7 Years as a MediaPost Email Insider Columnist and Counting

It was seven years ago this month that I started regularly writing for MediaPost’s Email Insider blog. My column tomorrow will be my 149th and I’m particularly excited about the concept I discuss in it, so I hope you’ll check it out. But I wanted to take this opportunity to share five other columns that I’m particularly proud of:

Why You Shouldn’t Ask Your Gmail Subscribers To Re-Tab Your Emails (Aug. 13, 2013)
Our industry is very dynamic and lately Gmail has been giving marketers fits. But in this column I urge 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.

Leap Ahead: Email Marketing in 2016 (Feb. 28, 2012)
Speaking of the dynamic nature of our industry, in this column I imagine what things will look like in a few years—and obviously had a bit of fun in doing so. With two years having passed since I wrote it, a number of these changes are well on their way to becoming reality—while perhaps a couple of them will take a bit longer than expected to come to pass.

‘Best Practices’ Are Dead (Nov. 9, 2010)
This column was the genesis of my book, Email Marketing Rules, which breaks down email marketing into 108 best practices, 10 of which I deem “Imperatives” and the rest “Guidelines” that should be your default. I wouldn’t be surprised if my next book starts as an Email Insider column as well.

Once Again, I Double-Dog Dare You! (May 20, 2013)
I’m a huge fan of email testing as a path to more relevant emails and this column is actually the third where I challenge marketers two try some more adventurous tests. The second and first ones were I Double-Dog Dare You! (Apr. 13, 2010) and Why Aren’t We More Daring? (Sept. 18, 2008).

When Subscribers Use SWYN, You Win (Oct. 30, 2008)
In this column I coined the term “share with your network,” or SWYN, which awesomely is now a common phrase, with more than 2 million hits on Google. I was an early advocate of the social sharing of email content and continue to be a strong supporter.

Thanks to MediaPost for making me an Email Insider and for putting me in the company of so many of the email marketing industry’s greatest minds.