A Conversation with Email Love: Building Email Programs That Subscribers Actually Want

Email marketing remains one of the most powerful channels for building customer relationships, yet many brands still struggle to create campaigns that truly resonate. Andrew King, founder of Email Love, has spent years helping brands craft email experiences that subscribers actually want to receive. In this conversation, we explore his journey founding Email Love, his approach to email marketing excellence, and his insights on how brands can cut through the noise to deliver genuine value to their subscribers.

What made you start Email Love? How did it all come about?

I actually didn't start Email Love! I had a few email websites over the years, but none were really taking off. My friend Rob Hope runs OnePageLove and created Email Love to go alongside it, but it was taking too much of his time. Rob approached me to buy emaillove.com, and I took on some freelance email design work to pay it off over six months. Since buying it, I've invested way more than I paid, adding features like Email Love Brands, Trends, and Journeys. We recently decided to give it all away for free and focus on our Figma Plugin, which we've been building for the last two years.

How did Email Love evolve from that initial vision into what it is today?

The original vision was highly curated emails, which I still do—hand-picking five or six emails daily for the homepage. But marketers want to go deeper. They don't just want to see one email from a brand; they want to see all the emails, analytics on sending frequency, technology used, and whether emails are responsive. We've built features for downloading screenshots, viewing brand analytics, and seeing full customer journeys. The site is getting massive, we're adding over 1,000 new emails daily and approaching half a million emails total.

Many brands treat email as an afterthought or just another channel to blast promotions. What's your philosophy on what email marketing should really be about?

Email is still one of the best ways to communicate with your audience. Brands could learn from the newsletter space, having emails come from a person with personality, leading with value-added content rather than just discounts. Most brands aren't doing anything beyond promotions and basic automation. If you can figure out how to create interesting and engaging emails that aren't just pushing products or discounts, you can keep those subscribers over the long term, and they will come back to you.

What are the most common mistakes you see brands making with their email programs?

Email programs are maybe too revenue-driven. Blasting discounts gets short-term revenue, but ultimately those people will unsubscribe. Very few brands invest in storytelling or providing value through their email. Some do it well, though Yuel is a great example. They have seasonal sales, but they also have a well-written newsletter about health and wellness, not just "buy more protein shakes." The other mistake is holding onto data too long. Cleaning your list regularly helps you get into the inbox of people who actually want to receive your emails.

What's a common misconception about email marketing that you'd love to debunk?

A big misconception is that dark mode is a problem to fix. People who use dark mode want a darker colour scheme; it's their preference. Forcing a light mode design onto them ignores that user choice. Some brands, like Polestar and Zillow, do this beautifully; their emails look clean and balanced in dark mode. It's about understanding how dark mode works, choosing colours thoughtfully, and using techniques like transparent PNGs. Dark mode isn't the enemy; it's an opportunity to create a better experience for more subscribers.

What metrics should brands actually be paying attention to when measuring email success?

The metrics you focus on depend on your business model. E-commerce needs revenue-focused metrics like conversions and average order value. Publishers should prioritise engagement metrics like clicks and click-to-open rate. Nonprofits need to track donations and donor retention. Open rates have become less reliable with privacy protections like Apple's Mail Privacy Protection. Click-to-open rate is what I pay closest attention to—it tells you, of the people who opened, how many were engaged enough to click. The most underrated approach is asking yourself what action you want subscribers to take, then tracking metrics that align with that outcome.

Looking ahead - what emerging trends or shifts in email marketing should brands be preparing for in 2026?

I'm really excited about the resurgence of newsletters, and this trend is going to hit brands in a big way in 2026. Platforms like Beehive and Kit are driving massive newsletter adoption among creators, and I'm anticipating that this momentum will shift from individuals to brands. Consumer-facing brands, especially in e-commerce, will move beyond constant "buy now" promotions and start building content-focused newsletters that actually engage their audience. The brands that win will adopt this Beehive-style approach, building something valuable that people want to read, with a distinct personality behind it.

What's your one piece of advice for a marketer wanting to elevate their email program?

Start with research and inspiration. Go to Email Love and look at what the top brands in your category are doing. We track emails from over 5,000 brands, and every email gets uploaded with full analytics. Find your competitors and create curated collections of their emails by type: welcome series, cart abandonment, and re-engagement campaigns. This gives you a clear benchmark for what good looks like. The other critical piece: focus on optimising your copy and content first. Design is important, but a well-written email with basic design will outperform a beautifully designed email with weak messaging every single time.