What does email marketing actually look like behind the scenes of our brand? Not the highlight reel , the real numbers, the experiments that worked, the ones that did not, and the honest lessons that came out of it all.
In this episode, Dr. Sapphire takes you inside Sapphire Learning Hub's Q2 email marketing report covering April, May, and June 2026. From gaining 654 new subscribers through a major collaboration campaign, to spotlighting one email that triggered a 2.4% unsubscribe rate in a single send, this is the kind of behind-the-scenes breakdown you rarely get to see.
If you want to understand what real email marketing strategy looks like in practice , the data, the decisions, and the lessons, this episode is for you.
Inside This Episode
1. The Q2 numbers in full: subscribers gained, emails sent, open rates, click rates, and unsubscribes
2. How the Client Acquisition Challenge drove 754 total signups and why 234 unsubscribes followed
3. The three-level collaboration promotion strategy that brought in the majority of new subscribers
4. The things that helped increase our list size this quarter,and what may have led to the increase.
5. What audience message mismatch actually looks like and how it shows up in your unsubscribe data
6. A spotlight on the email that triggered a 2.4% unsubscribe rate and the theories behind why
7. The VIP Circle, what it is, how it works, and why 38.5% of recipients clicked the special perk
8. Why quality over quantity is the real email list growth lesson from this quarter
9. That the ANCOR framework looks like in action across attract, nurture, convert, and retain
10. What Dr. Sapphire is testing and building in Q3, including a revamped lead magnet and new automations
Resource from Episode
Link to the CAC replay: https://sapphirelearninghub.nestuge.com/replayticket
Join the Email Clinic here: nestuge.com/emailclinic
Episode Timeline ⏱️
[00:43] – Introduction to the Q2 Email Marketing Report
[01:38] – The big numbers: 1,804 active subscribers, 654 new subscribers, 234 unsubscribes
[02:42] – Average open rates for April, May and June and the decline that raised questions
[03:06] – Total emails sent across the quarter: 53,351
[03:55] – How the Client Acquisition Challenge drove 754 total signups
[06:14] – The three-level promotion strategy: personal, paid influencers, and guest sharing
[07:23] – How individual landing pages and UTM tracking gave granular data per collaborator
[08:51] – The ad experiment that didn't work and why they turned it off early
[10:24] – The lesson on audience message mismatch and why it caused the unsubscribe spike
[13:58] – Spotlight email: "You Need New Shoes" , the 2.4% unsubscribe rate explained
[17:49] – The full stats: 33.2% open rate, dynamic content, and multiple link clicks
[19:16] – Theories on why this email triggered so many unsubscribes
[20:21] – Introducing the VIP Circle: rewarding the most engaged subscribers
[27:06] – Keeping, killing, or iterating, what stays and what changes in Q3
[30:00] – Q3 plans: automations, customer journeys, and a revamped lead magnet
**Dr. Sapphire:** Hi, Dr. Sapphire here! Welcome to our Q2 email marketing report, where we take you behind the scenes of our email marketing across April, May, and June to share what worked, what didn't, and the big lessons we learned along the way.
We will be covering our list growth, total emails sent, open and click rates, new subscribers gained, and even the big, bad numbers like unsubscribes. Plus, I have an honest confession to make—something you wouldn't expect from an email marketing expert that happened this quarter!
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**Dr. Sapphire:** Let’s start with the key metrics from Q2:
* **Total Active Subscribers:** 1,804 subscribers.
* **New Subscribers Gained:** 654 new subscribers (out of 754+ total sign-ups across our campaign forms, as around 100 were already on our list).
* **Total Unsubscribes:** 234 unsubscribes. (A big number, but we’ll break down why!)
* **Average Open Rates:**
* **April:** 33.6%
* **May:** 30.4%
* **June:** 27.9%
* **Email Volume & Unsubscribe Rates:**
* **April:** 27,277 emails sent | 0.2% unsubscribe rate
* **May:** 20,139 emails sent | 0.7% unsubscribe rate
* **June:** 5,935 emails sent | 0.2% unsubscribe rate
* **Spam Complaints:** 0 spam complaints throughout the entire quarter.
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**Dr. Sapphire:** The primary driver behind our 654 new subscribers was the **Client Acquisition Challenge**, which kicked off toward the end of May.
The challenge featured two tiers: a free tier with 14-day private podcast access to 30 guest expert sessions, and a paid 30-day implementation challenge. Because client acquisition is a major universal pain point for freelancers and business owners, we expanded our target audience beyond just email marketers.
Our promotional framework consisted of three main layers:
1. **Organic Promotions:** Content shared across our own social channels and newsletters.
2. **Paid Influencer Collaborations:** Partnering with 3–4 influencers on LinkedIn (one partner drove nearly 200 sign-ups alone).
3. **Guest Speaker Promotions:** Providing our 30 speakers with media kits, custom landing pages, and UTM tracking codes to attribute sign-ups accurately.
We also tested a small paid ad campaign, but turned it off early because we lacked a long testing runway and dedicated budget.
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**Dr. Sapphire:** While the challenge brought in massive volume, it also caused our highest spike in unsubscribes.
Because the challenge appealed broadly to general freelancers rather than exclusively to aspiring and professional email marketers, many participants were freebie-seekers who left as soon as the 14-day access window closed.
**Key Takeaway:** In future collaborations, we will prioritize tight audience-message alignment and introduce stronger qualifying filters on our landing pages so that incoming leads match our core ideal avatar.
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**Dr. Sapphire:** One specific email sent in May with the subject line *"You Need New Shoes"* resulted in a **2.4% unsubscribe rate** (36 unsubscribes out of 1,500 recipients). Standard unsubscribe rates sit between 0.1% and 0.5%, so 2.4% caught our attention immediately.
* **The Email Setup:** It used dynamic content preview boxes at the top tailored to whether the recipient had already joined the challenge, followed by an emotional, storytelling hook about surviving tight economic realities before pitching the paid 6-week challenge.
* **The Metrics:** A 33.2% open rate, high repeat opens, and a 16.7% click-through rate on the offer. However, unique clicks on the unsubscribe link were higher than usual.
* **Why it Happened:** 100% of survey responses cited *"I no longer want to receive these emails."* The raw, survival-focused narrative likely acted as a sharp filter—either triggering newer, unbonded subscribers or prompting those in comfortable financial positions to opt out.
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**Dr. Sapphire:** In Q2, we introduced the **VIP Circle** to support the retention and reward phases of our ANCHOR framework (Attract, Nurture, Convert, Optimize, Retain).
* **The Criteria:** Subscribers who have opened 40%+ of all emails sent to them over their lifetime.
* **The Experience:** Designated emails with a distinct subject line prefix (`VIP 🔴`) delivering exclusive behind-the-scenes updates, early access to programs, and special perks.
* **Results:** The introductory VIP Circle email saw a **38.5% click rate** on its exclusive perk.
We plan to keep, iterate, and optimize the VIP Circle moving forward to continue rewarding our most loyal readers and fostering brand advocates.
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**Dr. Sapphire:** Using our ANCHOR framework, here is the high-level summary for Q2:
* **Attracted:** 654 new subscribers
* **Nurtured:** 1,804 active subscribers across 53,351 total emails sent
* **Engagement:** 24,262 total opens and 7,387 total clicks
* **Drop-Offs:** 234 total unsubscribes
**Looking Ahead to Q3:**
* Developing automated customer journeys to nurture cold leads during their critical first 7–14 days.
* Revamping our core lead magnets to function as an immediate "know, like, and trust" engine that attracts high-intent, qualified subscribers from day one.
Replays for the 30 Client Acquisition Challenge sessions are still accessible via the link in our show notes. If you enjoyed this breakdown, please leave a comment on your podcast app and drop us a 5-star rating!
If you want to offer email marketing as a paid service with direct guidance, join us inside the **Email Clinic** at nestuge.com/emailclinic
