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If You're Struggling To Get 40% Of Store Revenue Coming From Email, Read This

Author

Max Sturtevant
January 28, 2026

The Inbox Newsletter

Hey it’s Max from The Inbox Newsletter.

We consistently hit 40% or higher of store revenue from email for our clients.

If you're not there, you should be.

And today, I’m breaking down the 3 most common problems I see with stores that are stuck with email revenue between 10%-30%.

But before we get into that, you must ensure you have the fundamentals down:

  1. Strong site traffic with a 10%+ opt-in rate popup

  2. All your core flows built out with at least 3 emails in each

  3. 3-4 email campaigns going out per week.

That's the basic formula every ecom store should follow.

If you're not doing those three things, go do them. Seriously, stop reading this and go do them. There's no secret hack that bypasses the fundamentals.

But if you ARE doing all that and you're still stuck at 20-25% revenue from email, something else is broken.

Here's the 3 problems that hold most stores back:

Problem #1: Your Email List Is Too Small

This is the most common reason I see, especially with newer stores that are scaling hard.

Here's the thing: your list takes time to build.

You're not going to launch a store, set up your flows, and immediately see 40% of revenue coming from email.

That's not how it works.

Email works because you're building an owned audience over time.

Every subscriber you capture is someone you can monetize over and over again without paying for another click.

The key metric to watch: your popup form submit rate.

If your pop-up is converting at 10% or higher, your list growth should naturally scale with your traffic.

More visitors = more subscribers = more email revenue.

If you're below 10%, you're leaking potential subscribers every single day. And that gap compounds over time.

A store doing 100K visitors per month with a 5% popup conversion rate adds 5,000 subscribers per month.

That same store with a 12% popup conversion rate adds 12,000 subscribers per month.

After a year, that's the difference between 60,000 and 144,000 subscribers.

Same traffic. Wildly different email revenue.

Do you think the 144k subscriber list is more likely to hvae 40% of their store revenue coming from email? The answer is yes.

How to diagnose your popup:

Pull up your popup analytics and look at two numbers: your view rate and your submit rate.

View rate seems low compared to your site traffic? Your popup might be triggering too late or not firing on mobile. Test earlier timing (5-8 seconds or 25% scroll) and make sure it's actually showing on all devices.

View rate fine but submit rate under 10%? Your offer isn't compelling enough or your popup design is killing conversions. Test a stronger offer (mystery discount, free gift, dollar amount off instead of percentage). Simplify the design. Reduce form fields to just email.

Already at 10%+? You're good. Keep scaling traffic and your list will grow proportionally. The 40% email revenue will come as your list compounds over time.

If you're a newer store and email is "only" driving 18% of revenue but your popup is dialed and your list is growing steadily - relax. You're on the right track. The compounding just needs time to work.

Problem #2: Your Conversion Sucks When People Join The List

You've got a popup with a solid opt-in rate. People are joining your list. But then... nothing. They don't buy. None of your flows or campaigns are converting and you’re left wondering what the hell is going on?

Usually it's one of two things: your offer or your buying process.

Potential Issue #1: The offer isn't strong enough.

"10% off your first order" has become too common nowadays. But many customers are getting bored and tired of this offer.

It can work for some stores… but not all.

Maybe your product is already priced high and 10% feels like nothing. Maybe your audience is discount-fatigued. Maybe 10% just isn't exciting enough to create urgency.

Test different offer structures:

  • Mystery discount ("Reveal your discount" - could be 10%, could be 25%)

  • Free gift with purchase (often outperforms percentage discounts)

  • Dollar amount off ($15 off feels more tangible than 15% off on a $100 product)

  • Free shipping threshold (works great for lower AOV brands)

Always test new offers and don't just assume your offer is the best just because everyone else does it.

Potential Issue #2: The buying process is confusing.

I see this a lot with brands that have complicated products, quiz funnels, or checkout processes that add friction.

Particularly in the CPG space.

Someone joins your list, gets the welcome email, clicks through... and then they're hit with a 15-question quiz before they can even see a product page. Or the checkout has 47 upsells. Or the product options are so confusing they bounce.

Stop losing traffic due to complicated offers and buying processes!

If your flows have solid open rates and click rates but garbage conversion rates, you’ve found where the problem lies.

Simplify your product pages. Use clear value props, easy checkout setups, and don't make people work to give you money.

Problem #3: People Aren’t Coming Back

If your flows are dialed, your campaigns are consistent, your list is big enough, and you're still not hitting 40%... people might just not want to buy from you again.

Email is a retention channel. It's designed to bring people back.

But it can only bring back people who actually want to come back.

If you're selling a consumable product and people aren't reordering, that's usually cause your product sucks. They tried it, they didn't love it, they moved on. No amount of email optimization fixes that.

Now, there are exceptions.

If you sell something with a naturally low repeat purchase rate (I.E. furniture, mattresses, etc.) you're not going to see the same email revenue percentage as a brand selling protein powder or skincare… That's just the nature of the product.

Email crushes it for brands with normal to high natural retention. Consumables, refillables, clothing, products people use up and need to replace.

If you sell something people buy once every five years, email is still valuable for that one purchase, but it may not drive 40% of your total revenue (you should still shoot for 30% minimum).

Be honest about what category you're in.

If you're a CPG brand and people aren't coming back, the hard truth is your product might not be good enough. Or your product line is too narrow and people don't have a reason to return.

Sometimes the fix isn't email. It's expanding your product suite so there's actually something for customers to come back and buy.

Final Thoughts

40% of store revenue is the baseline we hit for nearly every client we work with.

If you're not there, run through this:

First, check the fundamentals. Make sure…

  • Your popup converting at 10%+

  • All your core flows live with at least 3 emails each

  • You’re sending 3-4 campaigns per week

If you’re not doing any of those, fix that first.

Second, check your list trajectory. Is your email revenue percentage trending up over time? If yes, you might just need patience. If it's flat or declining, something's broken. Try testing a different popup form.

Third, check your flow conversion. Good open rates and click rates but low conversion? The problem is likely your site, your offer, or your buying process.

Fourth, check your repeat purchase rate. If first-time buyers aren't becoming second-time buyers, email can't fix that. You've got a product problem.

The path to 40% is the same every time.

  1. Grow your list

  2. Build the flows

  3. Send campaigns

  4. Make sure your offer converts and your product brings people back.

If something in that chain is broken, figure out which link it is and fix it.

If you want Well Copy to audit your email program and figure out exactly what's holding you back from 40%, book a call here.

Join my mentorship program and my team will work with you for 90 days to accellerate your email program to 40% of store revenue. Apply here.

Email Inspiration Of The Day

Brand:
Coffydoor

Email Design:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nBbR95vk1kP6gAoGESWY1NbSDVbapVSd/view?usp=sharing

Notes:
This Coffydoor welcome email nails product education without overwhelming the reader. Four products, four short descriptions, zero decision fatigue - you instantly know which coffee is for you. The stacked social proof (press logos + Trustpilot stars + 720 reviews) builds credibility fast, and the clean design keeps everything scannable in under 10 seconds.

Reply to this email if you have any questions or further content you want covered.

Cheers,

Max Sturtevant | Well Copy

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