7:12am. Couldn't Sleep.

Written at 7:12am on a sleepless morning, this piece became one of Ann's most engaged LinkedIn posts. The premise: most people aren't unsubscribing because they don't like you — they're unsubscribing because you led with the pitch instead of the value.

The post mapped out a simple principle: your first few emails set the tone for the relationship. If they're promotional, the reader trains themselves to ignore you. If they deliver something useful, they open the next one.

Part of an ongoing editorial series Ann runs on email marketing — covering strategy, deliverability, list health, and what actually moves the numbers.