Email Marketing Strategy for Startups: Growth on a Budget

You don’t need a big budget to win with email. Focus on one ideal customer profile (ICP), one compelling lead magnet, and one consistent newsletter cadence. Compounding beats bursts.

Zero-Waste List Building

• Lead magnet tied to a painful job-to-be-done.
• Lightweight prompts: post-signup cross-prompts, referral loop (“Invite 3 peers; get the expanded guide”).
• Partner swaps: co-branded checklists with non-competing tools.

First 30-Day Cadence

1. Welcome + quick win
2. Problem teardown + checklist
3. Customer story (short)
4. Feature tutorial + CTA
5. Offer (trial/discount/consult)

Tool Stack on a Budget

Landing page + embedded form, basic CRM, and an email tool with segmentation + simple automation.

See Automation Workflows next.