21 Email Marketing Business Success Stories [2024]
Email marketing is a popular and effective way for businesses to reach their target audience and promote their products or services.
With the rise of the internet and the increasing use of email as a communication tool, starting an email marketing business can be a lucrative and rewarding venture.
An email marketing business involves creating and sending marketing emails to a list of subscribers. The emails can be newsletters, promotional messages, or other types of content designed to engage and convert the recipient into a customer. The business owner is responsible for building and maintaining the email list, creating the content, and sending the emails using specialized software.
To start an email marketing business, you must have a strong understanding of marketing principles and a good grasp of best practices. This includes creating compelling subject lines, segmenting your email list, and analyzing your campaigns’ results. You will also need to be proficient in email marketing software like Mailchimp or Constant Contact.
To run a successful email marketing business, you must clearly understand your target audience and what they are interested in. This will help you create relevant and engaging content that resonates with your subscribers and encourages them to take action. A solid call to action in your emails is crucial, whether it’s visiting your website, making a purchase, or signing up for a newsletter. Starting an email marketing business requires marketing skills, expertise, and a willingness to learn and improve continuously. The right strategies and tools can be a rewarding and successful way to reach your target audience and grow your business.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a email marketing business:
1. GreenRope ($1.92M/year)
metrics for our business are our customer satisfaction and retention rates, which remain consistently high. We currently have over 1,000 customers in over 20 countries, ranging from startups to universities and municipalities. Moving forward, we plan to continue evolving and improving our platform to meet the changing needs of businesses and provide even greater value to our customers.
How much they make: $1.92M/year
Current team size: 15
GreenRope, a self-funded CRM and marketing automation platform with over 1,000 customers in 20 countries, was built organically and focused on creating a positive, customer-centric culture without outside investment, with an all-in-one interface solving challenges in managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations.
2. Deebo ($48K/year)
Case Study: How Sarah revolutionized the beauty industry with her innovative app
Sarah, a data scientist with a background in the beauty industry, noticed a glaring gap in the market when it came to personalized skincare. After conducting extensive research and analyzing staggering figures that revealed a 300% increase in online beauty sales in the last year alone, Sarah knew she had an opportunity to make a game-changing impact. Inspired by the success of AI-powered recommendation systems, she developed an app that uses advanced algorithms to analyze users' skin and provide custom skincare routines. With over 100,000 downloads and $1 million in revenue within the first six months, Sarah's app has transformed the way people approach skincare.
How much they make: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $300
Current team size: 1
A startup increased its revenue by 300% in one year by focusing on customer referrals and implementing a multi-tiered referral program, resulting in over 60% of their new business coming from referrals alone.
So... can you actually make money with a email marketing business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. SupplyDrop ($96K/year)
Danavir Sarria, an eCommerce marketing consultant, came up with the idea for SupplyDrop after his own luxury sportswear brand failed to be profitable. He realized that his skills in email marketing could be valuable to other eCommerce businesses and pivoted his focus to offering full-service email marketing services. Today, SupplyDrop is his flagship business, making an average of $8,000 per month and attracting clients such as Kettle & Fire and Lensabl.
How much they make: $96K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 0
Danavir Sarria shares how he built SupplyDrop, an eCommerce email marketing agency that helps scale 6, 7, and 8 figure businesses, and currently makes $8,000/month on average, through trial and error and thoughtful pivots, while utilizing content marketing and focusing on building trust with potential clients.
4. Taximail ($1.44M/year)
Phaiboon Trikanjananun, a computer engineer and serial entrepreneur, came up with the idea for Taximail while sitting in his garden in 2012. Drawing on his experience in the digital business, he saw a need for a locally homegrown email marketing platform that could cater to all types of businesses. Today, Taximail serves over 5,000 reputable organizations in Thailand and continues to grow.
How much they make: $1.44M/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
Current team size: 60
How a Thailand-based email marketing platform, Taximail, grew to serve over 5,000 organizations in Thailand and generate $3.6 million per year through tailored features, close customer collaboration, and utilizing AWS services.
So... can you actually make money with a email marketing business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
5. Hustler Marketing ($2.4M/year)
After trying various jobs and experiencing financial struggles, Bostjan decided to go all-in and start the "Hustle House" in Barcelona with three other entrepreneurs. While working on his craft as a copywriter, Bostjan started offering email marketing services and quickly learned the technical aspects. Through hard work and dedication, his agency, Hustler Marketing, grew rapidly and now manages retention marketing for 70 eCommerce stores worldwide, generating impressive revenue figures.
How much they make: $2.4M/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
Current team size: 68
Hustler Marketing, a remote email and SMS marketing agency, manages retention marketing for about 70 eCommerce stores worldwide, closed its 4th year at about $2.2M, and will aim to do $3-4M in 2022, with a net profit of around 30%.
6. Add Value | Growth Marketing Agency ($600K/year)
24-year-old Joachim Brouckaert founded Add Value, a growth marketing agency, after noticing that many marketing agencies prioritized money over delivering value to their customers. With a background in digital marketing and experience freelancing as a digital marketer, Joachim decided to start his own agency focused on full-funnel marketing services. After a year in business, Add Value generates an average monthly turnover of 30k and works with 18 active clients.
How much they make: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
Current team size: 5
A 24-year-old founder shares how his growth marketing agency generated €360,000 in its first year, with a team of 5 people working for 18 active clients per month, using SEO, Facebook and Google ads, organic content on LinkedIn, and a hybrid agency model with a focus on client retention.
So... can you actually make money with a email marketing business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
7. Boundless Labs ($99.6M/year)
Chase Dimond, the co-founder of Boundless Labs, came up with the idea for his email marketing agency after realizing the potential of email marketing for eCommerce brands. With impressive figures, such as driving over $25 million in email attributable revenue and working with clients who generate ~30% of their total revenue from email, Boundless Labs quickly became a successful and sought-after agency in just 18 months.
How much they make: $99.6M/year
Current team size: 2
Boundless Labs is an email marketing agency for eCommerce brands that has generated over $25 million in email attributable revenue for their clients since launching 18 months ago and currently makes around $90K per month, with plans to reach $100K per month by the end of January 2020 through client referrals, strong relationships, and hard work.
8. GMass, Inc. ($5.4M/year)
During his previous business venture, Wordzen, the founder recognized the necessity of sending personalized emails to small groups. After researching available options, he was not satisfied with the solutions offered. Therefore, he developed GMass as an internal tool to aid in managing his business. Although Wordzen failed to gain much traction, GMass proved to be successful and was featured on Product Hunt, giving him the validation that he needed to make the decision to pursue this as a business.
How much they make: $5.4M/year
Current team size: 1
GMass, an email marketing platform that allows users to send cold emails and email marketing campaigns with Gmail, has attracted over 500,000 user signups, including major tech companies like Uber, LinkedIn, and Google, and now generates over $200K in monthly recurring revenue through a successful content marketing strategy and focused ad spend.
9. Anachak Design ($84K/year)
Vathana Nguon stumbled into starting his web design agency in 2015 with low expectations, but through face-to-face marketing and old-fashioned methods, he was able to grow his business and generate $5,000 per month. He built his expertise in WordPress development through self-teaching and extensive research, eventually launching his agency that focuses on WordPress design and development. By targeting the tourism industry and offering specialized services, he was able to stand out and become the go-to web designer for tourism businesses in Cambodia. Additionally, he utilized SEO and blogging to attract customers and achieve long-term success.
How much they make: $84K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.5K
Current team size: 3
Learn how Vathana Nguon started a freelance web design agency in Cambodia through self-taught WordPress design, attracting clients through search engine optimization and unique selling techniques, and utilizing tools like Themeforest and MailChimp to grow a steady stream of new and returning clients.
10. iContact ($28.8M/year)
How much they make: $28.8M/year
Current team size: 151
iContact was built by Ryan Allis and Aaron W. Houghton to provide user-friendly email marketing tools for small businesses worldwide, resulting in the recent $169 million purchase of the company by Vocus.
11. Keap ($100M/year)
How much they make: $100M/year
Current team size: 398
CRM and sales and marketing automation company, Keap, founded in 2001, rebranded from Infusionsoft in 2019 and has since become a $100 million dollar business with over 2,500 software integrations and a product range that includes Max Classic, Keap Lite, Pro, and Max, the majority of which are Pro.
12. JumpX Growth ($18K/year)
How much they make: $18K/year
Current team size: 2
This case study follows the success story of a part-time founder who has grown his E-commerce Marketing Agency into a six-figure operation with audience-focused, partnership-building techniques.
13. Tarzan Kay ($1.08M/year)
How much they make: $1.08M/year
Current team size: 2
Learn how Tarzan Kay created an online training company that helps businesses write effective emails for email marketing campaigns, maximizing revenue from small email lists while building an incredibly devoted customer base and offering workshops to help clients launch and grow their online business successfully.
14. Drip ($24.4M/year)
How much they make: $24.4M/year
Current team size: 142
15. Bluetick.io ($42K/year)
Mike Taber came up with the idea for Bluetick.io after experiencing the frustration of sending follow-up emails and tracking responses manually. He validated the idea by conducting customer interviews and collecting prepayments, and then hired a team of developers to build the product. After improving the website and launching, he focused on email marketing to attract and retain customers.
How much they make: $42K/year
Current team size: 0
Bluetick.io is a self-funded SaaS app that helps salespeople, customer success reps and busy founders close the loop with their customers using sequences of automated email follow ups, achieving $1,000 MRR without writing a single line of code through customer validation and prepayments.
16. Email Paramedic ($2.76M/year)
Troy Ericson, founder of Copywriting.org and EmailDeliverability.com, came up with the idea for his business when one of his clients wanted to fire him. He discovered that their emails were going to spam, which was preventing them from monetizing their leads. Troy offered to solve the problem for free and ended up increasing their email revenue from $13k/month to $51k/month. This led him to realize the potential of managing email lists, and he has since grown his business to generate around $230K/mo and train freelancers in email marketing.
How much they make: $2.76M/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 9
Learn how Troy Ericson grew his email marketing business from scratch to generating around $230K/mo by reviving dead or stagnant email lists, maximizing opens, clicks, and sales, and writing world-class emails guaranteed to deliver to the primary inbox, and how he is expanding his services through coaching, consulting, and one-off email deliverability projects.
17. Data Driven Marketing ($712K/year)
John Ainsworth, the founder and CEO of Data Driven Marketing, came up with the idea for his business after realizing that many online course creators had a large audience but struggled to convert them into paying customers. With his expertise in funnel building, Ainsworth saw an opportunity to help these course creators boost their revenue through email marketing and funnels. Since its launch in 2018, Data Driven Marketing has experienced impressive growth, with sales increasing from $60,000 in 2018 to over $600,000 in 2022, and on track to hit over a million in 2023.
How much they make: $712K/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
Current team size: 7
Data Driven Marketing is a company that helps online course creators maximize revenue via KPI analysis, building funnels, and email marketing, with a revenue of $60k in 2018 and a projected revenue of over $1M in 2023 based on a 70% client retention rate.
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
