Email Marketing RulesWebinar: ‘Taking Advantage of the Promise of Interactive Emails’ on Oct. 30
Posted on October 24, 2018
Email interactivity is the No. 1 email design trend of 2018, according to a Litmus poll. These advanced email coding techniques allow you to add functionality to your emails that was previously solely in the realm of websites.
In this webinar, EEC 2018 award-winners Alice Li and I discuss how marketers can take advantage of this new trend in email design and share inspiring examples. Reset your expectations for what’s possible in an email and understand how your brand can best use interactive emails. Key takeaways:
- Understand the adoption rates of interactive email elements
- Discover how email interactivity works
- See real-world examples of interactive emails
- Learn about how interactivity affects email metrics and the email interactions
Taking Advantage of the Promise of Interactive Emails
October 30, 2018
2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 6pm GMT
Your Presenters:
Alice Li
Sr. Email, Web Developer, Shutterstock
2018 eec Stefan Pollard Email Marketer of the Year Award winner
Chad S. White
Research Director, Litmus
2018 eec Email Marketer Thought Leader of the Year Award winner
>> Register for this free webinar
Webinar: ‘Live Optimization – Supercharge Your Welcome and Onboarding Emails’ on Oct. 30
Posted on October 23, 2018
A great first impression is often the first crucial step to building a long-lasting relationship. It’s no different in email marketing. When new prospects enter the top of your funnel through a newsletter signup, free trial offer, or asset download, how do you best introduce them to your brand, set expectations, and plant the seeds for relationships that last?
With this webinar, we’re bringing Live Optimization—one of the most popular sessions at Litmus Live—right to your desk. Join the Litmus team and onboarding email expert Val Geisler as we review welcome emails from your peers and provide hands-on A/B testing suggestions, design feedback, and strategic takeaways to help you maximize value, engagement, and response.
Live Optimization – Supercharge Your Welcome and Onboarding Emails
October 30, 2018
12pm EDT / 9am PDT / 4pm GMT
Your Presenters:
Val Geisler
Email Conversion Strategist at valgeisler.com
Chad S. White
Research Director, Litmus
Jason Rodriguez
Community & Product Evangelist, Litmus
Justine Jordan
VP of Marketing, Litmus
Can’t make it on Oct. 30? Don’t worry. Register and you’ll receive the recording of the webinar.
>> Register for the free webinar
Industry Spotlight on Email Marketing at Nonprofits
Posted on October 19, 2018
Every industry does email marketing a little differently. They have different goals, different business models, different conversion channels, different offers, and on and on. That’s definitely the case with nonprofits.
Nonprofits tend to be fairly small compared to businesses in other industries. Their organizations are usually driven primarily by donations, and therefore the end of the year is a key time period for them.
As with other organizations, email marketing is critical for nonprofits. Nearly 79% of nonprofits say email marketing is important to the overall success of their organization.
However, nonprofits are especially challenged when it comes to email resourcing in terms of staffing and tools. That has led to major challenges and only 44% of nonprofits saying their email program is successful.
In this Industry Spotlight on Email Marketing at Nonprofits, we’ll look at a range of email marketing issues, including…
>> Read the entire post on the Litmus blog
NextAfter’s Generosity Freakshow Podcast: Optimizing Email with Chad White from Litmus
Posted on October 18, 2018
I recently joined Brady Josephson of NextAfter on The Generosity Freakshow Podcast to talk about email marketing and nonprofits. We talked about:
- Why I wrote Email Marketing Rules
- Where many brands go wrong with email marketing
- What’s changed with email marketing over the years
- How nonprofits’ email marketing programs differ from other industries’ programs
- My definition of “generosity”
- And more
>> Listen to The Generosity Freakshow Podcast
Infographic: Decision Tree for Recovering from Email Marketing Mistakes
Posted on October 17, 2018
Oh, no. You’ve just realized that you made a mistake with your latest email marketing campaign and the panic is starting to set in. What do you do next?
Take a deep breath and refer to this decision tree from our latest report, How to Recover from Email Marketing Mistakes. This decision tree will take you step-by-step through six questions that will help you decide how to recover from this mistake quickly and with as much grace as possible.
>> View the decision tree on the Litmus blog
The Last Word on September 2018
Posted on October 5, 2018
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, and tweets you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & reports
Adobe gets its company, snaring Marketo for $4.75 billion (TechCrunch)
Say Goodbye to Inbox by Gmail (TechCrunch)
Mark Ritson: We’re a very long way from declaring marketing a science (MarketingWeek)
This is why customers hate your emails (Smart Insights)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
“What can be automated should be automated because that allows you to focus on the customer” @NeetiShukla #MarTechConf pic.twitter.com/ZWmahC4iEm
— Ginny Marvin (@GinnyMarvin) October 2, 2018
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” It’s up to us to be stewards of responsible email marketing in our organization. Educate your stakeholders and bring data to the table. @laurenkremer #litmuslive
— Justine Jordan (@meladorri) September 18, 2018
Haha, LOVE calling the bottom of a (landing) page the “dripping pan” — to collect those who make it to the bottom of the page. Give ’em something to do next! Make an offer. via @ConversionSci #CMWorld
— Jessica Best (@bestofjess) September 5, 2018
Noteworthy subject lines
Levi’s, 9/24 – Register to vote. Make a difference.
J.Jill, 9/5 – When women come together to help women, it works.
Feeding America, 9/17 – Carolinas battered by Florence. Help now.
GapKids, 9/15 – Get ready for Halloween with these spooky styles
ThinkGeek, 9/25 – 25% off Easy Costumes gives you a head start on Halloween!
PepsiCo, 9/5 – NFL Party Boxes are here!
Lenovo, 9/11 – Introducing Smart Display with Google Assistant
Wine.com, 9/25 – Collector Alert: 98-100pt Wine List
Costco Wholesale, 9/26 – FREE White Glove Delivery on Select Patio Furniture! Plus, New Savings on iPads Start Today!
Lenovo, 9/26 – Who likes to wait? Shop Quick Ship laptops for same day shipping!
REI, 9/20 – More Puff, Less Fluff
Saks Fifth Avenue, 9/1 – Knit-picking: 3 looks we’re obsessed with
Nike, 9/11 – Trending: utilitarian style
Banana Republic, 9/13 – Vegan suede is in for fall
Crate & Barrel, 9/17 – Tabletop inspo: Mixed metallics.
ModCloth, 9/7 – Are you a layer lover?
Urban Outfitters, 9/6 – How many sneakers is too many sneakers?
Chipotle, 9/24 – The hardest ingredient to pronounce at Chipotle is…
The North Face, 9/8 – Walk a mile or twenty…
Saks Fifth Avenue, 9/8 – These will out-dress the other guests…
Monterey Bay Aquarium, 9/22 – Overload your inbox with sea otters!
Clinique, 9/8 – Why oily skin needs a moisturizer.
Pier 1, 9/13 – 3 ways to be the best host this fall!
Net-a-Porter, 9/30 – Try this new color power pairing
Jetsetter, 9/28 – 8 Bucket-List Trips in Europe That Will Change Your Life Forever
Williams Sonoma, 9/1 – INSTANT POT SALE + Delicious Recipes to Try!
Barneys New York, 9/7 – Fashion Horoschopes: Find Your Perfect Fall Outfit
RH, 9/30 – Introducing Our Fall 2018 Interiors Source Book
Victoria’s Secret, 9/17 – The Sexiest Show. The Sexiest City.
See’s Candies, 9/27 – Love candy? We’re hiring, join our sweet team!
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
Email Briefs: Why You Should Use Them and What to Include in Them
Report: How to Recover from Email Marketing Mistakes
The Rarest and Coolest Defensive Design Tactic: Email Pixel Art
Switching ESPs: What You Should Expect
Leadership Brief: Why a Lack of Email Marketing Mistakes Is a Red Flag
Infographic: 6 Ways Nonprofits Can Improve Their Email Creation Process
Posted on October 3, 2018
Nonprofits perform life-changing work, and email marketing is a key way for them to rally people to their cause, raise funds, and direct action. However, nonprofits’ operations are notoriously lean. That is definitely the case with their email marketing operations, according to the responses of more than 240 nonprofits who took Litmus’ 2018 State of Email Survey.
In this infographic, we highlight some of the unique challenges that the email teams at nonprofit organizations face. In collaboration with nonprofit research consultancy NextAfter, who promoted our survey to their community members, we also offer advice on six ways that nonprofits can improve their email programs.
>> View the infographic on the Litmus blog
Webinar Recording and Q&A: The Trends Transforming the Email Service Provider Landscape
Posted on October 1, 2018
Email service providers are the technological foundation of the email industry—and the biggest line item in email marketing budgets. With so much on the line, it’s no surprise that frustrations with ESPs run high.
In this webinar, Community & Product Evangelist Jason Rodriguez and I share findings from our first-ever State of Email Service Providers report, along with insights from other research we’ve done. You’ll learn…
- What’s driving—and likely to keep driving—consolidation in the email service provider industry
- Which ESPs are the most popular among brands in different industries, geographies, and more
- What’s involved with switching ESPs
- How to get more out of your current ESP
>> Watch the recording, download the slides, and read the Q&A on the Litmus blog
Email Briefs: Why You Should Use Them and What to Include in Them
Posted on September 25, 2018
Every marketing email your brand sends should have a clear purpose and a sound strategy behind it. A powerful solution to ensure that this happens is to create an email brief for every email you create. An email brief should outline the email’s goals, audience, messaging, timing, key performance indicators, and other important details.
Creating email briefs during the conception stage of email creation ensures that all stakeholders agree on the purpose and plan for the email. Email briefs then act as a North Star for the email as it goes through the production process. Copywriters, designers, and developers can refer back to the email brief to ensure what they’re doing is appropriate and that there’s no scope creep. And then at the end of the process, the final email is checked against the brief to see if what was delivered was what was asked for.
Email briefs are essential for agencies, who need clear guidance on the scope of the emails they’re creating for their clients. However, email briefs are valuable for all email marketing programs, especially if your email program is high volume, has a large team, or works with many stakeholders.
The majority of brands use email briefs, according to Litmus’ 2018 State of Email Workflows report, which is based on our State of Email Survey of 3,000 marketing professionals worldwide. And the roughly 20% of brands who use email briefs consistently see huge benefits. Marketers who describe their email marketing programs as successful are 81% more likely than those at less successful programs to create an email brief for every email they produce (24% vs. 13%).
Here’s what you should include in your email briefs…
>> Read the full post on the Litmus blog
Report: How to Recover from Email Marketing Mistakes
Posted on September 21, 2018
Email marketing mistakes are not a matter of “if,” but “when.” Email is so complex, turn-around times so short, and frequencies so high that it’s impossible to avoid mistakes completely. The best you can hope for is to keep mistakes infrequent and small, and then to manage them quickly and recover with a degree of grace when they do happen.
In this report, we discuss a decision framework that will guide you to a response that’s appropriate for the error made, so you can minimize the impact of mistakes while also avoiding overreacting and potentially making the situation worse.
We walk you through each step of the framework and along the way share real-life stories of email marketing mishaps. Some of these stories received media attention; some are incidences we’ve noticed over the years; and others are from brave members of the Litmus Community who have come forward to share their scars and lessons learned.
We hope the insights and stories in this report help you learn from the mistakes of others and put better systems and checks in place at your company to minimize the frequency and scope of future email marketing mistakes.
>> Download this free report
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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