Email Marketing RulesModular Email Architectures: What They Are & How They Work
Posted on November 24, 2020
Classic email templates are becoming obsolete. They are difficult to maintain, don’t offer enough flexibility, make personalization cumbersome, and take too much time to turn into a final email campaign that’s ready to send. Because of all of those weaknesses, more companies are migrating to modular email architectures and reaping significant improvements.
In this post, Jason Witt, Senior Director for Creative Services at Oracle CX Marketing Consulting, breaks down the various components of a modular email architecture and discusses its benefits, which include:
- Quicker email builds
- Easier personalization
- Greater flexibility
- Lower maintenance
- More consistency and control
- Easier evolution of email design
He also shares an example of modular email architecture from the Oracle CX Marketing Newsletter, which has been using this build system since it was launched last fall.
For a full discussion of modular email architectures, its benefits, and Oracle CX Marketing Newsletter case study…
>> Read the entire post on Oracle’s Modern Marketing Blog
Welcome Email Best Practices
Posted on November 17, 2020
When someone signs up to receive your promotional emails, it marks the start of what is hopefully a long and mutually beneficial relationship. Start it off right by sending the most effective welcome email possible.
Here are seven best practices to follow:
- Send welcomes immediately.
- Ask new subscribers to do something high-value.
- Keep your copy and design focused.
- Use a welcome email series.
- Send different welcome emails based on the acquisition source.
- QA and optimize your welcomes often.
- Seasonally update your welcomes.
For a full discussion of each of those recommendations, including advice from our digital marketing consultants…
>> Read the entire post on Oracle’s Modern Marketing Blog
Smart Insights: Email Marketing Trends 2021 – 5 Trends to Watch
Posted on November 12, 2020
The pandemic upended email marketing plans during 2020 and Smart Insights wondered where our industry is headed in 2021. They asked me and four other email marketing experts for our predictions. Here are the key trends that we identified:
- Email marketing through the K-shaped COVID-19 recovery
- Strategy first, solution second
- Bringing customer experience into email marketing
- It’s time for real, authentic personalization
- Rediscovering the value of the plain-text email
My prediction was the first, that the K-shaped recovery from COVID-19 would drive companies down two very different paths. For all the details about my prediction and those of my co-contributors…
>> Read the full post on the Smart Insights Blog
The Future of Travel: Long-Term & Short-Term Recommendations
Posted on November 10, 2020
No industry has been more heavily impacted by social distancing, government-mandated health and safety restrictions, and regional and countrywide lockdowns than travel and hospitality companies. Even once travel restrictions are completely lifted, marketers within these businesses will have the tricky job of messaging to consumers who are reluctant to take trips for either business or recreation. Because of his reluctance, Goldman Sachs doesn’t expect 2019 travel levels to be reached again until at least 2023.
However, that doesn’t mean travel companies should remain static. Rather, this time period is an opportunity to judiciously prioritize opportunities to meet travelers where they are today and will be tomorrow.
In this blog post, Oracle CX Marketing Consulting’s Head of Analytic & Strategic Services, Clint Kaiser, shares advice for what travel marketers should be doing to prepare for the long-term future of travel, as well as recommending more immediate, low-cost opportunities to pursue today.
>> Read the full post on Oracle’s Modern Marketing Blog
The Last Word on October 2020
Posted on November 5, 2020
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, and tweets you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & reports
The Future of the Mall (ClickZ)
Building for a more productive inbox with AMP (Google Developers Blog)
What I learned by ignoring 24 SaaS Email onboarding campaigns (Ezra Sandzer-Bell)
Online Merchants Gain an Extra $107 Billion in 2020 Thanks to Pandemic (Digital Commerce 360)
How Nars used customer quizzes to adjust its global marketing (Glossy)
2020 Amazon Prime Day Email Recap (SparkPost)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
My marketing lead just asked someone to add an *unchecked checkbox* to the opt-in form for an upcoming webinar. I’m beaming with pride! 💌#emailgeeks #emailmarketing #nospam
— Lauren Meyer (@lauren_kickbox) October 8, 2020
:taps mic:
I can’t believe I have to say this but… connecting on LinkedIn is not permission to add me to your email list.
:steps off stage:
— Val Geisler 🖤🏳️🌈💌 (@lovevalgeisler) October 28, 2020
Did I ever tell you about the time I went into Black Friday completely unprepared, had no plan, threw together my copy last minute, recycled old graphics, and everything was a huge success?
No? That’s because that’s never happened. To anyone. #emailmarketing #BlackFriday— Jon Fox (@JonFoxDigital) October 27, 2020
Noteworthy subject lines
Dollar General, 10/15 – Do all the holidays at once.
Uncommon Goods, 10/12 – Too early to holiday shop? Not this year.
Sears, 10/24 – Wait … Holiday planning ALREADY?
Lowe’s Home Improvement, 10/8 – Welcome the holiday season in style.
Hobby Lobby, 10/2 – 40% Off Christmas 🎄
Hobby Lobby, 10/29 – 50% Off Christmas 🎄
Michaels, 10/8 – Creative Pros: Get ready for the holidays with MichaelsPro Packs.
Office Depot, 10/31 – November 28th is Small Business Day – are you ready?
Bed Bath & Beyond, 10/7 – 25% off everything you need a welcoming holiday table 🦃🍽️ Plus, score more with a 20% coupon.
Crate and Barrel, 10/22 – Holiday guest room redo
Big Lots, 10/1 – 🍁 Savor the flavors of fall 🥧
Williams Sonoma, 10/25 – Introducing your perfect roaster guide (thank us later!)
The Home Depot, 10/1 – Bring the Scares to Your Doorstep 👻
West Elm, 10/3 – Make Halloween frightfully festive with our FREE Design Crew 🎃
Michaels, 10/15 – Ding Dong! Create a scare package they’ll never forget.
Dollar General, 10/13 – 4 Halloween activities the whole fam can enjoy.
ModCloth, 10/16 – You have a vote. Use it.
Everlane, 10/22 – Beyond The Vote
REI, 10/1 – The World Keeps Changing. We Still #OptOutside.
Applebee’s, 10/7 – 🍹 Mucho Cocktails To Go Now Available! 🍹
Williams Sonoma, 10/10 – Drinks before dinner? Don’t mind if we do.
Nordstrom, 10/26 – Instant Outfit: work from home
Lane Bryant, 10/24 – The perfect athleisure outfit for $49.
Sephora Insider, 10/8 – Now you can reserve online and pick up in store 🎊
Petco, 10/1 – 10% off Curbside pickup!
Belk, 10/13 – $7.99 sheets + extra 15% off with curbside pickup
Burlington, 10/16 – The news you’ve been waiting for: Layaway is back!
Foot Locker, 10/29 – Buy Now. Pay Later! Use Klarna on purchases today.
Belk, 10/2 – $100 e-gift card for $80 starts today!
Eddie Bauer, 10/3 – Get A $5 Reward! Join Our Text Message Family Now
Express, 10/1 – First month is FREE! Rent your fall wardrobe on us
Target, 10/22 – Garden-less greens: a fresh look without the fuss 🌿
Gap VIP, 10/25 – Our upcycled vest does it better
Office Depot, 10/26 – Introducing the Shaquille O’Neal™ Executive Seating Collection
IKEA, 10/29 – Chad, remember to change your clocks!
DICK’S Sporting Goods, 10/11 – Clear a Space for Title 17! 🏆 Shop Los Angeles Lakers Gear
Saks Fifth Avenue, 10/10 – #NationalHandbagDay picks, approved by @tinkerbellethedog
Gap, 10/8 – @everyone: your DOUBLE DEAL just arrived!
Zales, 10/12 – #LOVE Is Always Trending & So Is SAVING!
West Elm, 10/29 – Home Tour! This GLAM apartment all started on Instagram…
Saks Fifth Avenue, 10/16 – We like your style: our most favorited pieces of the month
Petco, 10/8 – OUT with shock collars. IN with positive dog training.
REI, 10/17 – We Think “Hiking” Has a Loose Definition
Big Lots, 10/7 – We’re BIG on kids’ mental health
ModCloth, 10/10 – Let’s honor World Mental Health Day!
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
Inboxroad: How to Build a Strong Email Program in the Years Ahead
Do I Need to Send an Apology Email Because of This?
On the Fly: Get a Jump Start on Your Holiday Campaigns
Seasonal Adjustment to Make to Your Automated Campaigns to Stay Relevant
How to Improve All 5 Steps of a Curbside Pickup
Holiday Marketing Quarterly: Fourth Quarter 2020 Checklist
Email Deliverability Quarterly: Gmail Launches BIMI Pilot, DigiCert-Valimail Partnership, and More
On-Demand Webinar: Email Accessibility – Legal Issues & Audience Expansion
Posted on November 3, 2020
US and international laws require companies to make their email messages accessible by people with visual and other disabilities or else face significant legal fees and fines. However, rather than seeing this as purely a compliance issue, we see it as an opportunity to expand the reach and impact of your email marketing program.
In this 44-minute webinar, Jason Witt, Lauren Castady, and I talk about email accessibility, its benefits, and how to implement it. We’ll discuss:
- What’s required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), The Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and other laws governing email accessibility
- The penalties for violating these laws and which brands have had suits brought against them
- How many people have impairments that allow them to benefit from email accessibility
- How inclusive design is different from email accessibility
- How marketers can adapt their email designs to be more user-friendly for people with visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive challenges, whether those are permanent disabilities or due to a temporary injury or situational issue
To learn about all of those issues…
>> Watch the free on-demand webinar on Oracle’s Modern Marketing Blog
Inboxroad: How to Build a Strong Email Program in the Years Ahead
Posted on October 29, 2020
I recently spoke with Ferry van Hoolwerff for an interview on the Inboxroad blog. While we talked about a range of issues, much of the conversation revolved around how marketers should prepare for the years ahead in order to build stronger email marketing programs.
Here are the questions Ferry asked me:
- How did you end up in this industry, and when did email start playing such a big role for you?
- It’s clear that email marketing is an important channel in the marketing mix, yet it often feels like marketers somewhat overlook email marketing. Why do you think this is?
- For those teams that are struggling to get the resources they need to improve their company’s email marketing, what is a great starting point? How do marketing teams effectively put more focus on email marketing?
- How do you think email marketing will develop over the next few years? What opportunities do you see?
- Given those changes, what skills do you foresee becoming more and more important for email marketers to develop?
- Speaking of analytics, what metrics do you feel are particularly important when it comes to email marketing?
- What trends do you foresee for the coming years when it comes to inboxing marketing emails?
- What tips would you have for marketers on how to start impacting their deliverability in a meaningful way?
- What is the No. 1 article on email marketing strategy that you would recommend our readers to read?
For all of my answers to those questions…
>> Read the interview on the Inboxroad blog
Do I Need to Send an Apology Email Because of This?
Posted on October 27, 2020
In the world of email marketing, mistakes are inevitable. Learn what to do if you when you make a mistake by watching this short video.
During the first 5 minutes or less, you’ll determine whether you need to send a correction or apology email. You’ll also determine whether you need to send it to everyone you emailed or just a portion of them.
After you watch the video, then check out our best practices for apology emails and best practices for correction emails.
>> Watch the video and read the full post on Oracle’s Modern Marketing Blog
On the Fly: Get a Jump Start on Your Holiday Campaigns
Posted on October 21, 2020
On the Fly is our video series with small bites of marketing and customer experience advice and training from experts, given to you during the current disruption.
In this episode of On the Fly, I discuss how this holiday season will look very different from what we’re used to. I point out what parts of the holiday season have the most risk, and what brands should do to adapt. Along the way, I talk about key holiday shopping days such as Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Green Monday.
For a quick-take on what to look out for this holiday season…
>> Watch the 3-minute video on Oracle’s Modern Marketing Blog
For a much deeper dive into this issue, watch our 38-minute webinar on Choosing the Best Days to Send Email Campaigns This Holiday Season.
Seasonal Adjustment to Make to Your Automated Campaigns to Stay Relevant
Posted on October 20, 2020
“Automated campaigns—whether sent via email, SMS, or mobile push—perform so well that they’re often overlooked as not needing attention,” says Jennifer Lancaster Dana, Vice President, Oracle CX Marketing Consulting. “However, it’s because of their high engagement and conversion rates that we should be constantly giving automated campaigns extra attention and trying to make them even better. This is especially true during the holiday season.”
With that in mind, here are three areas to focus on when it comes to your triggered campaigns this holiday season:
- Make your automated content seasonally relevant.
- Adjust the behavior of your triggers.
- QA your automated campaigns.
For a deep dive into each of those issues…
>> Read the full post on Oracle’s Modern Marketing Blog
And even more advice on getting ready for the holiday season, check out our 14-page fourth quarter Holiday Marketing Quarterly checklist.
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
