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What a $100k/Day Store's Email Setup Looks Like vs. a $5k/Day Store's

Author

Max Sturtevant
May 04, 2026

The Inbox Newsletter

Hey it’s Max from The Inbox Newsletter.

I get to peek under the hood of a lot of email programs.

Some are doing $5k/day.

Some are doing $100k/day.

And every single time, the gap between them comes down to the same handful of decisions… most of which the smaller stores aren't even aware they're making.

If you're stuck somewhere between those two numbers, this issue is going to make it really obvious where you're leaving money on the floor.

Let's get into it.

POP-UPS

$5k/day store:

  • Set-it-and-forget-it pop-up form

  • Basic 10% off, standard Klaviyo template

  • No offer testing on acquisition

$100k/day store:

  • Constantly testing pop-ups (offer, copy, image, time delay, form type)

  • Frequently tests acquisition offers on ads AND in the pop-up

  • Knows which offer wins on margin, not just on opt-in rate

  • Uses advanced form setups and testing features on Alia 

Why this matters:

The offer is the #1 lever in your entire pop-up.

A 5% discount on a $500 AOV product is unappealing. A $25 off discount on the same product converts 2-3x higher even though the math is identical.

5k/day stores set things in forget and use the basic templates

The 100k a day stores know how big of a lever testing is in your pop-up forms. They invest time into testing, and they invest money into proper tools like Alia (use them) to convert more website visitors into leads

FLOWS

$5k/day store:

  • Two emails in the welcome flow

  • Two emails in each abandonment flow

  • Hasn't touched their flows in over a year

  • No buyer / non-buyer splits anywhere

$100k/day store:

  • Every flow is 4+ emails long

  • All abandonment flows have a buyer / non-buyer split at the top, with custom discount strategy for each path

  • Custom post-purchase journeys based on what the customer bought

  • Includes at least one text-based email per flow

Why this matters:

Two-email flows that are set and forget won’t cut it.

The $100k stores aren't doing anything fancy here. They're just running 4-5 emails per flow with the basics done right:

  • Buyer/non-buyer splits so first time buyers and multi-time buyers get custom info

  • Discount in the hero of every welcome email

  • Dynamic product block at the top of every abandon email (not below a hero image)

  • Updates and optimizations every month

CAMPAIGNS

$5k/day store:

  • Sends 2x per week

  • Doesn't use SMS

  • No A/B testing

$100k/day store:

  • Sends 5-7 campaigns per week

  • A/B tests in over 50% of emails (subject lines, hero images, offers)

  • Strategically mixes in text-based emails alongside designed ones

  • Avoids reusing the same basic 15% off… custom offers based on customer behavior

  • Layers SMS on top for high-leverage moments

Why this matters:

The frequency thing trips people up the most.

Many 7-figure brand owners I talk to are scared to send more than 2x per week because they think they'll burn the list…

But here's what actually burns the list: your content isn’t good enough.

The $100k stores can send 5-7x per week because every email is doing different work. One day it's a story. One day it's a product launch. One day it's a text-based founder email. One day it's a churned customer offer that nobody else on the list sees.

Send more, make more money.

THE RECAP

The gap between $5k/day and $100k/day is a mindset problem.

The $5k store treats email like a chore… build it once, set it, send the occasional campaign.

The $100k store treats email like a core part of their business… because it is.

If you want to close that gap:

  1. This week: test a new pop-up offer. Pick one that isn't 10%/15% off.

  2. This month: extend every flow to 4+ emails and add a buyer/non-buyer split to every abandonment flow.

  3. Ongoing: push your campaign frequency to at least 4x per week and A/B test something on every send.

Just the basics, executed at a higher level.

Email Inspiration Of The Day

Brand:
Mars Men

Email Design:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r_eJypM5k8ZjIgFUepDN9PWjDVU4XPqF/view?usp=sharing

Notes:
Awesome design, but even better concept. Whenever you can pull numbers like this, you should. You can’t lie about stats, so they are very impactful when you use them!

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

Cheers,

Max Sturtevant

P.S
Here’s how I can help you further…

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