The Complete Email & SMS Playbook
Everything you need to know to bring customers back and keep them buying.
By Barbs Media
Understand your numbers, find the gaps in your customer journey, and build an email and SMS program that gives people a reason to buy again. Work through the playbook from the beginning, or jump straight to your next priority.
Inside the playbook
Understand Your Business
- 01AvailableWhat a Great Email Program Actually Looks LikeThe role of email in retention, how campaigns and flows work together, and where SMS fits.Read chapter
- 02AvailableKnow Your Numbers Before You Send More EmailsEstablish your baseline: customer economics, repeat purchases, margins, and channel performance.Read chapter
- 03AvailableFind Your Biggest Retention GapsExamine the customer journey, spot missed opportunities, and decide what to fix first.Read chapter
- 04AvailableUnderstand What Brings Customers BackUnderstand reasons to return, compare customer cohorts, and build an evidence-led next-purchase hypothesis.Read chapter
Build Your Email & SMS Program
- 05AvailableBuild an Audience Worth Sending ToPrioritize subscriber quality over list size, from intent and offers to forms and consent.Read chapter
- 06AvailableBuild the Flows Your Customers Actually NeedWelcome, abandonment, post-purchase, replenishment, cross-sell, winback, and sunset flows.Read chapter
- 07AvailableBuild a Campaign Calendar With a PurposeTurn products, customer questions, launches, and priorities into a campaign plan.Read chapter
- 08AvailableHow to Use SMS to Bring Customers BackWhen SMS adds value, growing a consented audience, and coordinating it with email.Read chapter
- 09AvailableKeep Segmentation SimpleA small, practical set of audiences and exclusions — added only when they change the message.Read chapter
- 10AvailableHow to Create Emails That SellBuild a focused email from brief to final review, with an interactive layout breakdown and a practical pre-send checklist.Read chapter
Improve and Scale
- 11AvailableThe Deliverability ChecklistReview your sending setup, audience quality, and delivery signals with a practical checklist and troubleshooting guide.Read chapter
- 12AvailableMeasure Progress and Find Out What's WorkingEvaluate the effect of your changes against the baseline from Chapter 2.Read chapter
- 13AvailableHow to Use AI the Right Way in 2027Design, analysis, prompts, agents, brand context — and where humans stay in the loop.Read chapter