May Retention Newsie 2

Author

Melanie Balke
May 23, 2025

Welcome to The Retention Newsie by The Email Marketers, the retention-building experts for 7-9 figure ecom brands.

Every month, we bring you the best case studies, trending news, and tips for retaining more customers while turning them into raving fans and increasing revenue.

This Week’s Inbox Rundown

  • Latest Tariffs News

  • Optimizing Your Website Pop-up

  • TEM Love Box (High-Performing Subject Lines)

On May 14, the U.S. and China hit pause on new duties for 90 days. China-bound tariffs are locked at 30%, and U.S. export levies are down to 10%.

But here’s the catch…

The de minimis exemption remains closed. Every postal shipment from China (valued up to $800) now incurs either a 54% ad valorem duty or a $100 flat fee per item. The previously announced $200 flat-fee increase on June 1 will not take effect.

This means D2C brands need to rethink how they land products in the U.S. FAST.

What you can do in the meantime:

- Segment your audience and only pass on a slice of the extra cost so you don't give your audience such a huge shock.

- Use this 90-day window to pre-position stock in duty-free zones or bonded warehouses.

- Talk to your customers. A quick email or SMS explaining price tweaks will build trust, leading to less churn.

What D2C Brands Are Saying About The Email Marketers

One of our D2C clients spotted this pop-up and seemed to like it…

And honestly? It got us thinking about all the money brands are leaving on the table with average pop-ups.

Is it the worst we've ever seen? Nope. (Some brands don't even bother with pop-ups, which is like... hello? Do you hate money? 😂)

But it's nowhere near optimized either. Can you guess the biggest problem?

It's not the full-screen takeover or even the missing brand USP (though those definitely help).

It's what happens AFTER someone opts in!

When you only capture email, you're basically throwing everyone into the same email sequence.

Here's what they could've done better:

1. Use lifestyle photos that show your products in action (we recently split-tested this with a client and saw a 100% increase in purchase rate).

2. Add a simple checkbox to collect zero-party data about their main challenge or goal. This lets you personalize your flows, which converts WAY better than sending everyone identical emails.

And with privacy laws getting stricter and third-party cookies dying a slow death in 2025, zero-party data is absolutely critical to collect.

3. Capture mobile numbers with a two-step process and a little extra incentive (10% off for email + another 5% for phone number).

We know we sound like a broken record about SMS, but the numbers don't lie. ~98% open rates vs. ~32% for email.

BTW, our current favorite pop-up platform is Alia. It's crushing it right now.

And just a friendly reminder - we include unlimited SMS (yes, UNLIMITED) with 2 of our packages at no extra cost. Want to learn more? Book a quick call with our CEO, Melanie Balke.

Book My Free Strategy Call →

You can have the most amazing product, the most brilliant message, stunning design, and killer copy... but if nobody's opening your emails? It's all just tumbleweeds blowing through an inbox.

Here are 5 of our best-performing subject lines we've created recently:

  • 🍊 Last Chance: 30% OFF Ends Tonight! (81% open rate)

  • VIP ACCESS: 25% off starts now (79% open rate)

  • 👽 Alien abduction imminent (76% open rate)

  • Mom's new favorite me-time ritual 💗(78% open rate)

  • Final Call For Mother's Day Tea (65% open rate)

Privacy regulations make tracking a bit tricky these days, but our data is crystal clear. Urgency-based subject lines are super important.

So please, please, PLEASE don't skip those last-minute reminder emails for your promos. They're often your highest performers!

We opened the doors to The Retention Lab - your plug-and-play blueprint for teaching your in-house team agency-level retention marketing strategies that actually move the needle.

Our D2C Tariff Survival Guide is live - packed with tactical supply-chain pivots, margin-protection plays, and retention-first moves to safeguard your profits when the tariffs hit.