What is a 5 day email course…and why does your brand needs one?

4 June

A 5-day email course is a clear, simple way to teach something useful, build trust, and show people how you think, without slipping into marketing clichés or sounding like everyone else online.

It gives you structure. It gives them value. And done well, it’s memorable for all the right reasons.

And unlike most freebies that vanish into a forgotten downloads folder, this one actually gets opened. Repeatedly.

So, what is a 5-day educational email course?

In plain terms: it’s a mini course, delivered by email, over five days.

Each email is a short, helpful lesson, something valuable, specific, and relevant to your audience. The whole thing is pre-written, scheduled, and automated through your email platform. Once someone opts in, the course begins.

It’s structured. It’s intentional. It’s focused on helping the reader make real progress or gain a new perspective in a short amount of time.

You're not sending essays. You're not rambling. You're sending one bite-sized insight a day, something people actually want in their inbox.

By the end of the course?

They’ve learned something. They trust you. They see you as the real deal.

Not because you told them to. Because you proved it.

Why it works (and why more brands are using them).

Let’s talk numbers for a second.

The average email open rate hovers between 15% and 25%.

But with a 5-day educational course, you can regularly see open rates of 50% to 70%.

That’s not a minor bump, it’s a completely different playing field.

Why? Because subscribers expect these emails. They signed up for them. They want what you’re sending.

And because they’re sent over consecutive days, they do something most newsletters don’t: they train your audience to open your emails. They get used to hearing from you. You become familiar. Trusted. Even liked.

Beyond open rates, a 5-day email course works because it tackles multiple jobs at once:

It builds trust through actual, tangible value.
It shows expertise without you having to say “I’m an expert.”
It qualifies your leads. If they stick around, they’re interested.
It works 24/7. You write it once, and it runs in the background, automatically nurturing new subscribers while you get on with your life.

It’s not just content. It’s infrastructure.

It fixes the real reason people don’t buy.

A lot of potential buyers don’t buy because they don’t fully understand what you do or how it helps them.

It’s not resistance, it’s an education gap.

They’re curious, but they’re unsure. They’re interested, but they don’t yet trust themselves to make a good decision.

A well-crafted email course fills that gap.

It gives people context. Language. Clarity. It helps them connect the dots, so when they are ready to buy, they feel confident doing it with you.

So… what can you teach?

You don’t need to write the Encyclopaedia of Your Expertise.

You just need to solve one specific, recurring, frustrating problem your audience has. Something they’ve Googled, struggled with, or avoided out of confusion.

For example, here’s a few I came up with for fictional brands in a variety of industries.

Become a Whiskey Snob (The Fun, Non-Annoying Kind) in 5 Days
How to Tell What Your Skin’s Really Trying to Say
How to Dress Like a Grown-Up Without Losing Your Personality
The Lazy Person’s Guide to a Beautiful, Functional Home
How to Not Look Like a Total Newbie on the Trail
How to Pick Wine Like You Know What You’re Doing
Stop Ordering Vodka Sodas, Let’s Find Your Signature Drink
The 5 Mistakes Most Teams Make in Escape Rooms
Running a Project Without Losing the Plot (or Your Mind)
Automate the Stuff You Hate (Without Breaking Everything)
Turn Free Trials into Paying Customers (Without a Sales Team)

Solve one thing well, and you become the go-to person for more.

Why It Beats the Usual Freebie

A 5% discount code gets lost. A 15-page download dies in someone’s "Read Later" folder.

A 5-day email course

Gets delivered
Gets opened
Builds habit
Builds momentum
Builds a relationship

And best of all, it gently paves the way for future sales, without ever asking directly.

Since you’re in someone’s inbox five days in a row, you have five chances to:

Be useful
Change a belief
Shift their thinking
Make them laugh
Start a relationship

That’s a lot of impact, especially for something we only write once.

No, it doesn’t have to be salesy

This part matters.

The best email courses don’t feel like marketing. They feel like mentorship.

You’re not writing with a pitch in mind. You’re writing to be genuinely helpful. And that’s exactly what makes people want to buy from you later, because they’ve already experienced what it’s like to work with you.

By the end of the course, they already know:

You understand their problem
You know how to solve it
You’re someone they can trust

That’s not selling. That’s setting the stage.

The takeaway

To roundup the benefits of an educational email course, they get you:

Higher Open Rates: Educational email courses consistently see higher open rates, often 50% to 70%, compared to the average 10% to 20%. That kind of engagement changes everything.

Trains Subscribers: They help your audience build the habit of opening and engaging with your emails, so your content doesn’t get ignored.
Expert Positioning: A well-written course quietly proves that you know your stuff. No need for shouting, name-dropping, or over-explaining.
Builds Trust: When you guide someone through a small transformation, they remember who helped. That’s how trust gets built.
Pre-qualifies Leads: If they’re reading, they’re interested. By the end, you’ll know exactly who’s aligned with your offer.
Works on Autopilot: You write it once. It runs automatically. It educates, nurtures, and warms up leads while you’re doing literally anything else.
Delivers Real Value: The best courses feel generous. They teach something useful, leave a lasting impression, and raise the bar for what “free content” should feel like.
Bridges the Knowledge Gap: Most people don’t buy because they don’t fully understand what you do or how it helps. A good course fills that gap and helps them feel confident in their decision.
Builds Authority: You’re not just sharing information—you’re demonstrating expertise. Done right, it builds credibility without ever saying, “I’m an expert.”
Naturally Leads to Offers: You’re not pushing a sale. You’re showing what’s possible. When the time comes to pitch, it doesn’t feel like a shift—it feels like the next step.
Powers Your Business: Automated email courses aren’t a nice-to-have. They’re a quiet engine. They scale your voice, serve your audience, and support sustainable growth.