Email Marketing RulesThe Last Word on May 2015
Posted on June 2, 2015
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, tweets, and examples you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & whitepapers
Which Digital Channels Are Marketers Best Able to Measure for ROI? (Marketing Charts)
Top Ten Tips to Improved Email Deliverability (Inbox Marketer)
How To Send a Hidden Version of Your Email That Only Apple Watch Will See (Litmus)
Nine Years, 200 Columns – And More to Come (MediaPost)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
@KentMcGovern: “I will sue you if you don’t remove this blacklist” – Things NOT to say to a blacklist operator in the hopes of being delisted.
@bjlgroup: We love creating fun, effective digital work. Here’s our #StarWars email for Asda with a craftily hidden #DarthVader: pic.twitter.com/1cxKVHNYiF
@iamelliot: I like that the anti-email lobby goes from “email is dead” to “there’s far too much email” seemingly without irony http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/technology/internet/article4433004.ece
Noteworthy subject lines
The Container Store, 5/18 — 10% off Click & Pickup OR Free Shipping
Vera Bradley, 5/11 — For the Grad who’s going places …
Express, 5/11 — Party season is here!
MoMA Store, 5/29 — Make it Pop! Staff Picks for Father’s Day
NFLshop, 5/27 — #1 Dad? We have a tee for that…PLUS Free Shipping over $50
Under Armour, 5/24 — What Athletes Wear Off The Field
ModCloth, 5/23 — What your closet NEEDS this season…
Garnet Hill, 5/13 — Maxi Dresses (may transform sidewalks into catwalks)
Anthropologie, 5/24 — The place: outdoors. The hour: twilight.
Barneys New York, 5/27 — The Perfect Summer Accessory? A Statement Necklace
ModCloth, 5/27 — Everybody in the pool!
Lululemon, 5/19 — out of office
Clinique, 5/20 — For beach & beyond: swim shirt with sun protection.
Sephora, 5/22 — In Stores now: the 16-piece Sun Safety Kit is here
Gap, 5/24 — 10 vacation-ready looks
MoMA Store, 5/13 —Vacation Beckons! Indispensable Travel Items for Your Summer Jaunts
Express, 5/19 — Tickets booked? Here’s your packing list
Barneys New York, 5/13 — Your Memorial Day Weekend Packing List
AutoAnything, 5/13— Are We There Yet?
J.Crew, 5/29 — All under $100: this month’s 60-second shopping guide
Brooks Brothers, 5/26 — Receive 15% off (for your thoughts).
Pier 1 Imports, 5/19 — Get 20% off headboards that make the bed.
Harley-Davidson, 5/11 — #RollYourOwn. Street Art.
Clinique, 5/30 — Pin your #StartBetter goal for a chance to win.
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
My Time as a MediaPost Email Insider: 8 years, 163 columns
Learn the Secrets of Viral Emails at Salesforce Connections on 6/17
What the Verizon-AOL Deal Might Mean for Email Marketers
Try a Cart Abandonment Email ‘Sandwich’
My Time as a MediaPost Email Insider: 8 years, 163 columns
Posted on May 29, 2015
This month was my last as a MediaPost Email Insider. I’ve decided to move on and explore other opportunities, but I wanted to publicly thank MediaPost for sticking with me for 8 years and 3 months through three job changes and three acquisitions.
During my time as an Email Insider, I wrote 163 columns. I used these columns to highlight the findings of much of the email marketing research I’ve done over the years, to provoke industry conversations, and to share my thoughts about news and the future of email marketing.
As I look back on all the Email Insider columns I’ve written, here are some of the ones I’m most proud of:
Is Email Marketing Cheap — Or Does It Have A High ROI? (Mar. 24, 2015)
This column explains why your answer to this question—or, more importantly, your boss’s answer to this question—will easily predict the future success or failure of your email program.
More Email Marketing Double-Dog Dares (May 20, 2014)
I’m a huge fan of email testing as a path to more relevant emails and this column is the fourth in a series where I challenge marketers to try some more adventurous tests. The other ones were Once Again, I Double-Dog Dare You! (May 20, 2013), I Double-Dog Dare You! (Apr. 13, 2010) and Why Aren’t We More Daring? (Sept. 18, 2008).
Why You Shouldn’t Ask Your Gmail Subscribers To Re-Tab Your Emails (Aug. 13, 2013)
In recent years, Gmail has shaken up the industry with Priority Inbox, “grid view,” image caching, and—its biggest bombshell—Tabs. In this column, I urged calm in the wake of the launch of Gmail Tabs, which ultimately turned out to be a plus for marketers with good permission practices and processes in place to ensure that they send relevant email.
Six Email Marketing Predictions For 2013 (Jan. 2, 2013)
This was my most shared column, with more than 1,170 shares. Predictions 1, 2, 4, and 5 were pretty spot on. 6 was sort of right. And 3 was just wrong—and sadly, still hasn’t come to pass.
‘Best Practices’ Are Dead (Nov. 9, 2010)
This column was the genesis of my book, Email Marketing Rules. The “Ethical Imperatives” and “Recommended Practices” in this column ultimately became the 10 “Fundamental Imperatives” and 98 “Practice Guidelines” of the first edition. And I used my Email Insider columns to debut several of the concepts I discuss in the second edition, including granted media, the subscriber lifecycle, super-engagement, and confirmed opt-in lite.
When Subscribers Use SWYN, You Win (Oct. 30, 2008)
In this column I coined the term “share with your network,” or SWYN, which awesomely became a common industry term. I was an early advocate of the social sharing of email content and continue to be a strong supporter of email and social working together.
Thanks again to MediaPost for allowing me to be an Email Insider and for putting me in the company of so many of the email marketing industry’s greatest minds.
Learn the Secrets of Viral Emails at Salesforce Connections on 6/17
Posted on May 22, 2015
Join Justine Jordan and me at Salesforce Connections on June 17 at 2:45pm where we’ll be sharing insights from our upcoming report on The Viral Email. We’ll be sharing benchmarks on email forwarding behavior, insights into what causes subscribers to forward emails, and real-world examples of emails from the top 1% of viral emails.
We hope to see you in New York City on June 17!
>> Register for Connections
What the Verizon-AOL Deal Might Mean for Email Marketers
Posted on May 20, 2015
While all of the buzz around the $4.4 billion Verizon-AOL deal is about adding more content, video, and ad generation to the mobile company’s distribution platform, the acquisition will also likely affect email marketers.
AOL is one of the oldest and most experienced inbox providers and, in terms of webmail rendering, is one of the absolute best. Verizon also operates email inboxes under the Verizon and FiOS brand names. Expect consolidation of these systems.
However, on the mobile email side of the equation, AOL is not very strong. Expect Verizon to fix that by bringing their mobile savvy to the table.
With a little investment and some smart marketing, Verizon could likely double AOL’s current email client market share and start to get into the race with Google and Microsoft.
>> Read the entire column on MediaPost.com
Try a Cart Abandonment Email ‘Sandwich’
Posted on May 19, 2015
Despite being highly effective, adoption of shopping cart abandonment emails is still low and growing slowly. Only 23% of major retailers sent a shopping cart abandonment email, as of December 2014, according to Salesforce Marketing Cloud research. That’s up from 20% adoption in December 2013.
However, what is growing very quickly is the adoption of cart abandonment email series. Among those retailers using cart abandonment emails in December 2014, 50% sent a series of emails, up from just 19% the previous year.
Sending a series of cart abandonment emails gives brands more opportunities to convert carts into orders. However, many brands are largely sending the same messaging over and over.
In this guest post for Cloud.IQ, I recommend using the additional touches of a cart abandonment email series to try to address different needs and desires that are keeping customers from checking out—and in particular, I encourage you to swap out the middle message in your 3-email cart abandonment series and create what I call the cart abandonment email “sandwich.” To make one of these sandwiches…
>> Read the entire article on the Cloud.IQ blog
Buy, Buy, Bye: The Perils of Overly Salesy Emails
Posted on May 11, 2015
Email marketing excels at driving sales. That’s in large part due to consumers’ overwhelmingly preference to receive deals, discounts, and other promotions via email rather than through other channels. However, there are very real dangers to being overly promotional with your email messaging mix.
In this column for Internet Retailer, I discuss what’s driving these risks up and what the consequences are. I also talk about the following soft-sell tactics and share real-world examples of each:
- Education. For many products, consumers don’t know they need it until they’re educated about the product or about the circumstances that drive its need.
- How-To. Similar to education, how-to advice is rather critical for suppliers of raw materials, like home improvement stores and art supplies stores.
- News & Information. News and other updates can keep subscribers engaged with the product category that’s key to your business.
- Social Interactions. Part of what becomes grating about promotional emails is that it’s always the brand talking at the subscriber. By leveraging social interactions, you can bring the voice of your customers into your messaging.
- Cause Marketing & Branding Building. What does your company care about besides selling things?
>> Read the entire article on InternetRetailer.com
The Last Word on April 2015
Posted on May 4, 2015
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, tweets and examples you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & whitepapers
Email Marketers Are Failing to Engage New Subscribers (Direct Marketing News)
Use Email To Overcome The Customer ‘Experience Void’ (MediaPost)
On the dubious merits of email verification services (Spamhaus)
The Ultimate Guide to Preview Text Support (Litmus)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
@emailskinny: .@Intuit @TurboTax playing fast & loose with CAN SPAM prohibition of misleading subject lines. #FAIL http://t.co/d4wNJmabN4
@stylecampaign: Gmail doing a number on Hillary’s welcome… pic.twitter.com/4Xxkyh9YKK
@SalesforceDeliv: Which ISPs have FBLs, postmaster pages, etc? @wise_laura covers that here: sforce.co/1cvOEhS ^Al
@wise_laura: .@hajududat @litmusapp Using any public URL shortener in an email means trusting your delivery reputation to a 3rd party you don’t control
@jvanrijn: Can’t sleep because of something that is too awesome? #Awesomnia.
Noteworthy subject lines
Vera Bradley, 4/29 — Pick a Straw, any Straw…
Blue Nile, 4/22 — Power Couple: Your Love. Our Rings.
Godiva Chocolatier, 4/22 — Redeem Your Rewards Before They Expire!
Horchow, 4/13 — Annie Selke redefines luxury & shares her faves on Pinterest
NFLshop, 4/30 — With the 32nd pick, the New England Patriots select Malcolm Brown!
NFL, 4/22 — Don’t Miss the 2015 NFL Draft. Set Reminders Now!
NFLshop, 4/22 — Patriots 2015 Schedule RELEASED + All Orders over $50 Ship Free!
Golfsmith, 4/13 — Celebrate Jordan Spieth’s Win with 15% Off!
Barneys New York, 4/29 — Mum’s the Word: Shop the Chicest Mother’s Day Gifts
Zulily, 4/22 — Give Earth a hug with Seventh Generation, Burt’s Bees Baby, Green Toys and more!
Lands’ End, 4/22 — Join us in recognizing Earth’s big day
Threadless, 4/22 — Buy a tee, we’ll plant a tree
Banana Republic, 4/13 — Hate taxes? Open this ASAP.
Overstock, 4/1 — Are You the Victim of an April Fools’ Prank?
Zulily, 4/1 — Last-minute 30-second prank inside
ModCloth, 4/1 — In the pursuit of cute, we’re changing our name to “ModSloth.”
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
#Webinar: Join Me for “Designed for Success” at CloudIQ Summit on 5/28
How Emails Are Evolving into Mailable Microsites
I’ve Joined Litmus as Research Director
How Would An Email Tax Change Email Marketing?
Build Smarter Emails with These 5 Blueprints
#Webinar: Join Me for “Designed for Success” at CloudIQ Summit on 5/28
Posted on April 30, 2015
Once your cart abandonment email program is up and running, it can be easy to ‘set it and forget it,’ letting optimization strategy fall by the wayside. But email is truly one-of-a-kind, requiring unique technical, design and maintenance considerations to keep conversion and performance high.
In our CloudIQ Summit session, “Designed for Success: Optimizing the Email Experience,” Litmus Marketing Director Justine Jordan and I will discuss…
- Best practices and principles for mobile email
- How to optimise the six stages of the inbox experience
- Tips and trends for incorporating timely, seasonal messaging in your emails
…all with an eye toward cart abandonment emails, which are among the most effective emails ecommerce brands can send.
“Designed for Success: Optimizing the Email Experience”
May 28, 2015 at 10am EST (3:00pm BST)
>> Register for this free webinar
How Emails Are Evolving into Mailable Microsites
Posted on April 29, 2015
“The emails of the future will be much more like sending subscribers a microsite than a static message,” I say at the end of my book, Email Marketing Rules. Watching videos, browsing product assortments, and even making product purchases will also be possible without leaving the inbox.
When the book was published last fall, there were some definite signs of email heading in the direction of becoming mailable microsites. But in recent months, developments have accelerated. These changes will have a serious impact on how emails are designed and how email success is measured. Let’s start by looking at the new email functionality, including…
- Product & Content Browsing
- Navigation
- Video
- Live Content
- Payments
…and then we’ll discuss the effects of these changes.
>> Read the entire post on the Convince & Convert blog
I’ve Joined Litmus as Research Director
Posted on April 27, 2015
I’m excited to announce that I’ve joined Litmus as their Research Director. I’ll be heading up new research initiatives and creating content that inspires email marketers to be more creative, empowers them to make better decisions, and helps them understand new developments in the industry.
As a part of the stellar research and education team that already includes Justine Jordan, Jason Rodriguez, Lauren Smith, and Kevin Mandeville, I’ll be…
- Performing original research about email marketing tactics and trends—including looking at mobile email trends, cart abandonment emails, and email virality in the upcoming weeks
- Speaking at The Email Design Conference (TEDC) August 26–28 in Boston and September 28–29 in London (both of which will likely sell out well ahead of time)
- Sharing the latest email marketing trends and best practices on the Litmus Blog
- Collaborating with our ESP and agency partners on new research and great content
If you’re unfamiliar with Litmus and their email creation, preview, troubleshooting, and analytics tools, I humbly suggest you check them out. We’ve got exciting things planned, so stay tuned!
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
