6 Manipulative Email Tactics that Disrespect Subscribers—And Hurt Marketers
While brands everywhere are embracing customer-centricity, many relics of brand-centric thinking are still out there. This is especially true in the email marketing industry, where we often vilify inbox providers and second-guess our subscribers’ intentions and intelligence. Let’s resolve to focus more on serving our subscribers instead of trying to manipulate them,…
Sleeknote’s E-Commerce Boost Podcast: The Hierarchy of Subscriber Needs
I’m honored to be among the first guests on Sleeknote’s new podcast, E-Commerce Boost. In my episode, I spoke with Sleeknote’s Julie Fjeldgaard about the Hierarchy of Subscriber Needs. I explain why creating respectful, functional, valuable, and remarkable email experiences is critical to email marketing success. In addition to the Hierarchy of…
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Report: 2017 State of Email Deliverability
Email marketers can be successful in spite of deliverability problems, but why take the hard path? Make your life easier by avoiding the behaviors that lead to trouble in the first place. After surveying more than 3,500 marketers, we’ve identified the practices that clearly lower email marketers’ risks of being blocked or…
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Tags: Deliverability, Inactivity, List Building & Profiling, Permission
The 5 Most Problematic Subscriber Acquisition Sources
Brands can attract new subscriber through a variety of sources that range from closely aligned with their operations to completely unassociated. Some of these subscriber acquisition sources are inherently much riskier and therefore less valuable than others. In our 2017 State of Email Survey, we asked marketers about their use of 20…
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15 Industry Experts Share Their #1 Email List Building Tactic
With email lists losing generally around one-third of their subscribers every year, brands must be rebuilding their lists constantly—ideally adding new subscribers at a faster rate than they’re losing them, and ideally adding subscribers with a lifetime value that’s at least as high as the subscribers they’re losing. With list building being…
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4 Kinds of Email Addresses That Are Damaging Your Deliverability
Email is a great medium for connecting with leads and customers. But when your list becomes bloated with bad addresses and inactive subscribers, your deliverability can be in serious jeopardy. Here are four types of offending addresses and how to deal with each of them effectively: Invalid Email Addresses. These addresses are…
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The Verdict on Single Opt-In vs. Double Opt-In
We’ve heard the case for single opt-in (SOI) and the case for double opt-in (DOI). And we have also heard public opinion on the matter, which is nearly evenly split. After weighing all the evidence, we’ve come to the following three opinions: Single opt-in just isn’t an option for everyone. Boiling permission…
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Single Opt-in vs. Double Opt-in: The Court of Public Opinion
The case has been made for single opt-in and the case has been made for double opt-in. This contest is clearly one of great public interest, judging by the number of people who have testified by commenting and by the reactions of people on Twitter and elsewhere. These comments deserve consideration and…
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Single Opt-In vs. Double Opt-In: The Case for SOI
We gather here to settle once and for all the debate as to whether single opt-in or double opt-in is the better signup process. Before we begin, let’s be clear on what these two terms mean: Single opt-in (SOI) is a subscription process where a new email address is added to your…
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Trends for 2015: Views from 10 Email Marketing Experts
To understand the latest best practices and the newest email marketing opportunities, Smart Insights asked me and 9 other email marketing specialists from around the world to share our recommendations. Published in Smart Insights – Email Trends 2015, the trends include: Responsive Email Design Animated Gifs Video in Email Dynamic Customization Predictive…
Welcome! Email Marketing Rules is your guide to understanding the best practices of this complex, often misunderstood channel as you craft the best executions for your brand. Every week, we’ll explore strategies and tactics, discuss tips and inspiration, and dig into industry news and trends.
Chad S. White
Head of Research
Oracle Digital Experience Agency
Author of Email Marketing Rules and nearly 4,000 articles about digital and email marketing
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