The strategy itself will depend on the ideal client avatar and needs of that ICA yet in general we can say email is something that you own, that list is everything and should be built properly, over time. That means value stacks, newsletters and continued attention to the ICA problems to stay relevant and on topic. Of course, it is budget friendly and can be optimized with great copywriters and a couple great prompts with AI to have 60 days of content in 60 seconds. It is my favourite form of information to the ICA.

Email marketing delivers exceptional ROI for bootstrapped startups. Build your list organically through content swaps and problem-solving lead magnets instead of paid acquisition. Free tools like MailerLite provide everything you need initially. Focus on personalization over design, conversational copy over marketing speak, and ruthless testing of subject lines to improve open rates. Prioritize engagement metrics over list size. A few hundred engaged subscribers create more value than thousands of inactive ones. Automate basic sequences to nurture relationships while you focus on your core product.

Use free email tools to build an organic list with compelling lead magnets, segment your audience for targeted content, and leverage social media for sign-ups—all while continually testing and optimizing your campaigns.

When I started my company, budget was tight—but email still printed ROI. Here’s how we made it work: No fancy tools at first—just GoHighLevel and some elbow grease. Built lead lists manually. Time-consuming? Yep. Effective? 100%. Wrote emails that actually sounded human, not like corporate spam. Automated follow-ups like a machine, but made the first touch personal. Email marketing on a budget isn’t about tools—it’s about relevance, consistency, and not being boring.

When on a small budget, email marketing is the best option if you work on curating a refined recipient's list. The more you know your customer base, the effective list you build and it rightly hits the target as well