Jane Portman

Mastering SaaS Email Marketing

Author

Ivan Buric
August 10, 2025

Hey,

Episode 15 of the podcast is live!

This week, I sat down with Jane Portman, co-founder of Userlist and host of two long-running podcasts (UI Breakfast & Better Done Than Perfect), to talk about a topic every SaaS founder and marketer should care about:

How to turn user behavior into smarter email marketing — and why onboarding is the most valuable workflow you can build.

Jane’s journey took her from running a solo UI/UX design consultancy to building an email automation platform in one of the most competitive markets. Along the way, she’s learned what makes great onboarding work, how to design nurturing sequences that don’t overcomplicate things, and why data is the foundation of effective email marketing.

Listen on:

What we talked about:

  • The difference between SaaS email marketing and generic automation tools

  • Why most companies only need advanced automation after a couple of years

  • The Atomic Emails framework for creating high-performing campaigns

  • How to bridge the gap between marketing and engineering when building automations

Jane Portman

“Email is just a channel — not a silver bullet. But it’s basic business hygiene to be messaging your users. It shows you care.”

Jane Portman

A few key learnings:

  • Design is a lever, not a silver bullet — great UI/UX can help, but many SaaS businesses thrive before perfecting it.

  • SaaS email marketing is different from generic automation — it relies on deep product usage data, segmentation, and behavior triggers.

  • Start simple before going advanced — most companies only benefit from complex automation after a couple of years of growth and learning.

  • Onboarding is the most critical workflow — activating new users has the highest ROI in SaaS email marketing.

  • Retention matters as much as acquisition — nurture paying customers with slower, value-driven campaigns.

  • Keep nurturing campaigns lightweight — one clear message per email, short copy, and a single call-to-action.

  • Leverage the Atomic Emails framework — source campaign ideas from existing content instead of starting from scratch.

  • Bridge marketing and engineering early — create a tracking plan so product data flows seamlessly into your email platform.

  • Deliverability is earned — authenticate your domain, separate cold outreach from product emails, and respect unsubscribe preferences.

  • Podcasting longevity comes from systems — consistent production processes make it harder to stop than to keep going.

Episode Chapters – Jane

  • 00:00 – Intro & Jane’s Background — From UI/UX designer to SaaS founder.

  • 06:00 – Transition to Email Marketing — Why she built Userlist.

  • 08:59 – How SaaS Email Marketing Differs — Data-driven personalization vs. generic tools.

  • 10:50 – When to Upgrade Your Email Strategy — Why advanced automation usually comes after 2+ years.

  • 17:44 – Two Must-Have SaaS Workflows — Onboarding & paying-customer retention.

  • 24:36 – The Atomic Emails Framework — How to build campaigns from existing content.

  • 27:40 – Deliverability Best Practices — Domain setup, spam risk,

Say "Hi" to Jane:

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P.S. Do it Your Way 🧭

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Ivan