Email Marketing RulesThe Benefits and Challenges of Interactive Emails
Posted on September 8, 2015
How to bring interactivity to email—and whether we should—was a major topic at The Email Design Conference last month. In this article, Fast Company talks with Justine Jordan and I and others in the industry about the benefits and challenges of interactive emails.
I summed up the benefits of bringing video, carousels, product browsing, checkout, and other web functionality to email in terms of reducing friction in the subscriber experience:
“Every year, people are in more and more of a hurry, and that definitely is the case with email users. If you can give them something actually in the email that’s actionable, they’re way more likely to engage with that, versus forcing them to click through to a website where they have to regain their bearings and find the things that they’re interested in.”
The challenges were much harder to sum up, but largely boil down to uneven support across email clients because of the lack of accepted email coding standards. To see what Mark Robbins of RebelMail, Justin Khoo of FreshInbox, Kraig Swensrud of Campaign Monitor, and others said…
>> Read the entire article on FastCompany.com
The Last Word on August 2015
Posted on September 4, 2015
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, tweets and examples you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & whitepapers
Android Fragmentation Visualized (Open Signal)
Microsoft Outlook For Apple Watch One-Ups Apple’s Native Email Client (TechCrunch)
Why Open-Bait Doesn’t Work in Email (Email Critic)
Your Email Marketing May Impact Your Rankings (ClickZ)
Does An Animated Pop-up Work or Annoy? (WhichTestWon)
Candid answers to CAN-SPAM questions (FTC)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
@iamelliot: “human to human marketing” is a bullshit infused buzzword about why we shouldn’t use buzzword infused bullshit #h2hmarketing
@chelseajcook: I’m just a girl looking for a perfectly designed email in an imperfect email client world. #TEDC15
@lozzzytweets: Less cool than in person but @RodriguezCommaJ is joining us via robot for #tedc15! We miss you Ceej! pic.twitter.com/d6HX6iveaF
@yarrcat: 5% of your list are responsible for 38% of opens – treat ’em special! #TEDC15
@dcaro12: There is no such thing as pixel perfect design in email. It is impossible. @flcarneiro #tedc15
@EmailSnarketing: Status: #TEDC15 withdrawals and digging myself out of a pile of emails. Send snacks.
Noteworthy subject lines
The Container Store, 8/19 – Back To School with Some Favorite Mommy Bloggers
Victoria’s Secret, 8/6 – PINK Friday starts TONIGHT!
Levi’s, 8/30 – The Fall Checklists (+ Up to 30% off ends soon)
Saks Fifth Avenue, 8/19 – It’s never too soon to think COATS.
The Container Store, 8/15 – 1st time ever – Free elfa Installation
P&G everyday, 8/20 – Just for you: free shopping bag from Shutterfly
FragranceNet.com, 8/6 – Fragrance Layering 101 (plus TWO new coupons!)
Karmaloop, 8/24 – It’s All About The Tall Tee. See Our Top Styling Tips.
Anthropologie, 8/29 – 7 must-have tops, 1 must-have SALE.
Ann Taylor, 8/4 – We Heart You Too! What You’re Loving Now
Under Armour, 8/30 – This Hoodie Has No Off-Season
FansEdge, 8/15 – Retro gear never gets old!
Banana Republic, 8/15 – Shoes don’t make the man, but…
Ann Taylor, 8/19 – Between Sandals And Boots, There’s This…
Threadless, 8/24 – Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Bete…
Garnet Hill, 8/19 – Couldn’t shop garnethill.com? We apologize.
GNC, 8/29 – Oops! We meant – Save up to 60% ALL Weekend In Stores and Online!
J.Crew, 8/4 – Ends tonight: 20% off full-price styles with your J.Crew Card. Don’t have one? Sign up now.
Ninety Nine Restaurant, 8/19 – Together We’ve Raised Over 550k!
Urban Outfitters, 8/19 – These shirts. Just saying.
Etsy, 8/12 – Hit Refresh
Banana Republic, 8/24 – Instant gratification is inside
AutoAnything: You’re Missing This!
Victoria’s Secret, 8/12 – Open for offer code.
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
6 Keys to a Successful Welcome Email Experience
The Savvy, Time-Saving Responsive-Aware Approach to Email Design
1-Year Anniversary of ‘Email Marketing Rules’: Thanks for Your Support!
Posted on September 1, 2015
The 2nd Edition of “Email Marketing Rules” was published 1 year ago today and I just want to again say, Thank You! Thanks to everyone who has purchased it. Thanks to everyone who has tweeted, blogged, and otherwise said nice things about it. And an extra big thanks to the 57 people who have reviewed it on Amazon.
As a sign of my heartfelt appreciation, I’ve cut the paperback list price by 13% to $12.99 and the Kindle price by 33% to just $3.99.
For those of you who haven’t grabbed a copy yet, I hope this makes it easier for you to do so.
>> Buy print edition—and afterward get the digital version for FREE via Kindle Matchbook
>> Buy Kindle edition (which is readable on any device with the free Kindle Reader app)
For those of you who already have a copy, I would be thrilled if you would write a review on Amazon or recommend it to your friends or colleagues.
>> Click to Tweet: I highly recommend “Email Marketing Rules” by @chadswhite. Pick it up today at Amazon the new reduced price: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500981974/
I’d also like to once again thank my awesome editors, Mark Brownlow and Aaron Smith; Jay Baer, who wrote the insightful foreword; Andrea Smith, who designed the cool cover and illustrations; my copyeditor, Brian Walls; and all the folks who generously wrote blurbs for the book: Jeff Rohrs, Don Davis, Simms Jenkins, Kyle Lacy, Loren McDonald, Andrew Bonar, Dave Chaffey, and Justine Jordan. And last, but certainly not least, thanks again to my wonderful wife, Kate, who has supported me all the way.
6 Keys to a Successful Welcome Email Experience
Posted on August 17, 2015
You’ve honed your email signup appeal language to entice people to subscribe. You’ve created a signup form that minimizes friction. You’ve placed that form on your website, in your mobile app, on your Facebook page, and in other places where your customers and potential customers will see them. And—success—people are subscribing. Now what?
Sending a welcome email is that next crucial step. Here are six tips to ensure that your welcome email creates a great subscriber experience:
1. Send a welcome email immediately! Don’t settle for overnight batched welcome email sending. It has to be sent immediately after someone signs up. The reason is that…
>> Read the full post on the Litmus Blog
The Savvy, Time-Saving Responsive-Aware Approach to Email Design
Posted on August 12, 2015
While responsive email design is seeing the highest adoption rate among B2C marketers, responsive-aware may be the savviest and most time-efficient approach to creating a mobile-friendly subscriber experience.
What’s responsive-aware design? It’s an email design approach that uses responsive design for the headers and footers, while using mobile-aware design for the remaining body content. It’s a savvy approach to email design for three reasons:
First, this approach uses responsive design in the portions of an email where the highest link densities and smallest text font sizes are found. Using responsive design to turn an 8-link desktop navigation bar into a much more tappable 3-link one on mobile, for instance, makes the subscriber experience much better. And navigation bar links generally convert at a high rate, so ensuring that they’re easily tappable with a finger is smart business.
Second, header and footer coding is built into your templates, so…
>> Read the full post on Litmus.com
The 5 Levels of Mobile-Friendly Email Design
Posted on August 11, 2015
Sometimes being mobile-friendly can seem black and white. You’re either using responsive design or you’re not. But there are actually gradations of mobile-friendliness, especially in emails.
In my latest Marketing Land column, I discuss the 5 levels of mobile-friendly email design:
5. Responsive email design: Email content and layout adjust to user’s screen size
4. Responsive-aware design: Headers and footers are responsive, while remaining body content is mobile-aware
3. Mobile-aware design: Single-column layout, large text and images, large and well-spaced buttons and links
2. Quasi–mobile-aware design: Header and footer are desktop-centric, while significant portions of the remaining body content are mobile-aware
1. Desktop-centric design: Multiple columns, small text and images, tightly clustered buttons and links
I also share some additional insights from our joint research with Salesforce that we didn’t include in our 2015 Mobile-Friendly Email & Landing Page Trends infographic.
>> Read the entire column on MarketingLand.com
The Last Word on June and July 2015
Posted on August 5, 2015
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, tweets and examples you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & whitepapers
This is how you make your emails Apple Siri-proof (Email Audience)
Punched card coding – Javascript functionality with CSS – Mark Robbins / Front-Trends 2015 (RebelMail)
How the Top 500 Internet Retailers Collect Email Sign-ups (250ok)
How Email Engagement Compares to Social Engagement (Marketing Tech Blog)
Cart Abandonment Incentives: More Hindrance than Help? (Relevance)
Mind the Marketing Gap (Oracle)
Everything You Need to Know About Gmail’s New Postmaster Tools (Return Path)
Typographic patterns in email (StyleCampaign)
Fastest Way to Lose Customers (KISSmetrics)
Yes, Virginia, there is list churn (Word to the Wise)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
@iamelliot: Blimey. “People don’t buy on mobile so it’s not important” is still apparently a thing in 2015. You keep telling yourself that.
@listrak: Any holiday theme created for your website should carry over into your messages across the board. #ShineBrighter
@joelbook: By 2018, Gartner predicts that organizations that excel in personalization will outsell companies that don’t by 20%. lnkd.in/eEvs3Yw
@iamelliot: Just got an email from Google that looks better on iPhone than in Gmail. pic.twitter.com/Lpdq0NRHou
Noteworthy subject lines
Under Armour, 7/4 — Honor Our Heroes This 4th
Saks Fifth Avenue, 7/4 — Saks Celebrates American Designers
Petco, 7/23 — EARLY ACCESS: Black. Friday. In. July.
FragranceNet.com, 7/30 — 25% off sitewide – Christmas in July Sale ends today!
eBags, 6/1 — 2 Reasons to Celebrate: Dads & Grads Double Deal
Uncommon Goods, 6/2 — Father’s Day Finds For Great Guys.
Brooks Brothers, 6/2 — Need a gift? The Pop Shop is open.
Golfsmith, 6/5 — Top 5 Gifts for Dad!
Boston Market, 6/4 — Too Good to be a Nugget
Subway, 6/2 — The Meal of Approval
Dunkin’ Donuts, 6/10 — Celebrate National Iced Tea Day!
Dunkin’ Donuts, 6/5 — Free Donut on #NationalDonutDay – Today (June 5)
Discovery Store, 7/9 — Cheers to Shark Week! The Most Wonderful Week of the Year
Applebee’s, 7/29 — Chad, Celebrate Nat’l Chicken Wing Day with 1/2 Price Apps!
Anthropologie, 6/21 — Hearted: your Instagrams + our TAG SALE.
IKEA, 7/29 — Sign up for the new 2016 IKEA Catalog!
ThinkGeek, 7/9 — ThinkGeek yells “CONNNNNNNNN!”
Express, 7/29 — The Girlfriend Jean vs. the Boyfriend Jean
Vera Bradley, 6/2 — Meet us here for lunch …
Overstock.com, 6/2 — A to Zzzzz. Save on Everything You Need for a Better Bedroom (And Sleep!)
Clinique, 6/2 — You’ll be glowing—without the sun. 3 FREE minis with purchase.
Ann Taylor, 6/3 — Up For Promotion: 30% Off Suits
Vera Bradley, 6/8 — How long have you been friends?
Lululemon, 6/2 — more fun than skinny dipping
Gilt, 7/11 — Parsol: Go-to shades for stylish badasses
Crate & Barrel, 7/11 — Pull up a seat. They’re just $99.95 each.
Overstock.com, 7/14 — 2+2 = Up to 50% off Everything for Back to School
Zulily, 7/16 — Made you look…Sesame Street Collection and more
Express, 7/16 — Hey girl, let us ask you a question…
eBags, 7/23 — 100% Awesome, ??$ Off
American Red Cross, 7/31 — H2 Oh no! 5 Water Safety Questions
Zulily, 7/9 — Buying a new dress > Work
Brooks Brothers, 6/1 — Stop scrolling. Start saving on clearance.
REI, 7/16 — Copy, Paste & Save
Overstock.com, 6/5 — Open This or We’ll Tell Your Father
Applebee’s, 6/22 — Chad, The boldest email you’ll open today.
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
5 Reasons External Email Benchmarks Are Less Useful Than You Think
The Hierarchy of Subscriber Needs: Are You Satisfying All 4?
Infographic: 2015 Mobile-Friendly Email & Landing Page Trends
Tactics Used by the Top 1% of Viral Emails
5 Secrets to Getting Subscribers to Forward Your Emails
Shopping Cart Abandonment Gamesmanship
8 Keys to Making Your Emails Go Viral
The Dangers of Not Regularly Reviewing Your Triggered Emails
5 Reasons External Email Benchmarks Are Less Useful Than You Think
Posted on July 30, 2015
Our competitive nature drives us to want to know how other email marketers are performing. But aggregated, averaged benchmark data can provide false comfort and false alarms.
I’m not saying benchmarks are completely unuseful, just that they’re usually only helpful in a very general way for the following reasons:
- Audience response is different depending on the subscribers’ country or region.
- Audience response is different depending on the industry vertical.
- Audience response is different depending on the industry sub-vertical.
- Audience response is different depending on the brand’s business strategy and email marketing goals.
- Audience response is different depending on how a brand manages their email list.
For a full discussion of these, plus four ways to use external email benchmarks wisely…
>> Read the entire article on Litmus.com
Win a Copy of “Email Marketing Rules” in MarketingSherpa’s Weekly Book Giveaway
Posted on July 27, 2015
MarketingSherpa has been giving away great marketing books since 2002 and this week I’m excited that they’ll be giving away copies of Email Marketing Rules.
>> Sign up by Aug. 2 for your chance to win
While you’re at it, sign up to receive MarketingSherpa’s Email Marketing newsletter, which will keep you up to date on all the latest trends and tips.
Good luck!
The Hierarchy of Subscriber Needs: Are You Satisfying All 4?
Posted on July 24, 2015
Everyone wants to send more “relevant” emails, right? That’s been the buzzword of the email industry for a few years now. However, typically relevance is discussed in narrow terms, generally in regards to content.
But relevance is much more than that. Just think about all the reasons that people mark your emails as spam or unsubscribe from them:
- I never subscribed.
- I received emails too often.
- The emails were too hard to read.
- The emails didn’t work well on my mobile device.
- The emails were frustrating because they had too many errors and bad links.
- I didn’t find the content valuable.
- The emails made me feel like a number rather than an individual.
- I can easily find the content elsewhere.
Spanning everything from permission to quality assurance, accessibility to legibility, and content to frequency, all of these speak to the quality of the subscriber experience and how relevant the messages were to the individual.
The Hierarchy of Subscriber Needs, which we debuted in The Viral Email report, provides this big picture view of relevance. In this guest post for Convince & Convert, I discuss all four subscriber needs, including how to fulfill them and how to measure them.
>> Read the entire post at ConvinceAndConvert.com
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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