Are you sending enough email to your users?

Teresa Torres argues that email remains a powerful channel for products despite claims it is dead. She counters common myths: that young users avoid email, that spam has ruined it, and that users will be annoyed by product messages. Her core point is that product emails remind busy people the product exists and deliver value when designed around the user. She stresses that timing and frequency should follow user needs, with urgent items sent immediately and less timely content summarized daily or weekly. Her two case studies show email strategy overhauls producing large gains in traffic and monthly active users.

01Key takeaways

• Email remains an effective channel for product engagement, regardless of user age.
• Use product emails to remind users your service exists, since busy people forget tools they tried briefly.
• Design every email around user value, asking why they signed up and what would help them.
• Match send frequency to urgency: immediate for time-sensitive content, daily or weekly digests for the rest.
• Audit low-value emails like generic birthday reminders and replace them with personalized, useful content.

02Key sections

Debunking the myths about email

Torres dismisses beliefs that young people avoid email, that spam has killed it, and that users hate product emails, citing usage data and her own experience of frequent messages from large services.

Emails keep your product top of mind

Busy users forget products they tried briefly, so well-targeted emails serve as a reminder and bring them back.

Put the user first

Product emails should be treated as small pieces of value rather than clutter, designed by asking why users signed up and how messages can help them.

Match frequency and timing to the user

Urgent content should go out immediately, interesting but non-urgent content can be batched daily or weekly, and emails should only be sent when they create value for the recipient.

Case studies from two companies

Torres describes replacing irrelevant emails with personalized weekly summaries, which grew email traffic fourfold at one company and lifted monthly active users threefold at another.

03From the post

“I know. Email is dead. Everyone is Facebook messaging, texting, and tweeting instead. So why am I asking about email? Because when it comes to products, email is far from dead. I'm not going to beat a dead horse. Lots of people have written about this. Instead, I'm”

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.