Email Marketing RulesUNSPAM Conference: Work & Industry Trends
Posted on July 16, 2020
I had the honor of presenting at Really Good Emails’ UNSPAM conference in March. It was special in part because the RGE team asked me to present the results of their annual industry survey. More than 1,500 email marketers completed the survey, which asked them about their time and experiences in the industry, how their companies do email marketing, and much more. The findings paint a picture of a growing and maturing industry, but one with plenty of growth pains and challenges.
To help illustrate some of those challenges, as well as the opportunities, I wove in the findings of a survey we did of Oracle CX Marketing Consulting’s more than 500 digital marketing experts. In that survey, we asked our consultants to rate 26 email marketing tactics and technologies in terms of current adoption and the impact they expected it to have during 2020.
My presentation is now available for non-attendees to watch, which I highly recommend. You’ll learn a lot about how your company’s email operations compare to others in the industry, how your email experience compares to your peers, and the challenges faced by marketers across the industry—just to name a few of the topics covered in this 42-minute presentation.
If you don’t have time to watch the presentation, Really Good Emails provides a thorough transcription of the presentation, too.
>> View the UNSPAM presentation on Really Good Emails’ blog
Keep Optimising Podcast: Chad S. White, Author of ‘Email Marketing Rules’
Posted on July 15, 2020
I am excited to be the first guest on Chloe Thomas’ new podcast series, Keep Optimizing. The series will look at a different marketing channel each month, starting with email marketing.
During the 51-minute episode, we discuss a wide range of issues, including:
- How I got my start in email marketing
- Why email marketing is a good long-term career, and how it teaches you the skills you need to graduate up into marketing leadership positions
- Why I wrote the first edition of “Email Marketing Rules”
- What best practices are and how they can help marketers
- How to align business goals and email marketing goals
- Having a campaign-centric vs. subscriber-centric approach to email marketing
- Whether benchmarks are useful or not
- The importance of managing inactive subscribers
- The best places to attract high-quality subscribers and where you tend to only be able to attract low-quality subscribers
- The two things that new email marketers should learn about
- What to test to make your emails better
- What are the best email key performance indicators
- What does the next 6-12 months hold for email marketing
For the full conversation…
>> Listen to the podcast
Email List Churn: How to Reduce Both Passive & Active Opt-Outs
Posted on July 14, 2020
It’s cheaper to keep a customer than find a new one. The same holds true for email subscribers—which also happen to be many of your best customers. That’s why it’s important for all businesses to minimize their email list churn, which can be a major drag on growing your email marketing audience and growing your business.
In this post, our email marketing consultants talk about:
- The 2 kinds of email list churn: passive opt-outs and active opt-outs
- 17 reasons why subscribers opt-out, recognizing that some are out of your control while others can be mitigated
- 8 strategies for reducing email list churn—early on, in the middle, and at the end of the email relationship
For a full discussion of all of that…
>> Read the entire post on Oracle’s Modern Marketing Blog
Holiday Marketing Quarterly: Third Quarter 2020 Checklist
Posted on July 10, 2020
Oracle’s Holiday Marketing Quarterly gives B2C brands a quarter-by-quarter checklist for how to achieve more during the critical holiday season with their email marketing and other digital marketing channels. Along with guidance on planning, strategy, and prioritization, you’ll get advice and tips from some of Oracle CX Marketing Consulting’s more than 500 digital marketing experts.
The third quarter is focused on the final prep for the start of the holiday season. In this Holiday Marketing Quarterly, we cover 6 areas:
- Campaign Planning
- Workload Management
- Contingency Planning
- Audience Optimization
- Performance Monitoring Plans
- Solidify Your Tech Stack
For details on each of those…
>>Download the 15-page Q3 2020 Holiday Marketing Quarterly
Email Deliverability Quarterly: CCPA Now Being Enforced, Coronavirus’ Deliverability Impact, and More
Posted on July 7, 2020
Email deliverability is constantly changing, as inbox providers adjust their filtering algorithms, blacklists tweak their listing criteria, and consumers evolve their definition of spam. That’s why even the best email marketing programs suffer deliverability problems sometimes.
To help you avoid trouble, the Email Deliverability Services team at Oracle CX Marketing Consulting shares the latest news and tips for what to watch out for in our latest Email Deliverability Quarterly.
In this post, Daniel Deneweth and Heather Goff explain how the following news and events will impact marketers’ email deliverability:
- CCPA Goes into Enforcement Without Delay
- COVID-19’s Business Disruptions May Cause Deliverability Challenges for Some
- New Mailbox Provider, Hey.com, Launches with DIY Deliverability Screening
- Email Inbox Collective Uses Paid Recipients to Influence Spam Filtering
For the full discussion of each of these issues…
>> Read the full post on Oracle’s Modern Marketing Blog
The Last Word on June 2020
Posted on July 2, 2020
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, and tweets you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & reports
Marketing in the New Normal (Mathew Sweezey)
Social Distancing Is Changing the Way We Write. That’s a Problem. (MarketingProfs)
Emojis in Email Subject Lines: Advantage or Impediment? 👍 👎 (Nielen Norman Group)
M3AAWG issues email authentication advice for security pros (SC Magazine)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
I love it when people who thought email wasn’t a relevant channel at startups I used to work at reach out wanting me to give them email advice when they’re starting their own company.
— Kristin Bond (@EmailSnarketing) June 15, 2020
This. This right here is the name of the list I just unsubscribed from.
We aren’t even trying. pic.twitter.com/qRu9DTAaSa
— Michael J. Barber (@michaeljbarber) June 23, 2020
Just me and my friends talking about something you should be talking about too. pic.twitter.com/hug0xaajZk
— Val Geisler 💌 (@lovevalgeisler) June 17, 2020
Noteworthy subject lines
Fandango, 6/6 – Spotlighting Black Cinema
Everlane, 6/4 – Every Action Counts
ModCloth, 6/16 — 🌈 Happy Pride Month! 🌈
Williams Sonoma, 6/22 – Williams Sonoma x The Trevor Project. United Together.
Gap, 6/27 – Celebrate love in new Gap X PRIDE
Macy’s, 6/2 – Not a Dad joke: Father’s Day is sneaking up on us
Uncommon Goods, 6/14 – Celebrate your father figure with a fitting gift
Michaels, 6/18 – Last-minute ways to show Dad he’s #1 🏆
Olive Garden, 6/23 – Start a New Tradition: Takeout Tuesday
Williams Sonoma, 6/16 – The ultimate Taco Tuesday menu
Applebee’s Grill + Bar, 6/18 – Did someone say, Free Delivery?
Office Depot, 6/5 – 😷 PPE for your workspace
Gap, 6/25 – New face masks are here!
Everlane, 6/12 – 100% Human Face Masks
Staples, 6/5 – Your business comeback starts here + save on reopening essentials.
Staples, 6/23 – 5 ways to promote your reopening.
Office Depot, 6/6 – Which chair is perfect for you?
Gap, 6/3 – This shirt is virtual-meeting approved
Men’s | Saks Fifth Avenue, 6/5 – Because we’ve actually kinda missed wearing jeans…
IKEA, 6/29 – Consider this your staycation itinerary.
GapCash, 6/7 – Get in staycation mode
Crate and Barrel, 6/23 – Summer nights are magic sale + styling tips
Big Lots, 6/25 – Save BIG on backyard fun!
Lowe’s Home Improvement, 6/23 – Beach in your backyard? Coming right up!
Target, 6/27 – Next step: summer sandals.
Quiksilver, 6/14 – The Best In Sun Protection
Walmart, 6/23 – Fresh, fun ways to be a BBQ boss this summer 😎
IKEA, 6/10 — Why are calm spaces so important for kids?
Panera Bread, 6/2 – Chad, lunch? ✅ Groceries? ✅ Free delivery? ✅✅
Williams Sonoma, 6/11 – 🍳 ☕ 🍓 The best part of breakfast
Williams Sonoma, 6/6 – Let’s do brunch ☕🥐🍓
Williams Sonoma, 6/8 – A drink for any time of the day ☕🍹🍷
Petco, 6/22 – Save 35% on your first Repeat Delivery!
Patagonia, 6/27 – A Macro Puff Quilt made from leftovers
Zales, 6/1 – Say “YES” to 20-40% Off All Engagement & Wedding
LifeWay, 6/8 – 👰 Missing a wedding? Mail gifts to the Mr. & Mrs.
Michaels, 6/28 – Join us on Zoom to learn crafts from other makers!
Bass Pro Shops, 6/6 – Free Opry livestream TONIGHT!
Bass Pro Shops, 6/27 – TONIGHT: Watch Keb’ Mo’ and Brad Paisley at the Opry
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
Common Marketing Outliers: Identifying & Managing Them
Netcore Podcast: Strategies to Reduce Email Churn Rates
On-Demand Webinar: The Questions to Ask Instead about Email Frequency & List Building
Email Evolution Conference 2020: The State of Email Marketing
Netcore Podcast: There Is Opportunity in Disruption and Email Is the Key
On-Demand Webinar: The Questions to Ask Instead about Email Performance Measurement
LiveIntent Podcast: What Does the Change in Email Behavior Mean for Marketers?
How Coronavirus Has Shifted Consumer Preferences
On-Demand Webinar: Understanding Email Deliverability
Email Innovations Summit 2020: Prioritizing Which Email Innovations to Pursue
Webinar on July 15: Choosing the Best Days to Send Email Campaigns This Holiday Season
Posted on July 1, 2020
Having a successful holiday season takes year-round effort, but there’s no more critical time than late summer and early fall. One of the decisions you make during this time is which days to send campaigns on. It’s a choice that can have a significant impact on the performance of your campaigns.
In this webinar, Oracle CX Marketing Consulting’s Clint Kaiser, Doug Sundahl, and I share research into the performance of email marketing campaigns on certain days during the holiday season. Is sending on Black Friday and Cyber Monday worth it? What are the best days to send in early November? How do campaigns perform on Green Monday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day? We will answer all of those questions and many more, plus we’ll talk about some broader trends you should plan for this holiday season.
Choosing the Best Days to Send Email Campaigns This Holiday Season
Date: July 15, 2020
Time: 1pm ET/10am PT
Duration: 1 hour
Your Presenters:
Clint Kaiser, Head of Strategic & Analytic Services, Oracle CX Marketing Consulting
Doug Sundahl, Senior Director of Strategic & Analytic Services, Oracle CX Marketing Consulting
Chad S. White, Head of Research, Oracle CX Marketing Consulting
>> Register for this free webinar
Common Marketing Outliers: Identifying & Managing Them
Posted on June 30, 2020
The chances are high that your audience across your various channels is diverse—made up of people with different needs, different values, different constraints, and more. That’s why smart marketers develop marketing personas to help them better cater to the various groups of people that their brand attracts.
However, sometimes one or more small groups is so extreme in their behavior that they skew the overall behavior of your channel audience in a way that’s detrimental. These groups are called outliers and they can cause a number of problems, including…
- Clouding overall performance data, making it appear that you’re doing much better or much worse than you actually are
- Obscuring how your core audience is performing
- Concealing trends in your customer data, causing you to miss opportunities or fail to address challenges
- Skewing A/B test results and leading you to implement the wrong changes or strategies
Let’s talk about some common outliers you might have in your various audiences, and then how to manage your outliers to avoid having issues.
>> Read the entire post on Oracle’s Modern Marketing Blog
Netcore Podcast: Strategies to Reduce Email Churn Rates
Posted on June 24, 2020
Since email has been the heart of marketing strategy, especially during the COVID-19 crisis, preventing email churn is the top priority for most email marketers. However, before you get to the task of retaining your email subscribers, it’s important for you to understand why your subscribers are churning, as well as which ones are worth retaining and which ones you must let go?
I join Netcore’s Chaitanya Chinta and Dennis Dayman on the Email Unplugged Podcast to shed light on the actionable items that can help reduce your email churn and retain quality subscribers.
We discuss:
- How big a problem email churn is for marketers
- Different kinds of subscriber churn, and how marketers can arrest those churns
- Actionable ways to increase email list growth, curb subscriber loss, and improve the quality of your email list
- Precautions for a marketer when running a win-back program
>> Listen to the podcast on the Netcore Blog
On-Demand Webinar: The Questions to Ask Instead about Email Frequency & List Building
Posted on June 23, 2020
Not achieving your email marketing goals is frustrating, but achieving your goals and then not achieving success is devastating. This happens when marketers and executives ask the wrong questions. When that happens, the answer almost doesn’t matter, because it’s likely to cause you to put the wrong strategies in place regardless. A solid email marketing strategy starts by asking the right questions.
In this series of free on-demand webinars, we’re discussing a number of common email marketing questions that brands ask themselves, and then posing some better questions that brands should ask instead. In this 27-minute webinar, we’re looking at common questions about email frequency and list building, including…
- How can we send our subscribers more email?
- How can we attract more subscribers?
- How much did we grow our email list?
In each case, we’ll explain why those questions aren’t likely to help you achieve the email marketing success that you want, and suggest one or more questions that are better. Along the way, we’ll share advice from some of our more than 500 digital marketing consultants, as well as some real-world experiences from our clients.
>> Watch the free on-demand webinar on Oracle’s Modern Marketing 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
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