How to Build a Consent-First Email Strategy (Without Losing Leads)

If your email list feels like it’s growing—but your engagement (or your conscience) says otherwise—it might be time to rethink how you’re building it.

For years, many business owners followed the same advice: create a freebie, collect the email, and funnel them into a sales sequence. But what if that entire model was built on assumptions that don’t hold up anymore?

Enter Bev Feldman, a consent-focused email marketing strategist who’s ditching “dude bro” tactics in favor of values-aligned systems. In our conversation, she lays out how to transform your email marketing so that it prioritizes clarity, agency, and mutual respect.

This isn’t just about compliance—it’s about care.

Why “Just Add Them to the List” Doesn’t Cut It Anymore

Automatic subscriptions. Overloaded welcome sequences. Freebies that feel more like bait than value.

If your instincts have been telling you it’s off, you’re not alone. Bev explains why opting into these defaults can quietly erode trust with your audience—and how giving people real choice can actually strengthen your list.

Instead of asking “How many subscribers do I have?” Bev invites you to ask: “Who wants to be here?”

The Consent-First Shift: What to Do Differently

Here’s what a consent-first email setup actually looks like:

• Opt-out options for freebies: Give people a choice to receive the freebie without being added to your list.

• Clear expectations: Use thank-you pages and welcome emails to explain what’s coming and how often.

• Segment with purpose: Let subscribers choose what they want to hear about.

• Revisit your privacy policies: Don’t skip the basics—insist on them.

None of these changes require you to abandon email marketing. They require you to do it better.

Why This Approach Still Works—And Might Work Better

You don’t need a massive list to convert clients. You need a list that wants to hear from you. When you give people agency, you build trust—and that trust compounds into better open rates, stronger engagement, and higher-converting launches.

It’s not about having fewer rules. It’s about having better ones.

Want to Hear the Full Conversation?

Listen to our conversation on the Here’s What I Learned podcast. You’ll hear more about Bev’s journey away from “bro marketing,” how she now works with clients to create ethical systems, and the lessons she wishes she’d known from the start.