If you don't have 5,000 inboxes, are you even an email marketer?

I'm using this rainy weekend to get a bunch of newsletters for my list done. Claude has been helping me with some rough drafts, all of them ranging between extremely disappointing to "meh". I'm so done with it being so mediocre that I gave up and just wrote "Now one more time, with feelings"...

Sometimes, I wake up on a Friday and think to myself, “Why has my CEO friend [name] didn't get this shit done by now?”. Then I call said friend and give them some tough love and then shit gets done and they thank me for it. (Today is one of those Fridays. Shit is about to get done.)

Today started with a brilliant discovery call with a business leader who creates real impact for their community. They had such great questions and complimented my writing. I wouldn’t mind starting every Thursday like that!

Progress has been feeling frustraitingly incremental this week. But I'm reminding myself that feelings are not facts, and the facts are that I'm moving things forward that have been stuck for a while. Also: progress made, however small, is still progress, and it compounds over time.

It looks like March is going to be one of the most interesting ones inside my newsletter. Think making fun of AI, a monthly roundtable about doing email automations the right way, exciting annoucements, and some spicy takes. You def don't want to miss it: ethicalemails.co/subscribe

Finishing the workweek with a professional high that’s been on my business plan for over a year now. I can’t reveal it just yet, but soon 😊

Tooting my own doesn't come naturally to me, but... Working with me means that, yes, we'll build your strategic email ecosystem. AND that your entire business will mature accordingly. The ROI from that goes way beyond email marketing.

We're getting both a new Raye album AND a new Yebba album this year? Goddamn, 2026 is going to be a phenomenal year for music.

Almost ready for my first keynote speech of 2026!

What a Friday! I finished up a presentation for my keynote speech next week, and was deliberately asked to give some tough love to two CEOs of companies I'm working with. It's safe to say that all three (with me included) are fired up and ready to go and do our best work this year.

I’m on an orzo roll these days.

Way back when, I used to do "teardowns" of emails in the wild that went south and what I would've done instead. Then I realized that for the type of brands I work with, tarnishing their efforts in public is the wrong approach entirely. I respect my peers, but am completely puzzled when they do that.

It's been a big week. Among *many* other things, I got invited to talk in two conferences (I said yes to one), and to contribute to a big brand in my space's blog. Plus, I made some progress with bureaucracy and met lots of lovely people. Can't believe we're just two weeks into the year!

My name was dropped in a room of my almost-ideal clients today. I wasn't in that room, but got a full report on it. I'm shaking with excitement!

Email marketing can feel pretty isolating these days, especially when you're trying to do it thoughtfully. So I'm starting a monthly call for email marketers - consultants, in-house folks, freelance strategists - who want to talk shop with people who get it.

Your 2026 marketing strategy says *something* about email: Improve conversions, get consistent with it, or finally figure out what you're doing with it. The first monthly roundtable of the year is about that gap: the distance between the line in your marketing plan and actual execution.

It’s been a very good day. I had my first podcast guest recording of 2026, submitted an application for an in-person speaking opportunity, and got my ass kicked in the gym.

I saw this mug last week and couldn't not get it. "Yes, and..." is something my clients hear me say ALL the time. And the color is *on point*. Plus, nothing is lined the "right" way, which I only realized in hindsight - and that makes me love it even more. HNY folks!

Happy New Year everyone. We’ve got this.

Just finished my business's yearly donating and it feels wonderful. ICYMI, Ethical Emails donates a percentage of each service offered to a good cause. This year, I donated 3.25% of EE's annual revenue (not profit!) to organizations in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Australia, and the U.S.

I also had a dream tonight that my website got hacked. My subconscious needs that upcoming winter break too.

Yuval | Ethical email consultant@ethicalemails.bsky.social · 10mo ago

I think I dreamt about a client asking me how come I run my business the way I do AND manage to stay so consistent with my own email marketing, and I think my reply was “being childless and single helps.” 🤦‍♀️

I think I dreamt about a client asking me how come I run my business the way I do AND manage to stay so consistent with my own email marketing, and I think my reply was “being childless and single helps.” 🤦‍♀️

All of my client meetings this week so far: My clients: "I'm going to spend time with my family in [insert a lovely location here]. Will you be going anywhere?" Me: "I'm going to sleep and eat like there's no tomorrow."

I'm SO unbelieveably proud of my clients' team for giving their all and doing their absolute best this week, in particular. They're producing phenomenal emails. I'm excited for all of our subscribers, and feel so lucky to be working with professionals who *just get it*.

Is it possible that I finished all of my tasks for today, which I genuinely thought I'd only be done with in the middle of the night... by 15:17??

Don't ask me how I managed to take 8 meetings today, do some work in between, and stay sane. But you bet that I'll write/record a glorious [insert a means of cosumption here] once I figure it out! #Q4shenanigans

Someone on LinkedIn just randomly sent me a DM, asking me about my 2026's most valuable business goal. Very tempted to answer "Not getting generic and lazy cold outreach anymore".

a woman with braids wearing a blue shirt that says power

Alt: a woman with braids wearing a blue shirt that says power contemplating her next steps

media.tenor.com

The very last email roundtable of the year is happening tomorrow and on Thursday, and it’s one of my favorite spaces to host. Seats are intentionally limited so everyone gets real attention, AND more than half of them are already gone. If you want to:

If "email marketing" is a growing part of your 2026 plans, listen up: This week, I'm hosting the LAST 2025 email roundtable for purpose-driven B2Bs who want to maximize their email revenue and impact next year.