Amy Porterfield found her newsletters with the highest open rates and clicks were those sharing personal stories, not just promoting content. This human connection, she argues, is the most powerful business strategy available to a creator.

With marketing automation and AI creating a sea of noise, the counter-strategy is 'anti-marketing.' This involves ditching mass messaging for deeply researched, one-to-one experiences tailored to an individual's personal interests (e.g., booking them a round of golf), effectively treating each person as a market of one.

For a large enterprise sending frequent, conversion-focused emails, reducing the volume and diversifying with a value-driven newsletter can yield significant gains. One brand saw a 20% reduction in unsubscribes and a 40% increase in click-through rates by strategically sending fewer, more thoughtful emails.

Don't rely solely on automated sequences. Sending occasional, manually written, one-off emails to the same audience—without pausing the automation—can dramatically improve results. This "over the top" approach breaks the pattern and re-engages users who have become accustomed to the automated flow, waking them up.

In an era of mass automation, customers notice and value actions they know can't be easily scaled. Instead of another automated email, send a personal video via text, a handwritten note, or "lumpy mail." These high-effort signals cut through the noise and show genuine appreciation.

To maintain a personal voice at scale, have your team or VAs draft the bulk of your marketing emails. However, always reserve the top paragraph for yourself to write a brief, personal story or update. This maintains a relatable, human connection with your audience while scaling content production.

Leverage AI in email marketing not to replace your voice, but to augment it. Use tools like ChatGPT as a brainstorming partner to generate angles and outlines. This frees up your creative energy to focus on infusing the content with personal stories and genuine connection that only a human can provide.

Instead of relying solely on automated sequences, send sporadic, manually written emails to the same audience without pausing the automation. This unexpected, human touch can "wake up" subscribers, leading to significantly higher engagement and business results compared to pure automation.

To make email marketing effective, shift from a broadcast mindset to writing as if for a single person. Use personal stories, share a distinct point of view, and adopt a vulnerable tone. This approach makes the recipient feel the message was crafted for them, dramatically increasing engagement.