Your Guide To Growing (Safely) with High-Volume Emailers

High-volume email partners represent one of the greatest opportunities - and one of the biggest risks - for advertisers. The right partnership provides massive, scalable revenue. The wrong one can damage your brand, burn your list, and get your domain instantly blacklisted.

So, how do you access this scale without taking on the risk? To answer this, we sat down with email deliverability expert Brett Kaufman, a Partner at Pretty Okay Media. Kaufman specializes in helping seven and eight-figure brands rescue their emails from the spam folder and transform their programs into powerful, reliable revenue drivers.

This master class breaks down Kaufman’s proven system for both managing a high-performance email program and vetting partners. You’ll learn the key mindset shift required for email ROI, a tactical playbook for maximizing deliverability and engagement, and the critical questions you must ask to separate legitimate, brand-building partners from those who will "tank a brand faster than you can say ‘unsubscribe’."

20% Is The New Floor for Email Revenue

For Kaufman, email is a non-negotiable pillar of the business that should be held to a high standard.

"Your list should be making at least 20% of your total revenue," says Kaufman. “This isn't a lofty goal; it's the floor.”

Why 20%? Because a well-managed email list maximizes Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). It excels at two things that front-end acquisition channels often miss:

1. Converting Non-Buyers: 

Any prospect who lands on your site from a paid ad and doesn't convert immediately can be nurtured and converted on the back end through a strategic email flow.

2. Driving Repeat Purchases: 

Email is the most effective channel for driving repeat business from existing customers, which is where the highest Average Order Value (AOV) and Lifetime Value (LTV) are generated. "If you have your system really well dialed in, that person's going to buy from you again and again and again," Kaufman explains.

Ultimately, a healthy email list is more than a communication channel; it’s a resilient, sellable asset. It provides a direct line to your most loyal customers, insulating your business from volatile ad costs and significantly boosting enterprise value.

Vetting Emailers: Three Critical Questions for High-Volume Partners

The principles of a healthy email program also serve as the perfect scorecard for vetting a potential partner. Before you trust a partner with your offer, run them through this due diligence process.

Step 1: Become a Subscriber Yourself 

"The first thing you need to do is join their list," Kaufman advises. "You need to experience how they are treating their audience."

Are their emails focused on building a relationship and providing value, or are they simply aggressively sending offers? You can immediately tell if a partner is a brand-builder or someone who will "blast an offer and burn their list."

Step 2: Look Beyond Surface-Level Metrics 

Kaufman stresses the need to dig deeper. "Don’t just ask for open rates. Ask for Opens Per Email," he says.

A partner could have a 50% open rate by mailing only a tiny, hyper-active segment. Opens per email tells you the actual number of eyeballs you can expect on your offer, giving you a much clearer picture of their true reach. Always ask for click-through rates and demographic data to ensure their audience is a genuine match for your product.

Step 3: Test Their AI Strategy 

To instantly separate the experts from the amateurs, Kaufman shares his single most-effective vetting question:

"I would ask them how proficient they are at understanding AI with what Gmail is doing," he reveals.

Specifically, ask about their strategy for Gmail's new three-dot summary feature, where AI automatically summarizes an email before it's even opened. A subscriber's decision to read further is now based on that summary.

An expert partner will have a clear strategy for optimizing their copy to control that summary. An amateur won't even know what you're talking about, instantly flagging them as a risk. 

Kaufman’s Three-Pillar System For Deliverability

At the core of Kaufman's methodology is a tactical, three-pillar system designed to maximize inbox placement and engagement. This is the engine that drives the 20% revenue rule.

Pillar 1: Replies - The Ultimate Engagement Signal 

The single most important factor for boosting open rates is getting replies. "You need to think of the email algorithm like you think of social media," Kaufman guides. Replies are the email equivalent of a high-engagement social media post, signaling to inbox providers like Gmail that a valuable, two-way conversation is happening.

• The Tactic: Send at least two reply-based emails per week. 
• The Content: These emails should ask simple, low-friction questions that are easy to answer. The goal is to get a response, not conduct deep market research.
• Examples:
  
  • "Did you get this email?"
  • "If I host a live Q&A, will you attend?"
  • "What do you think of this [new idea]?"

By making subscribers feel like important stakeholders, you train the algorithm to favor your emails, leading to better inbox placement across all your campaigns.

Pillar 2: Segmentation - Protect Your Reputation by Mailing the Engaged 

Instead of blasting an entire list, Kaufman’s system focuses on mailing the most active subscribers to protect the sender's domain reputation.

• The Tactic: Segment your audience based on open recency. The bare minimum is a 90-day opener segment.
• The "Sweet Spot": For optimal performance, Kaufman recommends tightening that window to a 30-day opener segment. This can be adjusted to 14, 7, or even 1-day segments for your most active users.
• The "Cheat Code": To avoid abandoning the rest of your list, move less-engaged subscribers (those outside your active window) to a separate sending domain. This allows you to continue marketing to them without risking your primary domain's reputation with inbox providers.

Pillar 3: Cadence & Clicks - A Weekly Plan for Execution 

The final pillar combines replies and clicks into a structured weekly schedule that trains both the algorithm and your audience.

The Recommended Cadence:

• Monday: Click Email (to content like a podcast or blog)
• Tuesday: Reply Email
• Wednesday: Click Email (hard pitch to a conversion goal)
• Thursday: Reply Email
• Friday: Click Email (to content like a YouTube video)

The Copywriting Hack for Clicks: 

Acknowledge that most people skim emails. To dramatically increase click-through rates, place your primary, benefit-driven link within the first three to four lines of the email. "If they only read these first three or four lines, can they get what you're trying to get them to do?” Kaufman asks. Data shows the top links get the most clicks, and this structure captures the attention of skimmers immediately.

Technical Table Stakes: Don’t Skip the Basics

While the three pillars form the core strategy, Kaufman is clear that none of it works without a proper technical foundation. Any legitimate email partner must have their core email IDs in place.

• DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail)
• DMARC (Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance)
• SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

These are authentication methods that prove to inbox providers that the sender is legitimate. According to Kaufman, "true spammers don't have these in place," making their absence an immediate deal-breaker when vetting a partner.

From Risky Bet to Reliable Asset

Success with high-volume email partners isn’t about finding someone with the biggest list; it's about finding a partner with the smartest strategy. By shifting your mindset to view email as a core driver of LTV and using a systematic approach to vet partners, you can mitigate the risks and unlock one of the most scalable and profitable channels available.

By implementing Kaufman's pillars - prioritizing replies, segmenting intelligently, and executing a proven cadence - advertisers can build a powerful, in-house email program that protects their brand and drives sustainable, long-term growth.

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