Traction Email Marketing

Use this skill when email can help find, activate, retain, monetize, or refer customers. The output should be a measurable email experiment, not just copy.

Source Traceability

Primary source: Traction, chapter 14 and the appendix. Authoring notes: converted lines 1863-1996 and 3347-3348.

Email Jobs

• Find new customers through sponsorships, newsletter placements, or lead magnets.
• Engage prospects with a course, onboarding sequence, or useful series.
• Retain customers through lifecycle nudges and value reminders.
• Increase revenue through timely upsell or conversion prompts.
• Drive referrals through shareable offers or customer prompts.

Workflow

1. Choose one email job.
2. Define the list source or audience segment.
3. Write the promise for the sequence or sponsorship.
4. Map the conversion path.
5. Set deliverability, tracking, and unsubscribe safeguards.
6. Define success by qualified action, not open rate alone.

Output Format

# Email Traction Test

## Job
[Acquisition, engagement, retention, revenue, or referral.]

## Audience
- Source/segment:
- Why they care:

## Sequence Or Placement
| Email | Purpose | Subject Angle | CTA |
|-------|---------|---------------|-----|

## Tracking
- Primary metric:
- Secondary metrics:
- Customer quality check:

## Decision Rules
- Double down:
- Iterate:
- Kill:

Quality Bar

• Do not optimize subject lines before clarifying the audience and promise.
• Include list quality and consent considerations.
• Measure downstream behavior, not only opens or clicks.
• Keep the sequence short enough to test quickly.