Email Marketing RulesMitigating the Risks of Inbox AI Summaries
Whether provided by inbox providers or via agents, inbox AI summaries of promotional emails are inherently reductive, introduce errors, overwrite brand voice, and deprive marketers of a significant amount of their “first impression” real estate. That has created a host of new risks for marketers, including lower campaign performance and sender reputation…
Is Email Marketing’s ROI Sky-High or Irrelevant?
For the better part of the past two decades, email marketing’s return on investment (ROI) has hovered around 36:1, according to a variety of sources. That means the average brand can expect to earn $36 for every $1 they spend on their email marketing efforts. Compared with other channels, email marketing’s ROI is typically near the…
Vibe Coding Reignites the ‘Build vs. Buy’ Debate
Thanks to vibe coding, the build vs. buy debate has rekindled over the past year, with numerous headlines pronouncing “SAAS is dead.” The argument is: AI makes coding software so easy, why wouldn’t companies build what they need instead of paying a vendor for it? The last time this debate was had…
The AI Standing Between You and Your Subscribers
The rate of change among inbox providers has never been faster or more impactful. That creates lots of challenges for marketers, particular for publishers. I join Chris Miquel, the host of the Audience Bridge Insights podcast, to talk about all of the biggest changes, as well as some that are less threatening…
Owned Audiences and the Inbox as a Search Platform
Google has become the world’s largest publisher—and for brands that relied on organic search, that’s a crisis. In this episode of the Beyond the Search Bar podcast, I chat with host Russ Macumber about how search is changing and the role that email marketing can play as the Google Search monolith crumbles….
Adapting to the Most Active Inbox Provider Environment Ever
The launch of Mail Privacy Protection by Apple in 2021 kicked off the largest wave of inbox changes in more than a decade. Hide My Email, Link Tracking Protection, Deal Annotations, Deal Cards, AI Summaries, Brand Message Groupings, Branded Mail … It’s a wave of innovation that continues strong to this day….
Which Email Marketing Trends Are Truly Worth It?
Is the juice worth the squeeze? That was the central question in the session by Scott Cohen and Ryan Phelan at the ANA’s The Next Chapter of Email Evolution event in Chicago last month. The duo asked the audience to give a variety of trends a thumbs up or thumbs down, and…
Email Marketing Underperforming? Let’s Troubleshoot It
While no one has claimed email marketing is dying for many, many years, some marketers have become increasingly concerned with performance declines, despite the channel generating returns on investment that are often at least twice as high as most other channels. If your organization is concerned about your email marketing performance, here…
How Marketers Can Adapt to Gmail’s ‘Manage Subscriptions’
“Received too many emails” has perennially been one of the top reasons consumers unsubscribe. Google is clearly trying to address this complaint with the “Manage Subscriptions” functionality it launched in Gmail last year and rolled out over the course of subsequent months. However, the functionality is hampered by flaws that limit its…
How Ethical Are Your Digital Marketing Tactics?
The issue of ethics in digital marketing is being supercharged by advancements in data management, machine learning, generative AI, and AI agents. In particular, that last one is ringing alarm bells for brands. According to an EMarketer survey, 71% of national brands say that marketers need to establish ethical and privacy standards…
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
GVP of CRM Strategy
Zeta Global
Author of Email Marketing Rules and nearly 4,000 articles about digital and email marketing
