Email Marketing RulesWebinar Recording + Q&A: State of Email – A Year in Review
Posted on December 19, 2016
To understand how email marketing is changing and to identify opportunities for brands, Litmus surveyed more than 900 marketers worldwide. Those extensive results powered our State of Email research series, which included:
- The State of Email Design [ebook]
- The State of Email Salaries & Jobs in the U.S. [ebook]
- The State of Email Production [ebook]
- The State of Email Agencies [infographic]
- And more…
In the State of Email webinar, we shared the most interesting and actionable insights from that research series—and also told you about the 2017 State of Email Survey and the opportunity to win a ticket to The Email Design Conference.
To watch the recording, download the slides, and read the Q&A from the webinar…
>> Get the full recap on the Litmus blog
3 Reasons to Take the 2017 State of Email Survey
Posted on December 16, 2016
For the 2nd year, we’re surveying savvy marketers like you to find out how you plan, create, and send your email campaigns.
Here are three reasons why you should participate in the 2017 State of Email Survey:
- The survey will get you thinking critically about every facet of your email marketing program—from team composition and approval process to email design and software used.
- The results will power the 2017 State of Email research series, which will help you benchmark yourself against your peers and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a drawing to win a free ticket to The Email Design Conference 2017 or a Mystery Litmus Swag Pack.
>> Start the survey
5 Reasons List-Unsubscribe Concerns Are Overblown
Posted on December 14, 2016
Apple’s iOS 10 Mail added support for list-unsubscribe, but the large “easy unsubscribe” banners that appear in marketers emails appear to be driving up opt-outs. Here are 5 reasons why marketers shouldn’t panic…
- Unsubscribes are not inherently bad, since they don’t harm deliverability and may not harm revenue.
- Brands have made it too difficult to unsubscribe and don’t honor opt-outs quickly enough.
- Email users trust native opt-out mechanisms more than the ones supplied directly by brands.
- Enabling list-unsubscribe reduces spam complaints, which in turn improves deliverability.
- List-unsubscribe isn’t new. Apple’s adoption follows Gmail (2009) and Microsoft (2007).
For a full discussion of each of these reasons…
>> Read the entire post on the Litmus blog
How the Pros Turn Marketing Analytics into Effective Marketing Strategies
Posted on December 13, 2016
An understanding of marketing analytics is key for brands to get the answers they need to attract and serve customers well.
To get a holistic perspective on how marketers can use analytics wisely for email marketing, SEO, conversion, pay-per-click advertising, social media marketing, Alexa spoke with me and:
- Eric Enge, CEO at Stone Temple Consulting Corporation, Co-author of The Art of SEO
- Andy Crestodina, Co-founder of Orbit Media Studios, Author of Content Chemistry
- Larry Kim, Founder of WordStream, Top columnist at Inc.com
- Steve Rayson, Director at BuzzSumo
This ebook is great for email marketers who want to better understand what’s driving decisions in other channels and the larger marketing goals across channels.
>> Download “How the Pros Turn Marketing Analytics into Effective Marketing Strategies”
15 Industry Experts Share Their #1 Email List Building Tactic
Posted on December 12, 2016
With email lists losing generally around one-third of their subscribers every year, brands must be rebuilding their lists constantly—ideally adding new subscribers at a faster rate than they’re losing them, and ideally adding subscribers with a lifetime value that’s at least as high as the subscribers they’re losing.
With list building being so critical, AWeber asked me and 14 other email marketing experts for our top tip for growing email lists wisely. This blog post includes tips on forms, incentives, acquisition sources, and more from:
- Erin King, Sr. Email Marketing Manager at Litmus
- Kristen Dunleavy, Content Marketing Manager at Movable Ink
- Amy Schmittauer, Founder of Savvy Sexy Social
- Noah Kagan, Chief Sumo at SumoMe
- Nick Loper, Chief Side Hustler at Side Hustle Nation
- Carl Sednaoui, Director of Marketing at MailCharts
- Mike Nelson, Email Geek at Really Good Emails
- Rachel Moffatt, Social Media Manager at Express Writers
- Brian Dean, Founder of Backlinko
- Nick Westergaard, Chief Brand Strategist at Brand Driven Digital
- Henneke Duistermaat, Founder of Enchanting Marketing
- Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder and Strategic Director at Orbit Media Studios
- Jenna Kutcher, Founder of the Jenna Kutcher Course and Host of The Goal Digger Podcast
- Tom Tate, Marketing Product Manager at AWeber
>> See all the list-building tips on the AWeber blog
17 Ecommerce Marketing Trends for 2017
Posted on December 8, 2016
Ometria asked me and 16 other experts what we thought would be big in ecommerce marketing in 2017.
Predicted trends included a focus on content, understanding customer journeys, the rise of social commerce, a consolidation of retailers’ technology stack, and more.
My prediction about e-commerce marketing next year centers around broadcast vs. triggered emails and how marketers are investing their time and energy and the kinds of returns they’re getting:
Broadcast promotional emails are consuming most of email marketing programs’ resources, but are delivering diminishing returns and cause nearly all email fatigue, unsubscribes, and spam complaints. In 2017, we’re going to see a big shift in resources toward triggered emails, which are already generating the majority of email marketing revenue for some brands. There’s huge potential in welcome emails, cart abandonment emails, browse abandonment emails, back-in-stock notifications, reengagement emails, and other action-, inaction-, date-, and IoT-triggered emails. However, they require care and feeding to ensure they’re up to date, seasonally relevant, optimized, and continually improved.
>> Read about all the trends
The Last Word on November 2016
Posted on December 7, 2016
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, and tweets you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & reports
Study finds e-retailers are making it more difficult to unsubscribe from emails (Marketing Land)
Why People Open Emails (Backed by Research) (MailMunch)
Measuring success in email – we’re doing it wrong (Medium)
What Email Marketers Can Do to Stop Unsubscribes (MarketingProfs)
Have We Forgotten How To Market? (MediaPost)
Our Favorite Examples of Live Polling in Email Marketing (Movable Ink)
Is the new “easy” list unsubscribe a big problem? (Hive)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
For most retailers if they lose 1% of this loyal base, they will not be profitable this year. Yikes! #adobechat https://t.co/ejZDbQEC3j
— Tamara Gaffney (@tamarag) November 9, 2016
Marketers aren’t like normal people, that’s why they see the world so digitally versus reality: pic.twitter.com/L4e6xAGkmd
— Mark Ritson (@markritson) November 4, 2016
Only my closest friends call me Subscriber.#PesronalNotPersonal pic.twitter.com/RqzQTD2ys0
— Jared Spool (@jmspool) November 2, 2016
Interesting choice for this preference center… #unsubscribe #notrecommended pic.twitter.com/O3EE07C8ZU
— email stuffing (@EmailSnarketing) November 22, 2016
you’re really selling it 👍 #emaildesign pic.twitter.com/rNzIMLRvRp
— Elliot Ross (@iamelliot) November 22, 2016
Noteworthy subject lines
FansEdge, 11/4 — Everything Cubs. Everything Championship. While Supplies Last.
Under Armour, 11/4 — Cubs Fans: It’s Time To Celebrate!
AutoAnything, 11/11 — Thank You, Veterans.
The Swiss Colony, 11/8 — Serve and Give Our Best for Thanksgiving
P&G everyday, 11/14 — Simple Thanksgiving place settings
Net-a-Porter, 11/15 — Your stylish Thanksgiving starts here
Vera Bradley, 11/4 — The trick(s) to tackling holiday travel …
Costco Wholesale, 11/4 —Home For the Holidays! Save Up to $600 OFF on Modern Furniture for Every Room!
Pier 1 Imports, 11/3 — Give your guests the best.
Pier 1 Imports, 11/9 — Make an entrance they won’t forget.
LifeWay, 11/3 — Prepare Your Heart and Home for Christmas
Sears, 11/9 — ! Special Annoucement: Black Friday deals NOW on the Sears app >>
Sears, 11/4 — One holiday, TWO sales! Veterans Day savings + Black Friday deals!
Clinique, 11/4 — Let’s get merry! Our Holiday Shop has some big surprises.
Neiman Marcus, 11/3 — Gifts that give back: Our Love To Give Collection
Gucci, 11/14 — From the Gucci Garden: the New Campaign for the Holidays
Ikea, 11/11 — Introducing our new holiday collection for 2016!
Nike.com, 11/3 — Give Nike: The Ultimate Gift List
ThinkGeek, 11/3 — Insert Coin. Receive gift. Continue? Browse our Holiday Giftcade.
Nike, 11/14 — Customize Your Holiday Gifts with NIKEiD
Costco, 11/14 — Top Electronics & Gifts Too Big to Wrap – Don’t Miss These Costco-Sized Savings!
Gap, 11/21 — $25 and under stocking stuffers are here!
Harley-Davidson, 11/3 — If You’re on the Naughty List, You Better Enjoy It
ToysRUs, 11/14 — Save Like It’s Cyber Monday! 1-Day Online Only Sale!
Victoria’s Secret, 11/24 — Post-Dinner Plans = Shop With PINK!
Lands’ End, 11/24 — We are thankful for friends, family, elastic waistbands and this…
FansEdge, 11/24 — Today We Are Thankful. For Style. And Football.
Dell, 11/24 — Time to be thankful. DOORBUSTERS have arrived early!
ThinkGeek, 11/24 — Stop fixing the WiFi at your aunt’s house: 40-60% off over 100 products!
Lowe’s, 11/24 — Happy Thanksgiving! Start Your Holiday Off Right With These Black Friday Savings
REI, 11/24 — This Holiday Is About Family
Target, 11/24 — 6 pm: Black Friday starts at your Target store.
Blue Nile, 11/28 — Better Than Friday, 50% Off New Cyber Monday
Sears, 11/28 — ☺ Use code: CYBER (we’re giving you an EXTRA 25% off!)
Walmart, 11/14 — Apply for a Walmart Credit Card today!
Shopbop.com, 11/14 — Holiday How-To: Get dressed up with Lucy Hale!
Lands’ End, 11/13 — Here’s how to build a beautiful winter look & save 40%
Anthropologie, 11/21 — THIS jacket: required.
Etsy, 11/13 — It’s engagement season
Southwest, 11/15 — The slopes are calling. Open now for sale fares.
AutoAnything, 11/13 — You have 9 unread deals
BEHAVE.org, 11/15 — Don’t open if you love your job
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
6 Email Marketing Manipulations that Should Stop
Webinar Recording + Q&A: Adapting to Consumers’ New Spam Definition
Millennials Driven to Opt-out and Report Spam Largely by Same Factors as Everyone Else
7 Email Marketing Predictions for 2017
Posted on December 6, 2016
With 2017 just around the corner, Campaign Monitor sought predictions for the New Year from me and six other email marketing experts:
- Alex Williams, Trendline Interactive
- Matthew Smith, Really Good Emails
- Daniel Codella, ZURB
- Andrea Wildt, Campaign Monitor
- Jordie Van Rijn, Email Monday
- Ros Hodgekiss, Campaign Monitor
My prediction centers around automation and data-driven messaging, which was a theme echoed by a couple of the other contributors. Others focused on mobile payments, email design, email metrics, and new internet-connected devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home.
Despite being well-established, email marketing is constantly evolving. That means that email marketers need to be constantly evolving too.
>> See the email marketing predictions for 2017
Webinar: The State of Email – A Year in Review
Posted on December 2, 2016
To understand how email marketing is changing and to identify opportunities for brands, Litmus surveyed more than 900 marketers worldwide. Those extensive results powered our State of Email research series.
Join me on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 1 pm ET as I share the most interesting and actionable insights from that research series and give you data-driven advice on:
- How to embrace mobile-friendliness with an eye to production efficiency
- Tools to strengthen your workflow
- How to improve the effectiveness of your email designs
- Tools to strengthen your workflow
- Salary trends to pay attention to
>> Register for the free webinar
6 Email Marketing Manipulations that Should Stop
Posted on November 29, 2016
While many brands have embraced customer-centricity, there are many relics of brand-centric thinking still out there in the email marketing world, unfortunately.
Here are 6 email marketing manipulations that we should stop in 2017:
- Using passive aggressive email signup and opt-out language
- Mandatory email opt-ins with purchase
- Hiding behind people’s names to obscure our brand
- Using misleading, vague, and overly clever subject lines
- Trying to trick Gmail and other inboxes into retabbing our emails
- Hiding unsubscribe links
For a full discussion of each of these manipulations, plus supporting research,…
>> Read the full column on MarketingLand.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
