The one thing email is missing (and I guess a community kinda makes up for it) is the equivalent of social media stories.
Like, I have a cool new update about something coming up, but I don't wanna write a whole ass email to my list about it + I might already have a different email programmed for the day.
Maybe it's worth experimenting with indeed blasting your list with something super short (or even just an image and a caption) like a story