Email Marketing RulesNovember Review & December Preview for the 2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar
Posted on December 5, 2014
Every month through January, we’ll be reviewing our predictions from the 2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar for the previous month and discussing what to expect this month in terms of holiday messaging trends.
For November, we predicted that major retailers would send their active subscribers 22 promotional emails. That prediction turned out to be a tad low, as our panel of more than 100 major retailers sent their subscribers 22.6 promotional emails on average last month.
In December, we’re expecting retailers to send their active subscribers around 28 promotional emails each. We’ve already seen record-breaking ecommerce sales and email volume on Cyber Monday. Other big days to look for will be Green Monday, which is this coming Monday; Free Shipping Day on Dec. 18; and Last Sleigh Day on Dec. 22, which will the last day for guaranteed Christmas delivery with express shipping for many retailers.
>> Read the entire post on the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Blog
The Last Word on November 2014
Posted on December 3, 2014
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, tweets and examples you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & whitepapers
Could a Company See a 15 Percent Drop in Stock Value Due to Email? (ClickZ)
What Do You Mean, ‘Email Marketers Need Not Apply’? (MediaPost)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
@lvojvodich: Engaged customers = 23% revenue premium @KeithBlock quotes Gallup poll at #SalesforceTour
@mickc_pro: Looks like Yahoo Mail is still suffering from a disruption of service: http://t.co/LLsUqiyBeT
@SimmsJenkins: Email rules for offers via @lance http://t.co/y3Gwwhfcld
Great additions to the Swipe File pinboards
eBags includes shopping cart information in broadcast emails >> View the pin
Blue Nile reaches out to gay couples in wake of Supreme Court decision >> View the pin
Noteworthy subject lines
Monterey Bay Aquarium, 11/25 — Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Be part of a new tradition: #GivingTuesday
Walmart, 11/29 — Cyber Week STARTS NOW – up to 50% off + Free Shipping
Toys “R” Us, 11/29 — Mega Cyber Week Sale Starts Today!
Petco, 11/29 — Cyber Savings from sun ↑ to sun ↓
Sears, 11/29 — You’ve been removed ☒ from the Naughty List! See Santa’s Top 100 Gifts.
Moosejaw, 11/26 — Do you want a Free [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅100)̲̅$̲̅]?
Kate Spade, 11/28 — why wait in line? up to 75% off is happening now
Target, 11/27 — Doors open at 6pm. Happy Black Friday!
Toys “R” Us, 11/27 — On Your Mark, Get Set…SAVE! Stores Open at 5pm
Express, 11/27 — 50% off + free shipping! You don’t even have to leave the couch
Pier 1 Imports, 11/27 — Rise & Shine, then shop. Stores open Friday morning.
J.Crew, 11/27 — Turkey, then gifts. Sound like a plan?
Hayneedle, 11/27 — Shop first, then eat: Last chance for 10% off sale …
Epicurious, 11/26 — How to Cook Thanksgiving in 2 Hours, Plus What to Do with All Your Leftovers
Boston Market, 11/20 — $9.99 per person – create your own Hot Thanksgiving Buffet
West Elm, 11/20 — 20% off Thanksgiving must-haves + free shipping!
Target, 11/20 — Deals for Thanksgiving readiness.
Walmart, 11/16 — Conquer Black Friday — plan today!
Lowe’s, 11/4 — BREAKING: Black Friday Leak From Lowe’s
Furniture.com, 11/21 — Black Friday Sneak Peek…6 HOURS ONLY!
Michaels, 11/4 — Easy Holiday Projects Under $10
The Container Store, 11/20 — Top Pinned Stocking Stuffers!
Clinique, 11/20 — #MakeSomeoneHappy
Saks Fifth Avenue, 11/25 — In a season of selfies, stay picture-perfect
Express, 11/5 — Our favorite holiday dresses
Chico’s, 11/4 — Brilliant Holiday Party Looks (and 50% Off Inside)
Garnet Hill, 11/3 — It’s beginning to look a lot like…
Michaels, 11/2 — Tree Event: 100% Merry, 50% off
Aeropostale, 11/2 — 50% Off Your Early Holiday Haul
Lands’ End, 11/22 — Someone forgot to tell winter it’s still fall – 40% off outerwear!
J.Crew, 11/16 — Whoa. It got cold out.
J.Crew, 11/2 — Think outside the cubicle
Anthropologie, 11/4 — A denim pas de deux + free shipping.
Ann Taylor, 11/4 — So Good It May Go Viral…#TUESDAYSHOESDAY
Levi’s, 11/2 — Turn back your clock (+ don’t miss our Friends & Family Event!)
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
5 Important Email Marketing Rules: Exclusive Excerpts
Infographic: Optimizing the Second Subject Line – Snippet Text
Inbox by Gmail: 3 Experts Share Their Thoughts on Its Impact – Part 2
120 Email Marketing Rules to Live By
October Review & November Preview for the 2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar
Out with the POE Media Model – In with the POGLE Media Model
Black Friday Week Email Marketing Insights
Posted on December 2, 2014
In my latest Email Insider column for MediaPost, I discuss two developments in the email marketing holiday season thus far.
First, more retailers sent out promotional emails on Black Friday than last year. And more interestingly, fewer retailers sent email on Thanksgiving Eve, Thanksgiving Day, and the Saturday after Black Friday. Retailers seemed to be making way for more activity on Black Friday.
And second, a majority of retailers sent mobile-UNfriendly emails on and around Black Friday. While retailers, along with other B2C brands, had been making progress on making their emails more friendly on small screens, they made absolutely zero progress between early October and late November—which was a time last year when huge progress was made.
>> Read my entire column on MediaPost.com
Winter Edition of the Email Marketer’s Holiday Planning Checklist
Posted on December 1, 2014
As we work our way through Cyber Monday—the kickoff of what is becoming Cyber Week—the holiday season is now in full force. December is when retailers’ email programs work the hardest.
In the third and final of my 3-part Holiday Planning Checklist for Internet Retailer Magazine, I advise retailers to:
- Fine tune your order-by deadline messaging
- Create your season’s greeting email or, if you prefer, “Happy New Year” email
- Develop post-Christmas messaging
- Plan to take down your holiday email template
- Do a post-mortem
- Update your swipe file
For the full details on each of these recommendations, which include a lot of tips and stats just for retailers…
>> Read the full article on InternetRetailer.com.
And for even more holiday planning advice, check out our 2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar.
5 Important Email Marketing Rules: Exclusive Excerpts
Posted on November 21, 2014
Email marketing veteran Mark Brownlow knows more about email than just about anyone else. That’s why he was one of the people I turned to help edit both editions of my book. In his latest post for Smart Insights, he shares which of the 120 rules in my book he thinks are the most important.
In addition to sharing some exclusive quotes, he adds some of his own perspective based on what he’s seen and extensive client work he’s done. Don’t miss his thoughts on what are the most important best practices to follow, including one that’s especially relevant as we head into the heart of the holiday season.
>> See his top 5 picks
>> Check out all 120 email marketing rules and tweet your favorites
Infographic: Optimizing the Second Subject Line – Snippet Text
Posted on November 20, 2014
Your sender name has the biggest impact on whether subscribers open and engage with your emails or not. The vast majority of marketers do a great job of using the same sender name consistently to ensure they’re recognized in the inbox.
Your subject line has the second largest impact. Because of its importance, subject lines are the most tested of any email element.
However, there is a third element of an email’s envelope content that impacts subscriber engagement: snippet text. This appears beside or beneath the subject line of an email in the inbox view of the native iPhone email app, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and other email clients. In most regards, it acts like a second subject line.
I looked at how well 148 B2C brands were optimizing this important email element and found that there are clear opportunities for marketers to do better, especially since optimizing it is as simple as writing a subject line. Here’s what you need to know:
Inbox by Gmail: 3 Experts Share Their Thoughts on Its Impact – Part 2
Posted on November 17, 2014
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 this second in a two-part series, Simms asks us:
What advice do you have for email marketers that may be panicking because of Inbox or ready to seize the new opportunities presented?
After a decade of inbox staleness, the email channel has evolved quite a bit over the past few years – what’s next?
>> Read our answers on Click.com.
120 Email Marketing Rules to Live By
Posted on November 11, 2014
Email marketing offers unparalleled reach, acceptance, and effectiveness. Going hand-in-hand with that, however, is that it’s a well-established channel with well-defined norms and behaviors.
In Part 1 of my book, Email Marketing Rules, I break down email marketing into 120 easy-to-understand rules, the first 11 of which are essential to follow while the remaining 109 are highly recommended. While I go into detail about each rule in the book, I’ve pulled out the top-line rules here in this presentation. Use it as a checklist to see if your program is on the right track and tweet your favorite rules.
October Review & November Preview for the 2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar
Posted on November 10, 2014
Every month through January, we’ll be reviewing our predictions from the 2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar for the previous month and discussing what to expect this month in terms of holiday messaging trends.
For October, we predicted that major retailers would send their active subscribers 19 promotional emails. That prediction was extremely close to the actual, as our panel of more than 100 major retailers sent their subscribers 18.9 emails on average last month.
In November, we’re expecting retailers to send their active subscribers around 22 promotional emails each. The amount of holiday messaging has already accelerated very noticeably in the early days of this month and by the week of Black Friday it will be dominant.
>> Read the entire post on the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Blog
Out with the POE Media Model – In with the POGLE Media Model
Posted on November 6, 2014
In my latest Email Insider column for MediaPost, I argue that it’s time to expand the paid-owned-earned (POE) media model to include granted media and leased media, creating new categories for channels like email, SMS/MMS, and social media.
Currently those digital channels are slotted under owned media, which is content created by the brand that’s distributed to an audience developed by the brand via a closed platform controlled by the brand. That doesn’t accurately describe those channels.
Social media is better defined as leased media, which is content created by the brand that’s distributed to an audience developed by the brand via a closed platform controlled by a single third party.
And, as I argue in Email Marketing Rules, SMS/MMS and in particular email marketing are better classified as granted media, which is content created by the brand that’s distributed to an audience developed by the brand via an open platform controlled by multiple third parties.
>> Read my entire column on MediaPost.com
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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