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
CONNECT WITH US
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/sapphirelearninghub/
Website: https://sapphirelearninghub.com/
