My Best Performing Emails in April (Opens, Clicks & List Growth!) [Ep 195]

Ever wondered what actually works when it comes to list growth and email marketing in 2025? In this behind-the-scenes episode, I’m breaking down exactly what happened inside my inbox in April - the emails I sent, the best-performing subject lines, and how I added 346 new subscribers without paid ads, endless reels, or overthinking the damn funnel.

From raw, real storytelling to a $50 live workshop that brought in new subscribers and sales - I’m showing you how powerful email can be when it’s human, honest, and strategic AF.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How many emails I sent (and why nobody freaked out about it)
• The email that hit a 51.2% open rate and 1.8% click rate - and what made it stand out
• Why storytelling and authenticity are STILL outperforming polished funnels
• How I grew my list by 346 new subscribers with one bundle, one summit, and one workshop
• Why list growth isn’t just a numbers game - and how to make subscribers stay

Links to mentioned April emails:

Real numbers. Real results. Real visibility.

Want a sold-out launch? Open this!

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Transcript

Kylie Kelly [00:00:00]:
Before we get into today's episode, I have to tell you that if you're ready to take your email marketing to the next level and you want real strategies, expert coaching, and a supportive community to help you grow, then you need to be inside the Email Growth Club. Now, this isn't just another membership. It's a space where I share what's working now in email marketing, and you get my personal guidance on how to grow, nurture, and monetize your list in the smartest way possible. If you're tired of guessing what to send or you're struggling to make sales from your emails, this is where you need to be. I would love for you to join us now. The link is in the show notes below. Now let's jump on into the episode. Hey, hey, welcome back to another mini episode on the Email Growth Show.

Kylie Kelly [00:00:43]:
These Tuesday episodes are like cheeky little voice notes from your biz bestie. And today is a juicy one because I'm pulling back the curtain and showing you exactly what happened inside my inbox in April, how many emails I sent, which one performed best and why, and how I added 346 new subscribers without paid ads, without being everywhere and without burning out. I was running a live workshop, working with clients, and yep, raising two wild little humans while doing it. So if you've ever been wondering, can I really send more emails and grow my list right now? The answer is a big yes. Okay, so how many emails I sent in April. Here is the breakdown. I sent 13 emails to my full entire list. They were a mix of value, affiliate emails, reminders, and behind-the-scenes emails.

Kylie Kelly [00:01:32]:
And I also sent 17 client member-only emails for members of the Email Growth Club or the Headliner Mastermind. These included exclusive trainings, call reminders, and personalized coaching. So that's a total of 30 emails in April. Yes, 30. And guess what? No one emailed me to say you're annoying. No one unsubscribed with a hate note. No one died. So today's takeaway: you can send more than you think.

Kylie Kelly [00:01:57]:
When your emails are helpful, human, and full of heart, your subscribers won't resent you, they'll actually look forward to hearing from you. So which emails were the best performing emails of the month? This part makes my little marketing heart pretty happy. The best performing email I sent in April was titled Real Numbers, Real Results, Real Visibility. It was sent to 5,735 subscribers, had an open rate of 51.2% and a 1.8% click rate. But honestly, the real magic wasn't the metrics of this email, it was the message. Because this email wasn't perfect,. It wasn't pre-written or copy-edited within an inch of its life. It was raw.

Kylie Kelly [00:02:38]:
It was honest. It was me saying, hey, I had this idea. I skipped the funnel and it changed my business. Inside that email, I shared the story behind Inside the Inbox, how I created the audio-only event. This is back in season 1. The fact that it had no slides, no stress, and it ended up bringing in some incredible results. All of that from trusting my gut and trying something new and sharing it honestly. So when I sent this email, I linked to the case study that I created, which is one of my new free resources that leads to my mastermind, right? So I created the case study and then I sent it out to my list.

Kylie Kelly [00:03:09]:
So I want you to remember that people, they don't want polished, they want personal. They want energy, truth, stories. So if you're about to hit send on something that makes you nervous, I want to encourage you to do it. You're probably onto something great. And I also want to remind you that you need to remember to send out any new free resources, anything that you make in your business that gets you excited, that you are going to use as a part of your customer journey, send it to your existing subscribers as well. We often forget this step, but it's a really easy one to take so that you can nurture your existing list and just love all over the people that are already in your world. Now I do have a runner-up email for this category today, and I sent an affiliate email for a friend of mine, Brenna McGowan, when she was promoting her Pre-Launch Plan program. So there are a couple programs that I affiliate for during the year that I absolutely love, and Brenna is incredible at what she does at the pre-launch system of an offer, right? So the email that I sent out had a subject line that stated, want a sold-out launch? Open this, and it was sent to my entire list.

Kylie Kelly [00:04:11]:
It got an open rate of 53.1% and a 1.9% click rate. There were 103 people from my list that clicked over to her sales page. So that tells me that if we're comparing this email to the other one that I just mentioned about the Inside the Inbox case study— again, the subject line was Real Numbers, Real Results, Real Visibility— people want real, but they also want to see actual results, right? Like, there is so much noise in the online space all the time. That's nothing new. And I'm hearing from my clients in both the membership and the mastermind is they've tried a lot of things, right? They're ready to make some money. They're ready to see some sales and they're looking for support for that person that can actually help them do it. Right? So that's why I think Brenna's email definitely resonated. And again, I like to also think of sending these affiliate emails, even though it is a launch email, it's a sales email, right? It's directing them over to her sales page for a program that she's launching.

Kylie Kelly [00:05:05]:
It's also a nurture email. I'm also offering them something. I'm inviting them to something that could actually really help their business. It could actually really help them make more money. And I was able to even connect with them in that email, right? So I didn't use the swipe copy that Brenna had sent out, even though it was fantastic. She is a copywriter. I use my own copy, my own words, my own voice. And I think it's just really important that we remember that when we are sending out these affiliate emails too, that it needs to be our voice.

Kylie Kelly [00:05:31]:
It's not as simple as a copy and a paste. We need to look at it like a nurture opportunity, like a connection opportunity with our email list. So they're the emails that I think did really well. And again, that takeaway is that people want personal, right? We need to take the time to think about who is on our list. It's another human being. How can we take this opportunity of hitting send to connect with that person? Now let's talk about list growth. So this always makes me very excited. Now I had a total of 346 new subscribers that subscribed to my email list in April.

Kylie Kelly [00:06:02]:
Before I tell you how, I want to ask you, what was your monthly number? I would love you to reach out and let me know. How many did you have subscribe to your list in the month of April? And not from a place of being super critical of ourselves. If it's not as high as you would like it be, but it's just a really good thing to be aware of because remember, we need to be always bringing in new people into our audience before we go and try and sell or launch something new, instead of getting into that cycle of launching to the same people over and over and over again, right? So what was your number? Reach out, let me know. So I had 346 new subscribers added to my list. I had 15 people unsubscribe. Remember, I sent 30 emails, so that's pretty damn good, I think. And so that netted 331 new humans in my world. So where did they come from? What was I doing in April to to have that growth.

Kylie Kelly [00:06:50]:
I was a part of one strategic bundle collaboration with my friend Dallas Travers. It was a great bundle, it was very well organized, it was very high quality. And if you are a part of the Email Growth Club, you know that I am very picky when it comes to what I'll participate in, as I encourage all of my members to be as well. It needs to be something that is aligned, that's going to attract your ideal clients, that's high quality, that isn't just adding to that digital noise, right? So I was a part of one strategic bundle collaboration. I was also a speaker for the Hidden Treasures Summit, but my friend Rose. So I was in one bundle, I was in one summit, and I hosted my live workshop at the beginning of April as well called the Visibility Map Workshop, which sold 18 spots at about $50 each. Plus I gave my members in my mastermind free access to the workshop as well. And whilst that sounds like a sales opportunity, it was also a growth opportunity.

Kylie Kelly [00:07:41]:
I had a few people that shared it with their own networks, that shared it with their audiences, because it was coming up with that 90-day plan on how to grow your business, how to grow your audience, and it was super valuable at the price point that it was. So that did help also grow my audience as a result. And of course, this podcast, the emails, the relationship-first visibility moves that keep compounding over time. So I want you to think about this. Think about the growth that I had, the very minimal things that I did— a bundle, a summit, I hosted a workshop, and then I was still creating my podcast content, right? You don't need 10 freebies. You don't need to be posting 12 Reels. You don't need 25 new collaborations month. You just need a few aligned visibility moves and an email strategy that makes people stay.

Kylie Kelly [00:08:24]:
So I want you to ask yourself, is your list growing but not clicking? Then you need to work on your nurture. If you're sending emails but no one's joining your list, your audience isn't growing, focus on visibility. It is that simple. If your list is growing but not clicking, it's nurture. If you're sending emails and no one's joining your list, it's visibility. Keeping those two things in mind will mean that you are taking really aligned strategic steps in your business and you are moving the needle so that the next time that you do go to launch, the next time that you do go to sell, you will actually see money coming in, right? So here's why I share this stuff. It's not to flex, it's not to say look how great I am, but it's to model what's possible when you treat email like a relationship, not just a megaphone, right? Every subscriber is a human, every click is curiosity, every reply is trust being built. And when you commit to showing up consistently, even when you're tired, even when you're unsure, even when life is life and damn hard, which mine has been the last few weeks, that is when you start to see momentum.

Kylie Kelly [00:09:24]:
That is when you start to see growth. So there we have it, April inbox recaps done, my loves. So your homework, I want you to check your email stats. I want you to look for patterns, what landed, what flopped, and then I want you to send something, even if it's messy, even if it's short, just start. And of course, before I wrap up, if you're craving support with this, if you want to actually enjoy writing emails grow your list with ease and stop relying on guesswork, you belong inside the Email Growth Club. Very exciting and kind of quietly, the doors are open right now while Inside the Inbox is live. So you have from now right through until midnight on Thursday Eastern Standard Time to come and join us. It's fun.

Kylie Kelly [00:10:05]:
It's high vibe. It's full of practical strategies that actually fucking work. And you'll get access to my email writing GPT bot, visibility tools, monthly plans, and me in your corner every step of the way. The link is in the show notes if you want to come and join the party. And a little PS, as I just said, Inside the Inbox Season 2 is live this week, so if you haven't tuned in yet, now is your moment. There's 30+ short, punchy, bingeable episodes from some of the smartest business owners that I know, all sharing what's working right now when it comes to growing, nurturing, and selling through your email list. Real conversations, no slides, 10-15 minutes tops each, and action steps at the end of episode. And with every VIP Pass upgrade, we're raising money for Small Steps for Hannah, an incredible charity supporting domestic violence prevention.

Kylie Kelly [00:10:54]:
So if you want to grow your list and impact this week, grab your free ticket or VIP upgrade now. The link is in the show notes, but do not wait because free access ends, like I said, midnight Thursday the 16th of May Eastern Standard Time. All right, my loves, that is all from me today. I can't wait to speak to you again on Friday for our standard Friday episode, or hopefully I will see inside the inbox. All right. Bye for now. Thank you so much for tuning into.

Kylie Kelly [00:11:22]:
This episode of the Email Growth Show. I hope you found valuable insights into the next steps you can take to grow your email list and boost your business without relying on social media or paid ads.

Kylie Kelly [00:11:33]:
If you enjoyed this episode, please take.

Kylie Kelly [00:11:35]:
A moment to rate and review the show and share it with others. Your feedback helps me reach more female entrepreneurs just like you who are ready to say goodbye to social media and leverage email marketing to grow their business business and make a bigger impact.

Kylie Kelly [00:11:48]:
Thank you so much for listening, and.

Kylie Kelly [00:11:50]:
I'll see you in the next episode.