Email Marketing RulesEmail Marketing Rules published 1 year ago today
Posted on March 4, 2014
Wow! It was just last year on Mar. 4 that Email Marketing Rules hit book shelves. What a year it’s been!
First, my most sincere thanks go out to the thousands of you that picked up a copy. I hope it’s helping you improve your email marketing programs.
I’d also like to thank the following folks for their continued support:
- Jay Baer, who wrote a fantastic foreword;
- Don Davis, Aaron Oppliger, Simms Jenkins, Jeff Rohrs, Loren McDonald, Andrew Bonar, and Anna Yeaman for their kind testimonials in support of the book; and last but not least
- ExactTarget and salesforce.com for their generous support.
If you haven’t yet grabbed a copy, I hope you’ll consider it. Remember that there are 6 Ways to Get Email Marketing Rules, ranging from discounted to free.
Thanks again, everyone!
The Last Word on February 2014
Posted on March 3, 2014
A roundup of articles, posts, tweets and emails you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & whitepapers
Email Blows Social Media Out the Door — Any More Questions? (ClickZ)
Content Considerations For Your Automated Email Program (MediaPost)
11 A/B Split Testing Mistakes I See Businesses Make All The Time (Conversion XL)
ISPs speak at M3AAWG (Word to the Wise)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
@brianclark: Successful people see an example and think “How can I do that my way?” Others say “That’s different because of x, y, and z, so I can’t.”
@delivery_kitty: Dear companies sending data breach notifications: please let an email expert help you authenticate your email so it doesn’t look fake/forged
@iamelliot: Roses are red, Violets are blue, images are disabled, sucks to be you. #emaildesign
@Dries: OH: “I want to make a font joke, but I’m just not bold enough.”
Great additions to the Swipe File pinboards
Levi’s subscriber anniversary email sent in 1/2014 >> View the pin
Applebee’s responsive social crowdsourcing email sent on 1/21/14 >> View the pin
Best Buy trending gifts email sent on 12/18/13 >> View the pin
Urban Outfitters emails sent in 11/2013 >> View the pin
Noteworthy subject lines
Democrats, 2/28 — Please do not give us $1 million
Lands’ End, 2/24 — #Friends #Family 25% off!
Earth Day Network, 2/6 — #EnvirossupportCVS
Carnival Cruise Lines, 2/21 — The clock is ticking… the #nowisthetime sale ends today!
J.Crew, 2/9 — Ignore the weatherman: 25% off select spring styles
Pier 1 Imports, 2/24 — Shop now and thank us later–there really will be a summer this year
Gap, 2/22 — Growth spurt? Start stocking up…
Ann Taylor, 2/22 — Your Legs Will Love This…
Sephora, 2/22 — Our 5 top layering tips
Furniture.com, 2/23 — Struggling with a super small dining space?
OnlineShoes.com, 2/21 — Hard to fit feet? Try us on for size.
Threadless, 2/20 — “I like knives.” – our newest MADE artist. Who could it be?
Gucci, 2/20 — On the Runway: Video and photos from our Women’s F/W ’14-15 fashion show
Vera Bradley, 2/16 — Open and scroll… Keep scrolling… Keep scrolling…
Horchow, 2/21 — 25% off + free shipping: Lighting Event starts NOW! Plus join the fun on Facebook!
ThinkGeek, 2/11 — ThinkGeek’s new bag comes with leather armor and +1 CHA bonus
Crate & Barrel, 2/9 — Good morning. Breakfast is served.
J.Crew, 2/16 — Toothpick, boyfriend, matchstick…
Lego, 2/ — Recreate your favorite scenes from THE LEGO® MOVIE™!
Walmart, 2/21 — Tax Refund ONLINE SPECIALS are here
Threadless, 2/17 — Direct orders from the president: save 30% now!
Walmart, 2/14 — Watch the Winter Games — save on TVs, tablets, recliners & more
Lenovo, 2/22 — Ask us about our gold medalist
Sephora, 2/18 — The medal goes to…
Anthropologie, 2/3 — Just in: BHLDN’s customizable bridesmaid dress.
Ninety Nine Restaurants, 2/15 — It’s Not Too Late to Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Ninety Nine!
Michaels, 2/14 — Will You Be Our Valentine? □Yes □No □Maybe
Uncommon Goods, 2/14 — Tired of Cupid?
Toys “R” Us, 2/3 — 3 Days to Save on Toys for Your Little Valentine! Online Only
Michael’s, 2/4 — Deals to Help You Put the “Best” in BFF
Honda, 2/3 — Honda News – Bruce Willis knows hugs. We know safety.
Walgreens, 2/1 — Game Day! Are you ready? We have your last-minute snacks!
Discovery Store, 2/2 — Watch Puppy Bowl + Get 20% Off!
The Container Store, 2/2 — Groundhog predicts: A LONG WINTER
Lenovo, 2/4 — What does the groundhog say?
Most popular posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
1. 100 Inspiring Email Marketing Subject Lines
2. The One-Two Punch of Subject Lines and Preheaders
3. The 1, 2, 3 of Defensive Design
4. The Many Uses (and 2 Drawbacks) of Animated Gifs
5. Infographic: Shopping Cart Abandonment Email Opportunities
Gmail’s Native ‘Unsubscribe’ Link: Should I Use It?
Posted on February 26, 2014
Gmail has made their native unsubscribe functionality much more prominent, moving their “unsubscribe” link so that it’s right after the “from” name in the inbox. Previously, it was usually hidden behind a dropdown menu.
As before, Gmail only adds the native “unsubscribe” link to emails that include the list-unsubscribe header and—critically—only if the sender already has a great sender reputation. If that describes you, the question you’re asking yourself is: Should I use this feature?
>> Read the entire post on the ExactTarget Blog
5 Ways to Improve Your Cart Abandonment Emails
Posted on February 25, 2014
Shopping cart abandonment emails are among the most powerful messages a marketer can send, but they could be even more powerful. Our most recent research into cart abandonment emails shows that there are five clear opportunities to strengthen them:
1. Send Quickly.
For most consumer purchases, the effectiveness of cart abandonment emails diminishes the longer the delay between the abandonment of the cart and the arrival of the triggered message. This is particularly true during the holiday season and during the run-up to Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and other holidays, when the time of consideration of much shorter than usual.
Our research found that 52% of cart abandonment emails…
>> Read my entire Email Insider column on MediaPost.com
Mobile-Friendly Landing Pages Must Still Be Email-Friendly
Posted on February 20, 2014
While creating mobile-friendly landing pages, it’s important not to forget to maintain a smooth handoff from email to landing page. That email click should take you to a webpage where you immediately find what you’re expecting.
Here is a telling example of how mobile can cause this kind of landing page disconnect…
>> Read the entire post on the ExactTarget Blog
>> View HP example on Pinterest
Infographic: Shopping Cart Abandonment Email Opportunities
Posted on February 13, 2014
During the key shopping month of December, we clicked through the promotional emails sent by more than 100 major online retailers and filled our shopping carts with more than $100 of merchandise. Then we walked away, closing our browser after each shopping session.
What happened next shows that there are great opportunities for not only more brands to use cart abandonment emails, but for existing users to further optimize their programs. Here are all the details about current trends, along with advice on how to increase the performance of your cart abandonment emails:
Top Models of the Email Runway: Presented by Fashion Week
Posted on February 12, 2014
In honor of New York Fashion Week, I wanted to share some email-specific tactics for model photography. Of course, models are essential to conveying your brand image and demonstrating products, particularly how a garment looks on its own and with other items. But email presents some unique constraints and goals that model photography can address.
Adjusting to Preview Panes & Email Dimensions: Model photography has to adjust to the fact that while an entire email can be quite long—sometimes even extremely long—subscribers only view small portions of it at a time.
Encouraging Scrolling: Model photography can also be used to encourage subscribers to scroll, chiefly by having models looking down.
Encouraging Clickthroughs: In addition to scrolling, model photography can also spur clickthroughs by focusing attention on key copy and calls-to-action.
>> Read the entire post on the ExactTarget Blog
>> View gallery of email examples on Pinterest
Jan. 2014 B2C Email Volume Falls Post-Holidays: Retailers Sent 18.0 per Subscriber, Non-Retailers 7.3
Posted on February 5, 2014
During January, retailers sent each of their subscribers 18.0 promotional emails on average, down 30% from December. Non-retailers sent each of their subscribers 7.3 promotional emails on average, down 18% from the previous month.
This data is based on the anonymous tracking for more than 150 B2C brands, including retailers, restaurants, manufacturers, travel and hospitality, political groups, and nonprofits.
Among both retailers and non-retailers, decreases in per-subscriber email volume were driven by the end of the holiday messaging. For more on seasonal email marketing trends, check out the Email Marketing Holiday Calendar and this month’s update…
>> Email Marketing Holiday Calendar 2013: January Review
The Last Word on January 2014
Posted on February 4, 2014
A roundup of articles, posts, tweets and emails you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & whitepapers
What’s The Best Send Time? (MediaPost)
Trade Secret: The Right Response To Engagement-based Filtering (MediaPost)
Personalization Sees Payoffs in Marketing Emails (Emarketer)
Rethinking the Post-Purchase Email Strategy (DEG blog)
Thoughts on “ISP relations” (Word to the Wise blog)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
@EmailKarma: Asked: I’ve purchased a list now what? ME: Sorry you’ve wasted your money… http://t.co/2DJe8e6S2D
@evansmom: #Email quote OTD: “The email subject was ‘Shoes You Won’t Want to Miss.’ But on mobile it was truncated to ‘Shoes You Won’t Want.’”
@mostew: ~ @TWalk yep. The annual “death of email” prediction by Facebook is growing old faster than its user base.
Great additions to the Swipe File pinboards
Bonobos newsjacking email sent 1/19/14 >> View the pin
Banana Republic reengagement email sent 11/30/13 >> View the pin
Home Depot in-store pin pad email opt in >> View the pin
Amazon.com progressive profiling email sent 12/2013 >> View the pin
Noteworthy subject lines
Crate & Barrel, 1/31 — The best bars for the big game.
Chili’s, 1/29 — Call Chili’s for the Big Game!
Ninety Nine, 1/29 — Enjoy the Big Game with $5 Off Boneless Wings Crowd Pleazers
Pepsi, 1/23 — Get hyped for halftime at Pepsi.com!
Pier 1 Imports, 1/24 — Sometimes what’s under TV matters as much as what’s on TV.
Crutchfield, 1/12 — A picture that will bowl you over
Sephora, 1/25 — It’s Opposite Day (for real)
Victoria’s Secret, 1/28 — February 14th is #BombshellsDay
Saks Fifth Avenue, 1/23 — Our Editor’s Valentine’s Day Gift Picks
ModCloth, 1/27 — Order by 2/3 to get gifts & goodies by V-Day!
Express, 1/29 — Got a hot date? Here’s $30 off to put together an outfit
Lands’ End, 1/29 —All you need is . And some of these
Apple, 1/29 — Valentine’s Day and iPad. Made for each other.
ThinkGeek, 1/24 — ThinkGeek now shipping long-stem kittens
Etsy, 1/19 — K.I.S.S.I.N.G.
Wayfair, 1/19 — Kiss clutter goodbye!
Expedia, 1/17 — Orlando deals, St. Patty’s in Dublin & more
Moosejaw, 1/23 — Winter Running Gear for Walrus Season
Anthropologie, 1/29 — A sweater for whatever the weather.
Etsy, 1/20 — Shop Where You Are
Drs. Foster & Smith, 1/28 — Your Canine Heartworm Questions Answered
Threadless, 1/27 — What the heck is a parabumba?
Sony, 1/24 — We’re Sorry the Xperia Z1S Smartphone Was Hard to Shop | Get It Now at T-Mobile
West Elm, 1/26 — 6 sales = 6 ways to redo a room.
Lululemon, 1/14 — it’s dark. let’s do it.
Dunkin Donuts, 1/9 — Stay fueled with Dunkin’ Energy Bars
Target, 1/28 — This email address is changing, but our deals won’t stop.
The Container Store, 1/3 — $2500 elfa makeover = reason to dance
REI, 1/1 — Motivate, Activate, Accelerate – Resolve to Get Moving
Express, 1/1 — Struggling to get out of bed? 40% OFF jeans might help…
Most popular posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
1. 100 Inspiring Email Marketing Subject Lines
2. The Many Uses (and 2 Drawbacks) of Animated Gifs
3. The One-Two Punch of Subject Lines and Preheaders
The Questions My #EEC14 Panel Didn’t Get to
Posted on January 29, 2014
I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel last week at the Email Evolution Conference with fellow email marketing book author Simms Jenkins. We crowdsourced questions online for our session, in addition to taking questions from attendees—but, of course, we didn’t get through them all. So I wanted to go ahead and answer some of the ones we didn’t get to.
BR from Atlanta asked: “Any thoughts/insights on how the recent image caching would affect tools like Litmus and other tacking tools that use pixel beacons as it relates to mobile vs desktop opens?”
KS from Atlanta asked: “How do you think Gmail’s most recent update (when you’re composing a new email, Gmail will suggest your Google+ connections as recipients) affect email marketing as a whole?”
Anna Yeaman from LA asked: “How many emails are responsive & how does that stack up against websites (11-12%) based on bit.ly/1mk5Q7I are we ahead?”
Laura G. from Atlanta asked: “What changes do you foresee in relation to data privacy over the course of the next few years and how will this impact email marketing?”
JM from Atlanta asked: “Within the restaurant industry, what day of the week has the highest email open rates?”
JM from Atlanta also asked: “What are the top 3 digital marketing trends for 2014?”
>> Read my answers to these questions on the ExactTarget Blog
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
