Email Marketing Rules#AlternativeEmailFacts and the Truth
Posted on February 21, 2017
As a former journalist and long-time researcher, I’m profoundly troubled by our national struggles with the value of science, the need for evidence, and the meaning of the word “fact.” With the US government currently imposing gag orders on research, making executive decisions without proof and then disparaging judges who demand proof, and coining new terms like “alternative facts” to try to justify their rejection of the truth, it’s dark times.
My colleague Kevin Mandeville lightened things up a little by poking some fun at Kellyanne Conway counselor to the president, by creating the #AlternativeEmailFacts hashtag. He used the hashtag on some dubious statements about email marketing, and encouraged others to join in. And join in they did, with nearly 100 alternative email facts served up over the course of a few days.
In my column for Marketing Land, I shine some light on the truth hiding in these “alternative facts”…
>> Read my full column on MarketingLand.com
Join Me in Kansas City on Mar. 14: KCDMA luncheon, Litmus Live workshop, and Networking reception
Posted on February 7, 2017
I’m going to be in Kansas City, Mo., on Mar. 14 for the following events. For those of you in the area, I hope you can join me.
Kansas City DMA Luncheon, Mar. 14, 11:45am-1:00pm, BRIO Tuscan Grille
I’ll be speaking to members of the KCDMA about “Adapting to Consumers’ New Definition of Spam.” Learn more >>
Fundamentals of Email Marketing Strategy Workshop, Mar. 14, 2pm-6pm, Hotel Sorella Country Club Plaza
Previously only available at our annual conferences in Boston, London, and San Francisco, our Litmus Live workshops are now offered as standalone events. In this workshop, I’ll provide a crash course in email marketing strategy, explaining how to build an effective email program and create emails that are respectful, functional, valuable, and remarkable. Space is limited. Learn more >>
Networking Reception, Mar. 14, 6pm-7:30pm, Hotel Sorella Country Club Plaza
Immediately following the workshop, we are hosting an informal networking reception with the KCDMA. It will have an open bar, snacks, and a chance to connect with the community! Feel free to stop by even if you are unable to join us for the luncheon or the workshop.
I’m really excited to be visiting Kansas City! I hope to see you there.
The Last Word on January 2017
Posted on February 3, 2017
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, and tweets you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & reports
Animated GIFs in emails, message word count, and reply-to addresses: benchmark data findings (IBM THINK Marketing)
Preheader Text: 6 Models and a Case Study with a 96% Lift in Revenue-per-Email (Jeanne Jennings)
The most unforgivable email mistake if you want a response (Quartz)
Worst ePrivacy B2B fears averted (DMA UK)
In a Cookie-less World, Will Email Become the New Ad ID? (Chief Marketer)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
While a little wrong… this is a nice way to personalize a birthday card for an email marketer. @litmusapp pic.twitter.com/UxbdZIc1tK
— Justin McMillin (@JustinTy) January 11, 2017
A bad sender reputation is like a hangover–it’s hard to get rid of, and it makes everything else hurt. #emailmarketing #emailgeeks
— Chris Marriott (@CSMarriott) January 17, 2017
Interesting marketing tactic from @theskimm – what do you think, #emailgeeks? pic.twitter.com/EgcbTyivh3
— Emma, Inc. (@emmaemail) January 11, 2017
Noteworthy subject lines
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 1/1 — Chad, you’ve helped make the impossible possible in 2016
ModCloth, 1/1 — Congrats to the top 20 styles of 2016!
Art.com, 1/1 — Look Back At ART in 2016
Walgreens, 1/1 — Happy New Year! Make small changes, see BIG results + 25% OFF Contacts
Lands’ End, 1/1 — Resolution-ready activewear + take an extra 20% off sale prices
Katespade, 1/9 — activewear for working out or hardly working
The Container Store, 1/1 — Great Solutions for Healthy Resolutions
Etsy, 1/1 — 2016 is *so* yesterday
Blue Nile, 1/4 — Top Engagement Ring Trends For 2017
MAC Cosmetics, 1/15 — Chinese New Year’s Most Decadent Shades
PersonalizationMall.com, 1/9 — 30% Off Valentine’s Day Sale Starts Now
Victoria’s Secret, 1/15 — Red-hot gifts… XOXO, VICTORIA
NFLshop.com, 1/14 — Patriots Advance to the AFC Championship Game!
Target, 1/25 — Save on a new TV and be ready for the big kickoff.
Miracle-Gro, 1/20 — Winter Garden Care
Carnival Cruise Line, 1/24 — Our newest ship Carnival Horizon is on sale now!
Vera Bradley, 1/15 — The prettiest postcard ever!
Sony, 1/4 — Ready? Watch Sony live at CES
Clinique, 1/8 — Gina Rodriguez’s #1 must for the red carpet.
ModCloth, 1/4 —Your syllabus for Graphic Design(s) 101.
GapKids, 1/26 — L + O + V + E these looks
Sony, 1/19 — Cutting-Edge Headphones Could Be Yours—It Only Takes One Click
ToysRUs, 1/4 — Open an “R”Us Credit Card & Get 10% OFF on Thursdays!
ASPCA, 1/23 — VOTE NOW: Best Photo of the Year
Neiman Marcus, 1/12 — Best of Beauty! #NMBeauty Bestsellers: Who made the list?
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
Top 10 Email Marketing Predictions for 2017
Litmus’ Email Design Podcast #47: View Online Links, Image-Based Emails, and “Above the Fold” Buttons
Posted on January 30, 2017
I was a guest on the Email Design Podcast, which is hosted by Kevin Mandeville and Jason Rodriguez. During the half-hour show, we discussed a number of questions asked by Litmus Community members, including:
- Old OWA rendering engine deprecated?
- What are you doing to future-proof your career?
- Is a “View this email as a web page” link necessary in emails that display properly?
- What’s so bad about image-based emails?
- How important are above the fold buttons?
For our discussion of those issues…
>>Listen to the podcast on the Litmus Blog
Or listen via…
> SoundCloud
> iTunes
> YouTube
Top 10 Email Marketing Predictions for 2017
Posted on January 27, 2017
My Litmus teammates and I see a lot of change on the horizon this year. Here are our top email marketing predictions for 2017:
- At least 30% of marketers will have tried embedded video in email by the end of 2017. (Chad White)
- Email marketers will break down silos and work cross-functionally to take their program to the next level. (Kayla Lewkowicz)
- The adoption of responsive email design will accelerate. (Chad White)
- Despite Gmail supporting embedded CSS (for most of their account types), the overwhelming majority of emails will continue to use inline CSS. (Kevin Mandeville)
- At least one of the major inbox providers will follow Gmail’s lead in drawing attention to whether emails are encrypted or not. (Chad White)
- Verizon will try to actively migrate Yahoo Mail users to Alto Mail. (Chad White)
- The types of jobs in the email marketing industry will become fragmented with an increasing number of specializations (deliverability, email copywriting, email design) becoming more widely adopted. (Jaina Mistry)
- Accessibility in email will become a more important aspect of the email design and development process. (Jaina Mistry)
- Accessibility will continue to be ignored by most of the email world. (Jason Rodriguez)
For all the details on those email marketing predictions, plus a review of how our 2016 predictions fared,…
>>Read the full post on the Litmus blog
7 Easy Wins to Add to Your Email Marketing To-Do List
Posted on January 24, 2017
Email is always changing, so marketers’ email marketing programs must always be changing as well to make sure they’re still relevant to consumers and creating great experiences for their subscribers. With that in mind, here are seven relatively easy-wins to consider adding to your email marketing to-do list this year:
- Use more retina-optimized images.
- Use more ALT text, especially styled ALT text.
- Use animated GIFs more often.
- A/B test your preview text more often.
- Adopt responsive email design.
- Create an extensive pre-send email checklist.
- Plan your email content farther in advance.
For a full discussion of each of these, plus research on current usage,…
>>Read the full column on MarketingLand.com
The Last Word on December 2016
Posted on January 6, 2017
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, and tweets you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & reports
Email Smashes Social Again To Drive One In Five Cyber Monday Sales (MediaPost)
And my four email marketing predictions for 2017 are…. (Adestra)
Limitations of HTML Email Design – Email Width and Size (Chamaileon)
Google says next-generation ReCaptcha coming, where you don’t even have to tick a box (9to5Google)
Growth estimates for smartwatches have been slashed, because no one really wants them… (9to5 Google)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
Reminder to everyone to not purchase #emailmarketing lists, or at least rename them something else in MailChimp. 😫😫😫😫😫😫😫 pic.twitter.com/E7s8DIRx6J
— Jason Rodriguez (@RodriguezCommaJ) December 8, 2016
adulthood is emailing “sorry for the delayed response!” back and forth until one of you dies
— Marissa Miller (@Marissa__Miller) February 26, 2016
No, an email address posted on a website hasn’t implicitly agreed to be added to your mailing list. #emailmarketing
— Sandi Solow (@SandiSolow) December 19, 2016
.@jennatiffany @jmbrandonbb Folk who need mailbox sorting tools never realise how few people have that problem – they really are outliers
— Dela Quist (@DelaQuist) December 20, 2016
Noteworthy subject lines
MAC Cosmetics, 12/13 — Picture-Perfect With Travel-Friendly Skincare
MAC Cosmetics, 12/13 — Disguise Jetlag to the PLANE PRETTY
Kate Spade, 12/10 — no holiday card needed (enjoy complimentary monogramming!)
Lego Shop, 12/10 — Small LEGO® Gifts for Big Smiles!
HP, 12/9 — Gifts. Stocking stuffers. 48 hour sale.
Fossil, 12/13 — Gifts < $50
Victoria’s Secret PINK, 12/9 — FREE Reversible Blanket! (Wishlist-worthy like WHOA.)
Victoria’s Secret, 12/10 — The snuggle is real: Free blanket
Lululemon, 12/13 — oh what fun it is to ride
REI, 12/10 — The Best Gifts Won’t Stay Inside
American Apparel, 12/13 — If She’s Femme or He’s Classic
Drs. Foster & Smith, 12/16 — #NationalFreeShippingDay is Here!
Zulily, 12/10 — Make last-minute magic | thousands of gifts delivered by Christmas
PersonalizationMall.com, 12/13 — Christmas Delivery with Economy Shipping Ends At Midnight Tonight!
NFLshop, 12/20 — 1 DAY ONLY: Free 2-Day Shipping | Order Today, Get it by 12/23 or It’s Free!
The North Face, 12/20 — Free Overnight Shipping. Get Your Gifts in Time.
MAC Cosmetics, 12/13 — Don’t Forget: Live Chat Hours Extended!
The Swiss Colony, 12/20 — Oops – Did You Forget Somebody?
J.Crew, 12/22 — Who’s ya forget? Get to store for 40% off…
ToysRUs, 12/15 — Go Ahead and Go BIG – Srsly, These Offers Are Ginormous!
ThinkGeek, 12/10 — Super size it: 20%, 25%, or 30% off your ThinkGeek order! *insert confetti*
San Diego Zoo & Safari Park, 12/9 — Hand in There, Baby (Sloth)! (Video)
Under Armour, 12/16 — New Star Wars Gear. Need We Say More?
Blue Nile, 12/16 — Propose This Christmas + Free Diamond Earrings
Barneys New York, 12/24 — Have the Happiest Hanukkah!
Michaels, 12/25 — We Wish you a Merry Christmas!
ToysRUs, 12/25 — Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah to All!
J.Jill, 12/25 — Happy holidays from J.Jill.
Lands’ End, 12/13 — May we text you? Sign up and get 40% off
American Red Cross, 12/20 — Double your impact before midnight
Autism Speaks, 12/31 — Doubling our commitment, will you join us?
Etsy Finds, 12/31 — The best of 2016
Pier 1 Imports, 12/24 — Pop. Cheers. Fizz. Clink.
Epicurious, 12/31 — 10 Cocktails That Crackle and Pop
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
The Evolution of Email Marketing: Past and Future
Happy Holidays from My Family to Yours
Webinar Recording + Q&A: State of Email – A Year in Review
3 Reasons to Take the 2017 State of Email Survey
5 Reasons List-Unsubscribe Concerns Are Overblown
How the Pros Turn Marketing Analytics into Effective Marketing Strategies
15 Industry Experts Share Their #1 Email List Building Tactic
17 Ecommerce Marketing Trends for 2017
Top Email Marketing Trends of 2017
Posted on January 5, 2017
Litmus asked more than 1,200 marketers which of the following six promising email marketing trends they were most excited about for 2017:
- Interactive emails
- Email encryption
- HTML5 video in email
- Big Data personalization in emails
- Omnichannel email experiences
- Automated emails
None of those trends got the majority of respondents excited, so we decided we’d explore all six of them. In addition to sharing our own thoughts, we’ll add in the opinions of some of our Email Marketing in 2020 ebook contributors. Perhaps we can give you some reasons to be more excited about some of these email marketing trends, all of which we think will be impactful this year.
>> Read the full post on the Litmus blog
The Evolution of Email Marketing: Past and Future
Posted on December 28, 2016
Anyone who says email hasn’t changed much in the past few decades is simply demonstrating that they don’t know much about email.
It’s a dangerous mistake for brands to underestimate the evolution of email marketing over the past couple of decades, as it sets them up to not be agile enough to cope with the coming changes—some of which are tectonic.
The major stages of email’s evolution so far include…
Email 1.0: Closed Platform
Email 2.0: Open Platform
Email 3.0: Spam-Complaint Filtering
Email 4.0: HTML Emails
Email 5.0: Mobile Emails
Email 6.0: Mobile HTML Emails
Email 7.0: Engagement-Based Filtering
And the next stages likely include…
Email 8.0: Big Data Personalization & Machine Learning
Email 9.0: Interactivity & Rich Content
Email 10.0: Wearables
Email 11.0: Internet of Things
Email 12.0: Voice Interfaces
For an explanation of all of those stages, especially those next stages that are starting to make a big impact on marketers…
>> Read the entire column on MarketingLand.com
Happy Holidays from My Family to Yours
Posted on December 23, 2016
’Twas two nights before Christmas, and as I slept in my bed,
Not a worry was stirring inside my tired head.
For our stockings were hung by our chimney with care,
And our tree was adored so that no spot was bare,
With popcorn on string and balls made of glass
And pictures of kids and bells made of brass.
There were presents all stacked underneath our grand tree,
For Kate and for Ben, Zach, Dex, and for me—
And even for Piper, our new faithful friend,
Who slept in the kitchen inside her dog pen.
Then from deep in my sleep, I heard a faint jingle,
A jingle that made all my fingers and toes tingle.
I knew in a moment it wasn’t St. Nick.
I threw back my covers and got to my feet quick.
I grabbed my bed lamp in lieu of a broom,
And quietly crept into the next room.
There in the darkness, I squinted to see,
Two beady eyes staring right back at me.
I took a step back, then stepped right back up,
Realizing those eyes were the eyes of a pup.
“Piper?” I said, then I turned on a light,
And saw her cute face, plus a terrible fright,
For all around Piper were things from our tree—
A snowman dismembered, a reindeer’s left ski,
The stripes off a zebra, the hat from a bear,
And a gingerbread man ripped off his red chair.
But for all the destruction, she ate not one present
(Though she left her own that was terribly fragrant).
So I scooped her right up and went into the kitchen,
Where I saw that the door to her pen was wide open.
With the mystery solved and true disaster averted,
I tidied up, relieved that no policed were alerted.
Then I went back to bed and muttered as I turned out the light,
“Happy Almost-Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”
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
