Hey, it’s Chase and Jimmy!

Blume isn’t shy about what they stand for: clean skincare made for sensitive, acne-prone skin.

Their welcome flow leans into that mission hard... blending bold discounting with credibility plays like Sephora and Ulta partnerships, 10,000+ five-star reviews, and even a founder’s note. The result is a series that builds trust fast while keeping the focus on results.

But heavy reliance on promos leaves room for stronger storytelling and personalization.

We broke down what Blume gets right, where the flow falls short, and what other brands can take away.

Also inside:

✔️ Win October: 15 newsletter ideas + subject lines that actually get opened
✔️ The Missing Piece in Your Retention Stack? It’s This Community.
✔️ AI Power-Up: The BFCM Offer Calculator

Let’s jump in👇.

Win October: 15 newsletter ideas + subject lines that actually get opened

October’s packed... Coffee Day, Cat Day, Halloween, and a dozen more chances to sell without sounding salesy. This Omnisend guide gives you ready-to-send angles, real brand examples, and best subject lines you can copy or A/B test today.

Inside, you’ll get:

• 15 timely ideas (from World Teachers’ Day to Halloween) with plug-and-play twists

• Subject lines that convert (+ free AI generator & tester to fine-tune yours)

• Workflow tips to turn seasonal sends into revenue (not just “cute content”)

Stop scrambling for themes, plan the month in one read and hit “send” with confidence.

Blume’s Welcome Flow: A Breakdown of Acne Solutions, Social Proof, and Retail Plays

Blume positions itself as clean, gentle skincare made for sensitive and acne-prone skin. Their welcome and follow-up emails keep that mission front and center with a mix of education, heavy social proof, and hard-hitting promos.

From day one, Blume leans into credibility, highlighting 10,000+ five-star reviews and Sephora/Ulta partnerships while weaving in their founder story and influencer collabs. The flow feels youthful, accessible, and results-driven.

But while it succeeds in building trust and urgency, it sometimes tips too far into discount-first messaging, leaving opportunities to drive stronger brand connection.

Here’s our breakdown of what Blume is doing well, where it needs refinement, and what other brands can learn.

1. Welcome to Blume

Focus: Immediate value and positioning.

Why This Works:
✅ 20% off incentive sets a clear reason to shop now
✅ “Made for Healthier Skin, Backed by Results” headline builds instant credibility
✅ Social proof with 10,000+ reviews reassures skeptical new subscribers

What Needs Work:
❌ Lifestyle-driven visuals up front would balance the product grid and create a stronger emotional hook
❌ A discovery-focused CTA (like “find your routine”) would guide shoppers beyond the discount into brand experience

2. Ulta Collaboration Promo

Focus: Retail credibility + steep discount.

Why This Works:
✅ 50% off at Ulta is a strong conversion lever
✅ Co-branding with Ulta elevates legitimacy
✅ Visuals highlight specific SKUs to reduce choice paralysis

What Needs Work:
❌ The message leans too heavily on price, with little reinforcement of brand values or differentiation
❌ No in-store CTA, which misses the chance to drive shoppers directly into Ulta locations

3. Healthy Skin Starts Here

Focus: Education plus benefits-led selling.

Why This Works:
✅ Lifestyle imagery feels authentic and community-driven
✅ Customer testimonial headline (“hydrated and healthy”) doubles as social proof
✅ Benefit-led sections (“prevent acne,” “fade dark spots”) make the copy easy to skim

What Needs Work:
❌ The UGC and review blend into the layout instead of standing out as community content
❌ Benefits aren’t explicitly tied to product SKUs, which creates unnecessary decision friction

4. Milky Fade Back in Stock

Focus: Scar treatment hero product + ingredient proof.

Why This Works:
✅ Before-and-after photos instantly show credibility
✅ Ingredient breakdown (niacinamide, vitamin C, centella asiatica) educates while selling
✅ Single-product focus keeps the CTA clear

What Needs Work:
❌ No urgency signals around restock, which lowers the pressure to act immediately
❌ Personalized targeting would lift performance - a skin quiz or segmentation layer would make this feel tailored instead of mass

5. Founders’ Story

Focus: Mission-driven storytelling + final discount push.

Why This Works:
✅ Sisters-as-founders narrative humanizes the brand
✅ Problem-solution framing (“skincare needed a refresh, so we built Blume”) is relatable
✅ Final call on the 20% code drives urgency

What Needs Work:
❌ The story builds trust but stops short of product linkage - tying each value back to a hero SKU would make it more actionable
❌ A stronger community-oriented CTA would deepen belonging beyond the discount

6. Influencer Feature (Spencer Barbosa)

Focus: Community-driven endorsement.

Why This Works:
✅ Popular influencer testimonial makes the brand feel culturally relevant
✅ Product line-up shown in context of her routine builds trust
✅ Headline “When Spencer Talks, We Listen” hooks readers with personality

What Needs Work:
❌ No explanation of why Spencer is a natural fit for the brand’s audience
❌ Too reliant on a single influencer moment - expanding into a broader UGC strategy would build resilience

What’s Working Across the Series

Heavy Social Proof: Customer reviews, testimonials, and before-and-afters make every claim credible

Retail Partnerships: Sephora and Ulta integration adds authority from the start

Clear Value Propositions: Discounts and benefit-led copy make the purchase path low friction

What Needs Refinement

Over-Reliance on Discounts: Multiple sends lean on promo codes, which can devalue long-term brand equity

Lack of Personalization: No dynamic product recs or segmentation to tailor messaging

Delayed Founder Presence: The founder story appears later in the flow, leaving the welcome email less personal

Final Takeaway: Results First, Story Second

Blume’s welcome flow is a case study in results-driven skincare marketing. It builds trust fast through reviews, retail partners, and hard-hitting offers. But leaning more on storytelling and personalization would balance out the discount-heavy strategy and create a stronger emotional bond with customers.

Key Takeaways for Other Brands

✔️ Leverage social proof early and often to reduce skepticism
✔️ Partner credibility (Sephora, Ulta) can fast-track trust with new customers
✔️ Use benefit-led copy that maps to clear customer problems
✔️ Limit reliance on discounts by pairing offers with education and storytelling
✔️ Build a stronger emotional bridge through personalization and community

The Missing Piece in Your Retention Stack? It’s This Community.

The eCom Email Certified Community was built for one thing:

Helping retention marketers connect, learn, and grow (without guessing what to do next).

Inside you still get:

✅ Slack access to hundreds of email & SMS pros worldwide
✅ Member-only weekly newsletter
✅ Job and freelance opportunities
✅ Direct access to Jimmy, Chase, and guest mentors

The difference? It’s now $99/year (not $99/month).

Same value. Smarter structure. Better access for more marketers.

If you’ve been on the fence, this is the moment.

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Email marketers every time a new iOS drops...

🤖 AI Power-Up: The BFCM Offer Calculator

The wrong discount can wreck your margins, or worse, train customers to only buy on sale.

But the right one? It drives urgency and keeps profits safe.

AI can help you pressure-test your offers before they ever hit the inbox.

Here’s how:

List out your potential offers:
→ Example: “20% off sitewide, Buy 2 Get 1 Free, Free shipping + gift with purchase.”

Add key context:
- Average order value
- Product margins
- Inventory levels

Drop it into ChatGPT with this prompt:
“Here are my potential BFCM offers and margin data [insert]. Rank them by customer appeal, urgency, and profitability. Suggest which one should be my hero offer, and which can act as supporting promos.”

AI will come back with insights like:
- “20% off sitewide is most appealing but cuts deepest into margins, use it sparingly.”
- “Buy 2 Get 1 Free increases AOV and clears excess stock, making it more profitable.”
- “Free gift with purchase creates urgency without hurting margin, perfect for VIP or early access campaigns.”

The result: You stop guessing which deal feels best and start running promos that are both irresistible and financially smart.

Annnnd that’s a wrap for this edition! 

Thanks for hanging with Chase and me. Always a pleasure to have you here.

If you found this newsletter helpful (or even just a little fun), don’t keep it to yourself! Share ecomemailmarketer.com with your favorite DTC marketer. Let’s get them on board so they don’t miss next week’s drops.

Remember: Do shit you love.

🤘 Jimmy Kim & Chase Dimond

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