Inside the January 2026 roundtable: Staying human, growing your email list, and evolving your automation game

January's roundtable had the energy I always hope for at the start of the year: clear-eyed ambition about turning email into a channel that drives revenue and impact.

Here are the three main topics we covered:

1. Staying human and keeping a finger on the (societal) pulse

Running "business as usual" has been impossible since 2020, and as the meme goes, we're all tired of living through yet more unprecedented times.

During the roundtable, we talked about how scrambling to write your newsletter just before you send it (so it'll stay timely and relevant) creates unnecessary pressure and disorganization.

My two cents: Many audiences are opening emails later than they did in previous years. If that's how your subscribers behave, and considering how fast (and devastating) the news cycle moves, cut yourself some slack. Unless you're a staff writer for Morning Brew, there's no point losing sleep over writing something that'll only stay relevant for the next 2-24 hours. Focus on content with a longer shelf life instead.

2. Growing high-quality lists

As always, growing your list in 2026 has been on everyone's minds.

We discussed the different ways brands can increase their visibility and email lists, and how to do it sustainably (and ethically).

My two cents: We're still trapped in the "bigger is better" myth, but in most B2B cases, you don't need a huge list for email to drive significant revenue and impact. Two of my clients drove multiple 7 figures in email-assisted revenue in 2025 with less than 2000 subscribers between them.

Your existing list has an untapped 6+ figures worth of potential revenue. Chasing the next shiny object (the next 100/1000/10,000+ subscribers) might be the wrong focus altogether.

3. Prioritizing automations and maturing the business

Contrary to popular belief, adding email automations isn't always the first thing I'd suggest a B2B brand add to their ecosystem. In many cases, there are bigger fish to fry before building more sophisticated journeys.

So when a roundtable attendee shared that creating new email automations was high on their Q1 priorities, I was genuinely happy to hear it. It meant their business was mature enough to need them.

My two cents: When you're adding any new part to your email ecosystem (especially when multiple people are involved in the decision-making), start with one or two items that will show results fast, then grow from there.

For automations, the first couple must either save time/money or make more time/money for your business and team. And (this is the important part) those automations can't come at the cost of losing what makes your brand, and interacting with it, deeply personal.

While these ambitious growth plans are music to my ears, I'm already getting worried emails from good-doing brands struggling to make sense of their email metrics and data in 2026.

Most brands are still tracking metrics that don't matter (opens, anyone?) and missing the signals that move the needle. The data in their ESP's dashboard isn't telling them the whole story... or the real one. They're accepting the reality their ESP shows them instead of questioning it, which means they're making decisions based on incomplete (or misleading) data.

Subscribe to my newsletter here and you’ll receive an invitation when the next roundtable opens.

Seats are intentionally limited to 10 participants so everyone has space to think, ask questions, and contribute.