Email Marketing RulesAn Email Newsletter Can Be Almost Anything. That’s a Good Thing.
What is an email newsletter? That’s a serious question. Think about it for a minute. What is an email newsletter? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and here’s what I came up with: An email newsletter is a message format that mostly contains non-promotional content that’s of interest to a…
Mitigating the Risks of Inbox AI Summaries
Whether provided by inbox providers or via agents, inbox AI summaries of promotional emails are inherently reductive, introduce errors, overwrite brand voice, and deprive marketers of a significant amount of their “first impression” real estate. That has created a host of new risks for marketers, including lower campaign performance and sender reputation…
Is Email Marketing’s ROI Sky-High or Irrelevant?
For the better part of the past two decades, email marketing’s return on investment (ROI) has hovered around 36:1, according to a variety of sources. That means the average brand can expect to earn $36 for every $1 they spend on their email marketing efforts. Compared with other channels, email marketing’s ROI is typically near the…
Vibe Coding Reignites the ‘Build vs. Buy’ Debate
Thanks to vibe coding, the build vs. buy debate has rekindled over the past year, with numerous headlines pronouncing “SAAS is dead.” The argument is: AI makes coding software so easy, why wouldn’t companies build what they need instead of paying a vendor for it? The last time this debate was had…
Is Your Brand Chasing the Wrong Marketing Goals?
“Do you want to be right, or do you want to get what you want?” This is a saying that my wife, a leader at a Boston hospital, has become very fond of in recent years. She mostly uses it when counseling her team members and peers (but also sometimes uses it…
The Last Word on August 2026
A roundup of digital marketing and email marketing articles, posts, and social buzz you might have missed last month… Must-read articles, posts & reports AI-Generated Email Summaries: What We Learned After Analyzing 628 Summaries (With Video) (BuzzStream) AI Fears Are Fueling the ‘Handmade’ Branding Trend (Fast Company) New EU Guidelines For AI…
The Holiday Design Playbook: What to Update & When
When brick-and-mortar retailers want to signal to shoppers that it’s time for the holiday season, they deck their stores with pops of seasonal colors, put up eye-catching decor, and install impressive window displays. Brands should introduce the same festive visual signals into their digital marketing campaigns. Here are four ways to bring…
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
GVP of CRM Strategy
Zeta Global
Author of Email Marketing Rules and nearly 4,000 articles about digital and email marketing
