Email Marketing RulesEmail Marketing in 2020 Report
Email marketing is not for the faint of heart. The channel is constantly evolving—whether mobile devices and wearables are redefining email design, inbox providers are redefining engagement and deliverability, or ESPs are redefining personalization and targeting. All this change means that marketers are always reacting, learning, and planning for the future as…
Email Marketing’s Greatest Strength & Greatest Weakness
“Email’s greatest strengths often double as its greatest weaknesses,” says DM News’ Ginger Conlon in the introduction to The Email Opportunist. “Fortunately, savvy marketers can overcome the latter to capitalize on the former.” I was among the 16 experts interviewed for this report on the channel’s greatest strengths and weaknesses. In a…
The Pros & Cons of the New ‘Block’ Button from Gmail
Gmail rolled out new “block” functionality to all Gmail webmail users yesterday, giving consumers yet another option to rid their inboxes of email they don’t want. On the surface, that might not sound like a great thing for marketers, but it’s not as bad as it sounds. This option is just one…
‘The Email Episode’ of Salesforce’s new Marketing Cloudcast
I was honored to be one of the first guests on Salesforce’s new podcast, the Marketing Cloudcast, which is hosted by my friends Heike Young and Joel Book. The podcast is available on Soundcloud and via iTunes. In “The Email Episode: Giving Email a Little Respect,” we talk about: What I do…
How Would An Email Tax Change Email Marketing?
On April Fools’ Day, Forbes ran a story about how Congress was considering a tax on email by amending the Internet Tax Freedom Act the next time it comes up for renewal. It was a great gag, and while I think there’s zero chance of any kind of email tax coming into…
Opens, Clicks, Junks, and Blocks in the Third Age of Email Deliverability
In the First Age of Email Deliverability, there were no rules and few if any consequences for bad behavior. In the Second Age, ISPs armed their users with “report spam” and “junk” buttons and senders that received too many spam complaints had their emails junked or blocked. In the Third Age, which…
Inbox by Gmail: 3 Experts Share Their Thoughts on Its Impact – Part 2
Inbox by Gmail is the latest email innovation by Google to get marketers wringing their hands and worrying about how their programs will be affected. To help determine its impact on marketers, BrightWave CEO Simms Jenkins interviewed Ryan Phelan of Acxiom, Jay Jhun of BrightWave, and myself about the new app. In…
Fall Edition of the Email Marketer’s Holiday Planning Checklist
Hopefully you spent your summer doing some big picture strategic planning for the holiday season. Now that we’re into October, it’s time to get more serious and more focused to the execution of holiday campaigns. In the second of my 3-part Holiday Planning Checklist for Internet Retailer Magazine, I advise retailers to:…
Gmail’s Native Unsubscribe Link: The Upside and Downside
Gmail is making email marketers sweat again. In the last year alone, the debut of Tabs caused all-out panic, image caching set new open rate baselines, and grid view led to rendering concerns. Now Gmail is following up with a partial rollout of a highly visible native unsubscribe link in March with…
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
Features
