The Last Word on October 2013

The Last WordA roundup of articles, posts, tweets and emails you might have missed last month…

Must-read articles, posts & whitepapers

“Free” is not a Dirty Word (and 4 other Subject Line Findings) (Return Path)

The Current State of Mobile 2013 Q3 (Spectacular Stats) (The Mobile Marketer)

The Email Design Conference 2013 San Francisco — 30 Email Dev Tips from Strangers! (Dev Tips For Designers)

Email Beats Social Networks for Online Offer Sharing: Study (AdAge)

There’s more love for marketing emails than you think (Smart Insights)

Infographic: Consumers’ Love-Hate Relationship with the Shopping Cart (DM News)

8 effective email marketing strategies, backed by science (Buffer)

Christmas and holiday email marketing 2013 (Smart Insights)

Don’t Let Holiday Hysteria Harm Your Email Program in 2014 (ClickZ)

Insightful & entertaining tweets

@jesuisandrea: Love this quote from @cstudabaker @litmusapp #TEDC13 pic.twitter.com/CHUCfDlViX

@trendlinei: Columbia goes responsive, more retailers are coming around… http://t.co/uM55nETi9w

@emailrocks: “I don’t care about big data – we can’t even do small data right” via @mitchjoel #LCMC13

@somniphobe: Smarketing may be my favourite new word. – @jaybaer  #lcmc13

@StephanieSAM: Whatever phone your CEO owns, test that one for #emailmarketing rendering. Good advice from Wacarra @Responsys #DMA13

@Sam_CMUK: Things I never thought I’d witness: A round of applause for styled ALT text! #TEDC13

Great additions to the Email Swipe File pinboard

Best of the Best email sent on 8/19/13 >> View the pin

Warby Parker email sent on 10/24/13 >> View the pin

Apple email sent on 10/24/13 >> View the pin

Kiva email sent on 10/10/13 >> View the pin

Noteworthy subject lines

FansEdge, 10/31 — The Red Sox are World Series Champs!
Tiffany & Co., 10/28 — Discover the New Tiffany.com‏
Staples, 10/20 — The new staples.com is HERE!
GameSpot, 10/10 — See the new GameSpot‏
Saks, 10/9 — Now Online! Shop saksoff5th.com‏
Home Depot, 10/31 — Updates for the Holidays | From Boring to Blissful‏
Sephora, 10/29 — A girl can dream: GIFTaculars‏
SkyMall, 10/25 — Have You Thought Much About the Holidays? Save 15% Today!
Restoration Hardware, 10/25 — Our Holiday Gift Collection. 150+ Pages of Curated Gifts.
Crate & Barrel, 10/21 — Our Christmas ornaments are here.
The Container Store, 10/20 — Our Gift Wrap Wonderland is HERE!
Pier 1 Imports, 10/18 — Sparkle: Now available in small, medium and large.
Banana Republic, 10/18 — A sneak peek at holiday style.
Tiny Prints, 10/13 — Order Holiday Cards Early, Save 20% + Free Shipping‏
Michael’s, 10/12 — Learn How to Make the Perfect Holiday Gift‏
Neiman Marcus, 10/8 — The Christmas Book is here‏
Chili’s, 10/14 — Support the Movement. Thank a Veteran Today.
Boston Market, 10/4 — A special offer for Military and Federal employees!
Banana Republic, 10/12 — Fall favorites for 9 to 5 to 9.
REI, 10/1 — Meet Our New CEO, Jerry Stritzke‏
Victoria’s Secret, 10/29 — It’s on! #SecretRewardCard‏
Lenovo, 10/10 — A #betterway arrives Oct 30
Zulily, 10/1 — #trending now: Ava Loves Olli, and more‏

Most popular posts on EmailMarketingRules.com last month

1. The Many Uses (and 2 Drawbacks) of Animated Gifs

2. Are You Giving Those Who Unsubscribe the Cold Shoulder?

3. Happy Birthday, Dear Subscriber #Infographic

4. The One-Two Punch of Subject Lines and Preheaders

5. B2C Brands Sent Subscribers 13.1 Emails on Average during September 2013

Read the full story at InternetRetailer.comMaking sure marketing emails look and perform well on mobile devices has never been more important. And that’s a goal that can be challenging when there are often small, unannounced changes in email clients.

I recently spoke with Bill Siwicki of Internet Retailer about a quirk in Apple’s new iOS 7 that occasionally converts portions of subject lines into calendar events links—sometimes accurately,  sometimes not.

>> Read the full story at InternetRetailer.com

6 Ways to Get Email Marketing Rules

Email Marketing RulesThere are several ways that you can get Email Marketing Rules, including a few that let you get it at a discount or even for free.

1. Paperback

We may live in the digital age, but the paperback version of Email Marketing Rules outsells the electronic version by roughly 3 to 2. >> Get the paperback

2. Kindle Book

The digital version of Email Marketing Rules can be read on any smartphone, tablet or computer by downloading the free Kindle Reading App. >> Get the Kindle Book

3. New Kindle MatchBook

If you have previously purchased the Email Marketing Rules paperback from Amazon, Kindle MatchBook is a brand new feature that allows you to purchase the ebook version for just $1.99. >> Learn more about MatchBook

4. Borrow Books with Amazon Prime

If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow the Email Marketing Rules ebook from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library for free. >> Learn more about borrowing ebooks

5. Kindle Book Lending

If you own the Email Marketing Rules Kindle Book, you can lend it to another reader for up to 14 days. >> Learn more about ebook lending

6. Bulk Orders of Paperbacks

If you want to order 20 or more Email Marketing Rules paperbacks for an event or training program, I can offer you a discount by ordering direct from my publisher. >> Connect with me on LinkedIn about a bulk order

Register for this webinarThere has been a lot of talk about and a lot of hand-wringing over the debut of Gmail’s new tabbed inbox this summer. Now that the dust has settled a little, join Jeremy Bromwell, ExactTarget’s Senior Marketing Consultant, and me on Nov. 14 at 2 pm ET to hear the latest research findings and our advice on how data will help you understand potential challenges, develop a strategy, and present recommended actions. Also learn from one of our clients on how they’ve built their strategy to tackle Gmail’s new tabbed inbox.

Can’t attend the webinar?  Register and we’ll make sure you get a copy of the webinar recording.

>> Register for this free webinar

Unfriendly Unsubscribe Confirmation PagesIs your unsubscribe process in line with your brand? What message does your unsubscribe page and opt-out confirmation page send to your customers?

Too often those who opt out are met with a process that seems uncaring and messaging that conveys indifference and disinterest that sometimes borders on quiet hostility.

For instance, Verizon Wireless’s opt-out confirmation page is cold and clinical. No “thanks for being a subscriber.” No “sorry to see you go.” No indication that they want to interact or do business with them in the future.

What’s also missing is their usual navigation bar and footer links. There’s just a logo and a brief confirmation message. They don’t try to engage outgoing subscribers with any links at all. It’s a dead end. Landing pages like this suffer from what I call “back alley syndrome,” since it’s like being thrown out the back door of a store into the alley.

Uncommon Goods and Dell’s opt-out confirmation pages suffer similar messaging and design flaws.

In today’s complex, multichannel world, just because an email subscriber opts out, doesn’t mean that their relationship with your brand is over. They may find that other marketing channels are better for them, or may intend to sign up for email again in the future, or now use a different email account for promo emails, or—any number of other reasons that are difficult or impossible to know or control.

Hopefully you’re able to offer topic preference and opt-down options on your unsubscribe page or in your preference center as a way of being responsive to subscriber needs and reducing opt-outs. Fab.com and Jetsetter’s preference centers are great examples of presenting these options.

But when those tactics fail, remember to be gracious on your opt-out confirmation page. Thank them for being a subscriber and say that you hope they’ll re-subscribe in the future. Manners cost you next to nothing and could significantly impact how subscribers perceive your brand.

Also be sure to bring a cross-channel vision to your email opt-out confirmation page by giving folks the option to opt-over to another channel—whether it’s following your brand on Twitter, downloading your mobile app, subscribing to SMS alerts, or signing up to receive for your catalog. Increasing your audience in one or more of your other channels can help compensate for the loss of an email subscriber.

The Changing State of Email Nav Bars

REI nav barsThe email navigation bar is evolving. Experimentation over the years has led to greater flexibility, fraying the connection between the links in website nav bars and those in email nav bars. And now the move to mobile-friendly is blowing up that connection completely, and whittling down the number of nav links to the bare necessities.

Mobile Navigation Bars

Back in 2009, I looked at the email nav bars used by major retailers and found that 38% of retailers used an email nav that matched their website’s and that on average they included a little more than 8 links in their email navs. The largest email navs included 19 links, while the smallest only 3.

Those at the low end were ahead of the curve, because…

>> Read the entire post on the ExactTarget Blog

5 Mobile-Aware Email Redesigns

5 Mobile-Aware Email RedesignsWith 48% of emails read on a mobile device, according to Litmus, and 63% of consumers saying they delete emails immediately if they are not optimized for mobile, according to Return Path, there’s a growing imperative to be mobile-friendly. But being mobile-friendly doesn’t necessarily mean moving to responsive email designs.

Depending upon your capabilities and the percentage of your emails opened on mobile, you might find moving to a mobile-aware template a very attractive alternative—at least for the near-term. According to ExactTarget research involving nearly 160 B2C brands, 78% of marketers don’t use either a responsive or mobile-aware template. So at least for now, there’s still a big competitive advantage to adopting mobile-aware email design, although…

>> Read the entire post on the ExactTarget Blog

Infographic: Happy Birthday, Dear Subscriber

Have you ever gotten an unexpected birthday gift? Feels great, right? And you probably ended up giving more time and attention to the gift-giver as a result. That’s the opportunity that triggered birthday emails offer. It’s a winning tactic that generates an outsized return on investment.

ExactTarget research involving more than 180 B2C brands—including retailers, restaurants, manufacturers, travel and hospitality, and nonprofits—shows that there’s plenty of opportunity for brands to delight subscribers with best wishes on their special day. Check out the stats and tactics to learn the who, what, when, why and how of birthday emails.

birthday emails

This infographic is brought to you by ExactTarget, a leader in digital marketing.

 

Register for this free webinarTo my European readers: Please join me on Oct. 18 at 11am GMT (London) for a webinar hosted by Smart Insights where I’ll be discussing email marketing best practices and sharing real-world examples of good, great and not-to-great executions.

I’ll answer questions from you and our moderator, Dave Chaffey of Smart Insights, as we talk about…

  1. The Signup Process
  2. Welcome Emails
  3. Defensive Design
  4. Mobile-Friendliness
  5. The Unsubscribe Process

>> Register for this free webinar

Also, read Dave Chaffey’s webinar preview and review of my book, Email Marketing Rules.

View all of Chad's MediaPost columnOn the sliding scale of mobile-friendliness, most brands are just getting a firm grasp on mobile-optimized email design. As much talk as there is about responsive design, adoption is relatively low in most industries (although next year will be an entirely different story). But as brands plot their jump from mobile-optimized to responsive design, they should keep in mind the next notch in the scale beyond that: mobile-targeted design.

Being mobile-targeted means your email content not only looks different on mobile devices than it does on desktops, the content itself is different…

>> Read my entire Email Insider column on MediaPost.com