How to Grow Your Email List: 11 Lessons from My Garden
I didn’t plan for my garden to become a business coach this year…
But here we are.
This summer, my garden has been my happy place — and as it turns out, the perfect metaphor for how to run an email marketing strategy that actually works.
Because just like a garden…
🌱 You can’t force growth.
🌱 You can’t plant once and walk away.
🌱 And you definitely can’t keep growing things you don’t even like.
Your email list is a living, breathing ecosystem. When you tend it with intention, prune it with care, and plant what lights you up? It becomes wildly magnetic. The right people show up, the wrong ones fall away, and you start seeing results that feel both inevitable and exciting.
So let’s walk through the 11 lessons my garden taught me about email marketing — and how they can help you grow your own thriving list.
#1 — Seeds Take Time to Sprout
In the Garden: I planted seeds in May. For weeks, it looked like nothing was happening. Then, in July, the blooms came almost all at once. In the in-between? I still showed up. I watered. I weeded. I checked on them every day — even when it felt like nothing was moving forward.
With Email: Your audience works the same way. You can send out a brilliant email today and not see a single reply — but that doesn’t mean it isn’t landing. People are watching. Listening. Quietly considering. When the timing’s right for them, they’ll bloom into action.
And when your strategy is designed around your natural energy and rhythm (something I pull straight from Human Design), you don’t just get growth — you get growth that feels sustainable.
Key takeaway: Trust the process. Consistent, intentional care compounds over time. Even when you can’t see it, your work is taking root — and your people are getting ready to respond.
#2 — Not Everything Grows the Same
In the Garden: My wildflowers are exploding with color right now, and they basically take care of themselves. My veggie garden, on the other hand? Sad. Struggling. High maintenance. And here’s the thing — I don’t need to force it. I can choose to grow more of what naturally thrives here and brings me joy, instead of pouring all my time and energy into what constantly fights me.
With Email: In email marketing, not every type of content, cadence, or approach will be a natural fit for you — or your audience. Maybe your weekly storytelling emails always spark replies, while your “how-to” tutorials fall flat. Maybe short, punchy launches feel easy, while months-long promo cycles burn you out.
Key takeaway: You don’t have to be good at everything to have a thriving, effective strategy. This is why I don’t believe in cookie-cutter email strategies.
Your Human Design tells me exactly what “plants” (content types) will naturally thrive in your garden, so we can skip the trial-and-error burnout.
Grow what works for you and brings you joy — and let the rest go. The more you focus on what naturally thrives in your space, the easier it is to see results you’re excited about.
#3 — Start Small, Then Expand
In the Garden: I began with a small garden, and this year I added more — not just plants, but structure. We built a path where it used to be all grass. It makes the garden easier to move through now and sets it up to expand effortlessly in the future. I intentionally designed it so what works today will still work (and be even better) when the garden doubles in size next year.
With Email: You don’t need an elaborate email system to start. Begin with one or two core strategies — maybe a welcome sequence and a consistent weekly email — and build from there. Then, as you grow, add structure that makes your work easier now and supports your future vision.
Key takeaway: Build what you can tend to well right now, but design it with expansion in mind. That way, when it’s time to grow, you’re not starting from scratch — you’re simply planting more in an already thriving ecosystem.
This is exactly what we do inside my Email Energetics™ Experience — start with the foundational strategy that fits you now, then build in a way that makes growth simple, seamless, and totally aligned.
#4 — Know Your Zone (and Your Season)
In the Garden: I’m in zone 5. That means I follow zone 5 guidelines — planting what thrives here and accepting that my garden will look completely different from a zone 8 garden. Even within my own yard, the timing changes year to year based on weather. Some seasons are lush, some are slower.
With Email: Your business has its own “zone” and seasons of growth. Your audience, your energy, your offers — they all shape what’s possible right now. Comparing your growth to someone with a different audience size, business model, or life season will only distract you from what works for you.
Key takeaway: Stop comparing your early-season sprouts to someone else’s full bloom. Focus on planting, tending, and harvesting in alignment with your own zone and season — whether that’s a big growth year or a slow, steady one.
In Human Design, your chart shows me your “zone” — your energetic sweet spot — so we can create strategies that match your season instead of someone else’s.
#5 — Pruning for Regrowth (and Learning the Hard Way)
In the Garden: Fun fact — yarrow can be cut back by 1/3 mid-summer and you’ll get another round of blooms before the season’s over. Not-so-fun fact — I way over-cut mine this year, and it’s not looking good for that second round. But it will come back next year stronger. It wasn’t a failure, it was a lesson. Now I know exactly how to care for it next time.
With Email: In email marketing, we can do the same thing — over-pruning. We strip away too much from our strategy, cut back our content to the bare bones, or overhaul everything at once and end up stalling momentum. But those “oops” moments aren’t wasted effort. They’re real-time feedback you can’t get from guessing.
Key takeaway: Mistakes aren’t a waste — they’re data with a story. Every wrong cut teaches you how to grow back stronger. Use what you’ve learned to prune with precision next time.
If you’re not sure what to trim and what to keep, my Email Audit can spot exactly where your strategy is overgrown — and where a few smart cuts could help your list bloom again.
#6 — Perennials & Annuals
In the Garden: Perennials are my “do it once and enjoy it every year” plants. Annuals are the ones I choose fresh each season because they bring variety and joy. Both have a place in my garden.
With Email: Perennials are your automated sequences, evergreen offers, and content that works year-round without extra effort. Annuals are your fresh, live emails — launches, updates, seasonal themes. The mix keeps your marketing both stable and exciting.
When I map this out for clients through their Human Design, it’s like giving them a planting guide for their exact energy type — what to set-and-forget, and what to refresh in real time.
Key takeaway: Build a backbone of perennial content so you’re not reinventing the wheel. Then add annuals to keep your strategy alive, timely, and fun — for you and your audience.
#7 — Plant for the Audience You Want
In the Garden: I plant to attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds — so I choose flowers they can’t resist. Zinnias bring in the butterflies, bee balm keeps the bees happy, and a mix of other blooms brings variety. I’m not sure what’s been attracting the dragonflies this year, but I love seeing them, too. When I plant with intention, the visitors I want naturally show up — and keep coming back.
With Email: Your audience works the same way. If you want thoughtful, engaged subscribers, send content that makes them feel seen and valued. If you want action-takers, send content that inspires clarity and urgency. You get what you plant for.
Key takeaway: Be intentional about who you’re calling in. Every email is an invitation — make sure yours speaks directly to the people you most want in your world. When you plant for the right audience, the right people will always find their way to you.
Your chart even reveals what kind of people you’re naturally magnetic to — and how to write emails that speak straight to them while repelling the rest.
#8 — Stop Attracting the Wrong Pests
In the Garden: We had unwanted visitors, too. For a while I would attack manually, to avenge my precious zinnias. Eventually, I put out a trap for Japanese beetles — but I seriously think it ended up attracting even more of those blasted bugs. Turns out, by calling attention to what I didn’t want, I invited it in.
With Email: Constantly talking about the clients you don’t want or the offers you’re not creating can backfire. The energy you lead with shapes who shows up — so if you spend all your energy swatting at pests, they’ll keep buzzing around.
Key takeaway: Focus on attracting what you want more of, not fighting off what you don’t. Your best repellent for the wrong audience is being magnetic to the right one.
If you keep attracting the wrong audience, let’s look at your messaging through your Human Design in a 1:1 Strategy Session — I can pinpoint exactly what’s sending the wrong signals and help you realign so the right people show up.
#9 — Borrow & Adapt From Others
In the Garden: I had some spots in my garden I knew needed more plants — and I already had an idea of what I was looking for. When a fellow gardener was splitting perennials, I jumped at the chance to take a few. I didn’t just grab anything; I chose the plants that fit my space, style, and vision.
With Email: Borrowing ideas in marketing works the same way. You might see a template, campaign style, or content prompt from someone else and think, That could work for me. The key is not to plant it exactly as-is, but to adapt it so it grows in a way that’s natural for your business and audience.
Key takeaway: Inspiration is a seed — but it needs your soil, your sunlight, and your style to thrive. Borrow strategically, adapt intentionally, and make it yours so it feels natural to share and magnetic to receive.
Inside my Email Energetics™ Experience, we take the best “seeds” — whether they come from your own content, templates, or fresh ideas — and adapt them to fit your exact energy, audience, and business goals so they grow into a strategy that’s fully yours.
#10 — Weed & Curate
In the Garden: Sometimes I plant something and I’m not totally sure what it’s going to do. I give it time, watch it intentionally, and see how it grows. Then I decide: do I love it? Is it thriving? Does it work in this space? Sometimes the answer is yes — and sometimes it’s no. And when it’s no, I pull it out, even if it’s technically a healthy plant, because it’s not what I want in my garden.
With Email: Your marketing can be the same way. Not every subscriber, offer, or content style is going to be what you imagined. You might test something and realize it’s not producing results, it’s draining your energy, or it just doesn’t feel like you. That’s not failure — that’s clarity.
Key takeaway: Give things a chance to grow, but don’t be afraid to edit ruthlessly once you know what’s working. Your strategy should be filled with what brings you joy and results. It’s okay — even necessary — to pull out what doesn’t, no matter how much time you’ve spent growing it.
#11 — Repurpose Your Harvest
In the Garden: When my yarrow exploded into bloom, my daughter and I made mini bouquets to gift to neighbors. We’ve saved seeds to plant next year, and we’re experimenting with dried flower garlands, wreaths, and crowns. One neighbor even said, “I’ve never received flowers before — this is so cool.”
With Email: Your best emails shouldn’t be a one-hit wonder. Repurpose them into social posts, resend the all-stars once a year, turn them into blog content, or weave them into a nurture sequence.
Key takeaway: A good harvest gives in more ways than one — so does a good email. When you repurpose, you extend the life, reach, and impact of your best work.
Not sure which of your emails are worth repurposing? My Email Audit will show you the ones that deserve a second life (and exactly how to use them again).
If my garden has taught me anything this year, it’s that growth is never an accident.
It’s the result of planting the right things, tending them with care, and knowing when to prune or pivot.
Your email list works the same way.
When you’re clear on what you’re growing — and why — the right people start showing up, engaging, and saying “yes.”
If you’re ready to stop guessing what to plant, where to put your energy, and how to make it bloom — I can help you map it out.
We’ll figure out what belongs in your garden now, how to nurture it, and how to design it so it keeps thriving season after season.