Drop Funnel

Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat this – setting up email marketing in GoHighLevel made me question my life choices at least three times. I remember staring at the screen at 2 AM, coffee cold, wondering why the hell my emails kept going to spam. But after burning through way too many test sends and finally cracking the code, I’m here to save you from the same fate.

First Things First: This Ain’t Mailchimp

Coming from other email platforms? Forget everything you know. GoHighLevel’s email system plays by its own rules. It’s not worse – just different in ways that’ll make you want to pull your hair out initially.

What worked for me:

• Stop trying to make it behave like ConvertKit – it won’t
• Embrace the weirdness – the quirks become strengths once you get it
• Pray to the deliverability gods (just kidding… mostly)

The Non-Negotiable Setup Stuff

If you skip these, you’re basically asking for your emails to vanish into the void:

1. Domain Verification (Settings → Domain Management)
   • Without this, your “from” address looks sketchy as hell
   • Took me 4 tries to get it right (yes, I’m embarrassed)
2. SPF/DKIM Records
   • This is like getting VIP access to inboxes
   • My web guy laughed at me when I asked what these were – don’t be like me
3. IP Warming
   • Started with 50/day and worked up to 500 over two weeks
   • Yes, it’s annoying. No, you can’t skip it.

Building Your First Sequence Without Losing Your Mind

Here’s the simple starter that finally worked for me:

1. When someone opts in → immediate welcome email (plain text, no fancy stuff)
2. Wait 36 hours → send something actually useful (not a sales pitch)
3. If they open → tag as “warm lead”
4. If they don’t → hit ’em with SMS instead

Pro tip I learned the hard way: Your first 5 emails should be 90% value, 10% pitch max. Otherwise GHL’s deliverability will punish you.

The Secret Sauce Stuff

After sending way too many test emails to myself (my inbox hates me), here’s what actually moves the needle:

• Subject lines that sound human
  • “Quick question…” outperforms “AMAZING OFFER INSIDE!!!” every time
  • Emojis can help or hurt – test carefully
• Plain text > HTML
  • My simple text emails get 25% better opens than fancy templates
  • Write like you’re texting a friend
• The hidden spam checker
  • Buried under Tools → Email Tools
  • Saved me from sending embarrassing spam-like emails multiple times

The Real Talk Verdict

Is GoHighLevel perfect for email? Hell no.

Is it powerful once you wrestle it into submission? Absolutely.

If you:

• Need email tied directly to your CRM
• Want to mix email and SMS seamlessly
• Are tired of paying for separate tools

…then it’s worth the headache. But if you just want basic email marketing without the learning curve, look elsewhere.

Rami told me to keep it 100% real – so here’s my final advice:

1. Use the damn trial period to test deliverability
2. Start with simple sequences before getting fancy
3. Watch your open rates like a hawk

And if you get stuck? Hit reply. I’ve made every mistake in the book so you don’t have to.

PS: If anyone tells you this was easy for them, they’re lying through their teeth. The struggle is real, but so are the results once you figure it out.