.

And no platform comparison will fix that.

Why platform research feels productive (but isn’t)

It’s easier to research tools than to face the real question: Why isn’t my list generating revenue?

Flodesk has beautiful templates.
Kit has powerful automations.
Mailchimp is familiar and “good enough.”

But none of that matters if your subscribers haven’t heard from you in months, don’t remember who you are, or never move from “interested” to “buyer.”

I’ve seen it play out dozens of times. Two businesses, same platform, completely different results. One sees consistent sales. The other can’t get replies.

The difference? One has a system for nurture, sales, and follow-up. The other just has a platform.

The real email marketing trends in 2025

Here’s what actually matters this year — the shifts separating lists that make money from lists that sit idle.

Deliverability determines everything

If your emails land in spam, nothing else matters. Mailbox providers are stricter than ever, and a list full of inactive subscribers is a one-way ticket to the promotions tab.

Regular list cleaning and re-engagement sequences aren’t nice-to-haves anymore. They’re the foundation.

Case in point: Marcie Towle, a local bike shop owner, saw her open rate jump to 50% after re-engaging her list and removing inactive subscribers. That kind of deliverability boost translates directly into more customers walking through the door.

And it’s not just Marcie. Kristy Sheltz of Parisienne Hair Solutions shared that one of the re-engagement campaigns I built for her team led to a 19% revenue increase and the best sales month in 23 years.

(Industry research confirms this: permission-based lists average 30–40% open rates, while purchased or cold lists hover around 2%.)

Nurture funnels build the trust sales need

Subscribers don’t buy from strangers. They buy from people they trust — people who share values, offer clarity, and consistently show up.

A nurture funnel — a thoughtful 3–5 email welcome series — does this work for you. It introduces who you are, what you stand for, and why they should care. Without it, you’re asking people to buy before they even know you.

Sales funnels are shorter and smarter

People make buying decisions faster now when the path is clear. The old model of endless nurture emails before mentioning your offer? That’s done.

The brands seeing results have automated sales funnels that move people from interest to action without overwhelming them or letting them slip away.

Follow-up is where money hides

Missed calls. Ghosted proposals. Abandoned carts. Discovery calls that were never booked.

Most businesses treat these like dead ends. But they’re not. They are opportunities waiting for a structured follow-up sequence to reclaim them.

The business owners who implement smart follow-up are recovering revenue that used to disappear.

Automation needs a human voice

AI can save you time, but subscribers can tell when your emails sound like everyone else’s.

The brands that stand out layer automation with authenticity. They send emails that sound like a real person wrote them — because a real person did.

Generic scripts don’t build relationships. Honest, conversational emails do.

The questions that matter more than platform choice

Instead of spending another hour comparing features, ask yourself:

Does my system make it easy to nurture new subscribers from day one?
Is there a clear path from first email to sales conversation?
Do I have follow-up sequences for missed opportunities?
Am I protecting deliverability by keeping my list clean and engaged?

When you can answer these questions confidently, the platform becomes a tool that supports your strategy — not a decision that paralyzes you.

Re-engagement: your smartest first step

If you already have subscribers sitting in Kit, Flodesk, Mailchimp, or anywhere else — but it’s been months since you emailed them — platform comparison isn’t your next step.

Re-engagement is.

That’s why I created Babs, the Cold List Whisperer.

It’s a free AI-powered guide that helps you write your first three re-engagement emails, clean up your list, and wake up your subscribers so they’re ready to hear from you again.

👉 Grab your free access here and join a community of business owners who are using email the right way.

Because here’s the truth: every trend mentioned above — nurture funnels, sales sequences, follow-up automation — only works if your list is warm and engaged.