How An Email That Said 'You Don't Have to Read This' Made Almost 12k
For many brands, Mother's Day is a must-send promotional window. For Weddell Water, an NSF-certified shower filter brand, it became an opportunity to do something most email marketers never consider: give their audience an out.
Here’s how we turned a three-email sequence into $11,920.36 in total Mother's Day revenue, with open rates exceeding 35%, all while making their community feel seen.
About Weddell Water
Weddell Water is the creator of NSF-certified shower filters designed to reduce chlorine and PFAS exposure. Their product has been featured everywhere from Good Housekeeping and Elle, to Real Simple and The Cut.
The Strategy
Mother's Day is an emotional holiday. While it's a celebration for so many, it can be a difficult time for subscribers going through something they likely don't share with their email marketers.
Rather than sending a standard promotional sequence and risking unsubscribes, or landing in the wrong inbox at the wrong time, we built a three-part campaign that led with empathy rather than a discount. Before the promotional content started, we gave subscribers the option to skip Mother's Day emails entirely.
The Breakdown:
Email 1: Mother's Day Sale Opt-Out
The campaign opened with a permission slip.
The email acknowledged directly that "Mother's Day can bring up different emotions for different people" and offered subscribers the ability to opt out of all future Mother's Day-related emails with a single click. Subscribers were told they'd continue receiving regular content like product updates, educational emails, and wellness insights, just not the holiday-specific messaging.
The landing page reinforced this experience with a clean, simple form: enter your email, click "Opt Out."
This opt-out email itself drove $2,041 in revenue, which is a perfect example of how leading with trust doesn't mean leaving money on the table.
Results:
Open Rate: 37.52% (4,065 recipients)
Click Rate: 0.68% (74 recipients)
Placed Order Rate: 0.25% (27 orders)
Revenue: $2,041.21
AOV: $75.60
Email 2: Mother's Day Sale Email (May 1)
With the opt-out segment communicated, we sent a focused, single-offer promotional email to its remaining list. The creative featured the Weddell Duo with a Mother's Day gift angle: "Give Mom the Gift of Everyday Wellness."
The email leaned into the brand's core positioning — non-toxic, NSF-certified, thoughtful self-care — and offered $10 off with code. The copy was concise and value-forward, connecting the product to the ritual of a daily shower as an opportunity to reduce chlorine exposure and protect sensitive skin.
Results:
Open Rate: 35.97% (3,905 recipients)
Click Rate: 1.00% (108 recipients)
Placed Order Rate: 0.37% (40 orders)
Revenue: $3,825.62
AOV: $93.31
This email had the highest click rate (1.00%) and highest AOV ($93.31) of the sequence — a clean, targeted offer sent to an already-warmed audience delivered.
Email 3: The Weddell Refresh Newsletter — Vol. 009 (May 6)
The third touchpoint was content-first. The newsletter included a top-of-email Mother's Day promotional banner (same code) but led with educational value: non-toxic self-care rituals for new moms.
This approach served double duty — nurturing trust with long-term subscribers while giving recent browsers or non-purchasers another opportunity to convert with the discount still active.
Results:
Open Rate: 33.51% (3,690 recipients)
Click Rate: 0.76% (84 recipients)
Placed Order Rate: 0.26% (29 orders)
Revenue: $2,845.77
AOV: $98.13
The newsletter had the highest AOV of the entire sequence at $98.13 — educational content attracted buyers who were already invested in the brand and purchased at a premium.
Why This Worked
1. The opt-out email built trust that converted
Sending a respectful opt-out before any promotional content isn't a revenue miss. It created an opportunity for us to focus on communityb
2. Warmer audience
By cleanly removing emotionally resistant subscribers before the promotional window opened, the remaining emails went to a list that was ready to receive them. Engagement rates across all three sends stayed above 33%, a strong indicator that the audience felt seen rather than sold to.
3. The newsletter extended the window without fatigue
Rather than sending a third purely promotional email, the newsletter format let Weddell Water deliver value and continue the offer. The result: the highest AOV in the sequence ($98.13) came from the most content-heavy email, suggesting that educated, trust-built subscribers spend more.
4. The brand positioning did the heavy lifting
Weddell Water's core messaging — non-toxic, NSF-certified, independently tested — is already aligned with the kind of thoughtful, health-conscious gifting Mother's Day inspires. The product didn't need to be repositioned for the holiday; it fit naturally.
Key Takeaways:
Lead difficult holiday campaigns with an opt-out. It protects your list, builds trust, and — counterintuitively — often converts some of those opt-out openers into buyers.
Segment before you sell. Clean suppression before a promotional window improves engagement rates and reduces the risk of unsubscribes or spam reports.
Content-first emails can extend promotional windows. A newsletter with embedded promotional content gives subscribers a reason to open beyond the discount — and buyers a more informed purchase decision.
Respect generates revenue. Weddell Water generated nearly $12K from three emails without aggressive urgency tactics, countdown timers, or heavy discounting. The approach was empathy-first, and the numbers followed.
