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Email Marketing That Doesn't Suck: Have Fun Writing Emails Your Subscribers Will Want to Read
Email marketing sucks...at least the way most marketers do it. Conventional advice tells you to always be selling—or at least always be going for the click— but chances are, you hate writing emails, your audience hates reading them, and they aren’t making you any money. But what if email didn’t suck? What if you enjoyed writing emails that your audience would binge-read like they watch Netflix? What if email actually made you money ?
In Email Marketing That Doesn’t Suck , Harvard Law–grad-turned-online-entrepreneur Bobby Klinck uses his lawyering skills to convince you that the old-school rules for email marketing are just plain dumb. He shows you how to do email right, teaching you the five phases of email marketing and how to infuse purpose into your message. You’ll learn how to tell a really good story that people want to read. But fair warning, if you’re a conversion copywriter, you’re an online marketing guru, or you have a serious problem with laughing at yourself, you probably should not read this book. If the occasional curse word makes you cringe, then you DEFINITELY should not read this book. Consider yourself warned.
In Email Marketing That Doesn’t Suck , Harvard Law–grad-turned-online-entrepreneur Bobby Klinck uses his lawyering skills to convince you that the old-school rules for email marketing are just plain dumb. He shows you how to do email right, teaching you the five phases of email marketing and how to infuse purpose into your message. You’ll learn how to tell a really good story that people want to read. But fair warning, if you’re a conversion copywriter, you’re an online marketing guru, or you have a serious problem with laughing at yourself, you probably should not read this book. If the occasional curse word makes you cringe, then you DEFINITELY should not read this book. Consider yourself warned.
266 pages, Paperback
Published April 19, 2022
76 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 9, 2024
I'm gonna have to be cruel to be kind here.
If you work in marketing, specifically email marketing, I'll sum up the only valuable content.
1. Think from a service perspective and not a sales perspective. Think how you can bring value and not just sell products and services.
2. Create relationships with your subscribers by being personal.
That's it. The only valuable content (or reminders) in the entire book. Most of it is useless fluff about his wife, and religion?! (Why is religion in a marketing book? Don't fellow marketers have sense?).
It is shocking that he references his editor a great deal, and her efforts, when clearly she didn't work nearly as hard as she should have to cut all the filler content out. You just go round and round as he tries to fill the archetype of an awkward, dorky, lawyer turned business owner who learned a bit about marketing. It comes across as fake.
While I mean no ill intent, save yourself the time and money, do not read or buy this book. Don't even get it from the library.
Hopefully, if he chooses to write another book, he will think about what actual value he has to offer. Not everyone needs to write a book, especially when there is nothing that hasn't already been said millions of times over.
If you work in marketing, specifically email marketing, I'll sum up the only valuable content.
1. Think from a service perspective and not a sales perspective. Think how you can bring value and not just sell products and services.
2. Create relationships with your subscribers by being personal.
That's it. The only valuable content (or reminders) in the entire book. Most of it is useless fluff about his wife, and religion?! (Why is religion in a marketing book? Don't fellow marketers have sense?).
It is shocking that he references his editor a great deal, and her efforts, when clearly she didn't work nearly as hard as she should have to cut all the filler content out. You just go round and round as he tries to fill the archetype of an awkward, dorky, lawyer turned business owner who learned a bit about marketing. It comes across as fake.
While I mean no ill intent, save yourself the time and money, do not read or buy this book. Don't even get it from the library.
Hopefully, if he chooses to write another book, he will think about what actual value he has to offer. Not everyone needs to write a book, especially when there is nothing that hasn't already been said millions of times over.
June 23, 2022
I truly enjoyed this book, and have had a ton of fun writing emails since taking his advice. Highly recommend.
December 9, 2025
PART 1 - THE GUY
I wanted to get onto his email list but you can't find this guy anywhere anymore...
😐 His website doesn't seem to exist anymore and the last podcast episode was in 2022. It seems that he has gone back to his career as a lawyer selling legal templates...
😐 He says about himself that he's a bit arrogant and it reflects in this book using phrases like "cult like following" when talking about his email list.
😐 He doesn't seem to have extensive knowledge of email marketing AT ALL and even denigrades professionals who do. (He had 45 sales from a promotional email once - wow - and now he knows everything about email marketing)
(Side note: He's got some serious Bob Armstrong from Insatiable vibes.)
PART 2 - THE BOOK
😐 Not informative beyond "bring value" and "use a friendly tone" but it's entertaining at least
😐 I have never seen someone actively argue with their editor every second page, which was weird.
😐 But honestly I assume this book was just a marketing strategy from his side to promote his podcast.
😐 Who this book is for: people whose personality is their brand (influencers, podcasters, etc.) and whose audience is 40+ years old
There is a reason he isn't in the game anymore as of 2025...
I wanted to get onto his email list but you can't find this guy anywhere anymore...
😐 His website doesn't seem to exist anymore and the last podcast episode was in 2022. It seems that he has gone back to his career as a lawyer selling legal templates...
😐 He says about himself that he's a bit arrogant and it reflects in this book using phrases like "cult like following" when talking about his email list.
😐 He doesn't seem to have extensive knowledge of email marketing AT ALL and even denigrades professionals who do. (He had 45 sales from a promotional email once - wow - and now he knows everything about email marketing)
(Side note: He's got some serious Bob Armstrong from Insatiable vibes.)
PART 2 - THE BOOK
😐 Not informative beyond "bring value" and "use a friendly tone" but it's entertaining at least
😐 I have never seen someone actively argue with their editor every second page, which was weird.
😐 But honestly I assume this book was just a marketing strategy from his side to promote his podcast.
😐 Who this book is for: people whose personality is their brand (influencers, podcasters, etc.) and whose audience is 40+ years old
There is a reason he isn't in the game anymore as of 2025...
August 23, 2022
has bobby ever spoken to a gen z……… ?
some good advice tucked away in here but as a primarily b2b marketer i unfortunately cannot take most of it.
better for small companies/people who run their own businesses (and whose audience is NOT gen z).
some good advice tucked away in here but as a primarily b2b marketer i unfortunately cannot take most of it.
better for small companies/people who run their own businesses (and whose audience is NOT gen z).
May 21, 2022
This is a book that every online entrepreneur should read. You will laugh out loud and have the urge to highlight nearly every word.
May 4, 2022
I don’t even know where to begin. Reading this book was like hanging out with a friend who isn’t afraid to tell you something’s stuck in your teeth.
This book won’t be for everyone but if you are looking for great examples of email gone bad and emails people want to read. This book is for you.
The first part of the book focuses on stories from the author’s attempts at writing email and how he discovered a better way. The stories behind the emails are even better than the emails.
The second part of the book focuses more on the process and what is needed to write better marketing emails.
If you’ve learned “traditional” email copywriting, you may find this book challenging. I encourage you to give it a try.
This book won’t be for everyone but if you are looking for great examples of email gone bad and emails people want to read. This book is for you.
The first part of the book focuses on stories from the author’s attempts at writing email and how he discovered a better way. The stories behind the emails are even better than the emails.
The second part of the book focuses more on the process and what is needed to write better marketing emails.
If you’ve learned “traditional” email copywriting, you may find this book challenging. I encourage you to give it a try.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews