Email Marketing Rules4 Keys to Improving the Subscriber Journey with Progressive Profiling
Posted on August 12, 2014
Subscribers change over time. Their interests change. Their needs change. Their goals change. And change can be very dramatic from one year to another and one season to another. So even if your email program has a wonderful onboarding program where you learn about each subscriber’s preferences, it’s just not enough.
Analyzing subscriber behavior can give you valuable insights into their current needs and wants, but you should also regularly be doing progressive profiling—that is, directly asking subscribers questions about their interests and preferences so you can better serve them.
When developing or refining your progressive profiling email program, here are four elements to…
>> Read the entire column on MediaPost.com
Summer Edition of the Email Marketer’s Holiday Planning Checklist
Posted on August 11, 2014
Holiday planning for retailers is almost a year-round endeavor, but it starts getting serious during the summer months. To help retailers plan their email marketing campaigns, I’m writing a series of holiday planning checklists for Internet Retailer Magazine, the first of which is live now.
In it, I advise retailers to:
- Adopt a mobile-friendly email design
- Make mobile-friendly improvements to your website
- Launch a cart abandonment or browse abandonment email
- Warm up new IP addresses for the holiday season
- Test your online email signup forms
- Review your email opt-in calls-to-action for your stores and call centers
- Identify opportunities to improve your holiday messaging
- Explore your swipe file
- Start on the “dream big” email now
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.
Crowd Favorites from the Swipe File: July 2014
Posted on August 8, 2014
We pin tons of inspiring digital marketing examples to our Swipe File pinboards on Pinterest every month. And each month you tell which ones most inspired you by repinning and liking them.
Here are your favorite pins among the ones we uploaded last month:
The Email Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Michaels >> 2-email welcome series focused on preferences >> View the pin
>> Browse the Email Swipe File
The Social Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Ikea Russia >> website created using Instagram’s grid view and photo tagging >> View the pin
>> Browse the Social Swipe File
The Audience Growth Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Home Depot >> email pitches SMS signup with $5 incentive >> View the pin
>> Browse the Audience Growth Swipe File
Help determine this month’s crowd favorites by repinning and liking the pins that inspire you most.
Gmail’s Native Unsubscribe Link: The Upside and Downside
Posted on August 7, 2014
Gmail is making email marketers sweat again. In the last year alone, the debut of Tabs caused all-out panic, image caching set new open rate baselines, and grid view led to rendering concerns. Now Gmail is following up with a partial rollout of a highly visible native unsubscribe link in March with a full rollout, which they announced yesterday.
Now any sender including the list-unsubscribe header in their emails will have Gmail’s native unsubscribe link show up next to their “from” name when an email is opened. Previously the only senders who benefited from this functionality were those brands with stellar reputations—which were the ones who needed it the least.
Let’s look at the pros and cons of…
>> Read the entire post on ExactTarget.com
July Review & August Preview for the 2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar
Posted on August 5, 2014
Every month through January, we’ll be reviewing our predictions from the 2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar for last month and discussing what to expect this month in terms of holiday messaging trends.
In July, we predicted that major retailers would send their active subscribers 18 promotional emails during July—and we were right on target. Our panel of more than 100 retailers sent their subscribers 17.9 emails on average last month.
In August, we’re expecting retailers to again send their active subscribers around 18 promotional emails each. The amount of holiday messaging will be very low.
>> Read the entire post on the ExactTarget Blog
Last Chance to Buy ‘Email Marketing Rules,’ 1st Edition
Posted on August 4, 2014
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be releasing an updated and expanded 2nd Edition of Email Marketing Rules in early September. I’ll be providing more details in the weeks to come, so stay tuned.
Because I want folks to have the most up-to-date information, I’ll be taking the 1st Edition off the market on Aug. 10. But if you want a copy of the 1st Edition for any reason, now is the time to grab one. Otherwise, hold tight and wait for the arrival of the 2nd Edition in 4 weeks or so.
>> Buy the 1st Edition of Email Marketing Rules
Thanks to everyone that helped make the 1st Edition such a huge success. It’s only because of your support that a 2nd Edition was possible. Thank you!
The Last Word on July 2014
Posted on August 1, 2014
A roundup of email marketing articles, posts, tweets and examples you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & whitepapers
Maybe It’s Time To Redefine ‘The Store’ (Forbes)
The World’s Top 50 Email Marketing Influencers (Vocus)
What’s Next For Inbox Placement? (MediaPost)
The Ultimate Guide to Email Image Blocking (Litmus)
How we made the #emailweekly newsletter (Email Design Review)
A Purchased List is a Dead List (MailChimp)
Gmail Please Fully Support The Style Tag #CanHasStyle [Pls Tweet!] (FreshInbox)
Insightful & entertaining tweets
@iamelliot: OH: it takes special effort to make a plain text email not-responsive, so well done for that
@DelaQuist: Here’s why you still need human supervison in an automated world? pic.twitter.com/ZYz9mqAId5
Great additions to the Swipe File pinboards
Lenovo explains reason for Christmas in July in email sent on 7/18/14 >> View the pin
Michael’s 2-email welcome series sent in 5/2014 >> View the pin
Hipmunk honeymoon infographic email sent on 7/17/14 >> View the pin
Moosejaw polar vortex newsjacking email sent on 7/29/14 >> View the pin
Noteworthy subject lines
TigerDirect, 7/20 — Xmas in July 48-Hour Hi-Definition Special: $449 50″ 1080p LED TV w/ Soundbar + Free Shipping
Lenovo, 7/18 — Merry Christmas in July! We got you something…
Petco, 7/18 — ➔ B L A C K F R I D A Y I N J U L Y…
Target, 7/11 — Black Friday in July? It is so on.
Victoria’s Secret, 7/7 — Monday after a long wknd 🙁 Open for : )
Levi’s, 7/3 — Baseball. Apple pie. Levi’s® jeans. (+ up to 30% off)
Threadless, 7/4 — Be careful… This email contains fireworks.
Furniture.com, 7/4 — It’s Party Time: Celebrate America with 15% off Made in the USA items!
Under Armour, 7/4 — Honor Our Heroes On The 4th…& Every Day
babyGap, 7/4 — Take a break from the BBQ (new stuff is here…)
Jetsetter, 7/3 — Party in the USA
Gilt, 7/4 — BOOM. Up to 80% off. 70+ sales. Go 4th and celebrate.
Ikea, 7/4 — Get them ready for college with our online flyer!
Dillards, 7/28 — Don’t miss our catalog: Your Back to Campus Guide
The North Face, 7/13 — #PacksInAction
JCPenney, 7/25 — #LoveItForSchool Sale + $16.99-$19.99 Arizona jeans
Swiss Colony, 7/8 — What I Ate on My Summer Vacation
J. Crew, 7/7 — Sales are the best. Sunburns are the worst.
Pier 1 Imports, 7/28 — Deck out your sundeck.
Kate Spade, 7/17 — what’s piquing your pinterest?
GNC, 7/29 — Do You Know Your Protein Number? Join Over a Million Who Do
Furniture.com, 7/31 — Contact us today for design help!
P&G Everyday, 7/13 — Guilty of over-apologizing? Check out this video #ShineStrong
Express, 7/7 — Introducing Kate Upton for #ExpressJeans
Threadless, 7/21 — Can a magic eraser eliminate this weekend’s questionable decisions?
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
Replay of ‘The 5 Trends behind the 2014 Best of the Email Swipe File’ #Webinar Available
Getting Subscribers One Click Closer to Checkout
2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar
Put a Dollar in the #EmailSwearJar
Crowd Favorites from the Swipe File: June 2014
Replay of ‘The 5 Trends behind the 2014 Best of the Email Swipe File’ #Webinar Available
Posted on July 29, 2014
In our “5 Trends behind the 2014 Best of the Email Swipe File” webinar last week, Andrea Smith and I discussed the 5 critical email design and strategy trends that guided our selection of the 20 emails in the 2014 Best of the Email Swipe File.
We shared research and plenty of real-world examples and discussed how savvy marketers are tapping into the power of these five trends, which are: (1) a growing need to personalize content, (2) a greater sophistication for triggered messages, (3) rendering that’s optimized for the platform, situation, person, and time of open, (4) a unique voice that’s more helpful than promotional, and (5) a continued evolution of the fundamentals.
If you missed this 60-minute webinar, you can now watch the replay here:
And if you’re just interested in flipping through the slide deck, that’s available here:
We only covered a small portion of the content included in the 2014 Best of the Email Swipe File, so we hope you’ll explore all that it has to offer.
Getting Subscribers One Click Closer to Checkout
Posted on July 25, 2014
The more you ask of consumers the less likely they are to give you what you want. That’s why email signup forms perform best when they are short. That’s why bloated checkout processes don’t work well (and why Amazon patented the 1-click checkout). And it’s also why you should keep the number of clicks between an email call-to-action and checkout as short as possible.
Too many emails put too many clicks between that first click in an email and the last click confirming an order. Getting subscribers just one click closer to checkout can significantly impact conversion rates.
For email designs, that’s means three things: First,…
>> Read the entire post on the ExactTarget Blog
2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar
Posted on July 22, 2014
The slow buildup of the holiday season has already begun and many marketers are busy blueprinting their plans for the critical months of November and December. We want to help!
Our 2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar contains a sleigh-full of information to help you plan, stay on trend, and ensure you’re sending the right holiday messaging at the right time. Month by month we discuss trends, give you planning advice, link to example campaigns, and share important stats.
>> Download the calendar
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
