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chapter 7   Email marketing

further reading ...

Note that I’ve included some articles that are a couple of years old ...

don't let their publication date put you off - they are still relevant now.

The most recent posts are at end of each section.

This book covers only the essentials – for links to wider coverage of the

subjects take a look at the web pages for Digital Marketing; a Practical Approach.

Applying to all of the following elements of email marketing, Analyzing Unsubscribes Can Save an Email Marketing Program kind-of presents a reactive argument for the practice - I would argue that this should be standard practice.

As Marketers Plan a Rise in Email Volume, Keeping Lists Engaged Proves A Challenge applies to all three elements of email marketing in this chapter.

Half of Your Email Campaign’s Clicks Occur Within 3 Hours Post-Send + More Email Benchmarks also includes data on the best day of the week to send emails as well as the number of newsletters that should be sent per week and a too frequently ignored issue - the use of preheaders.

More evidence that email is not dead … 3 Points About Consumers and Direct Mail.

6 email metrics to help reach marketing goals and make business decisions.

Email as a medium for direct marketing

Email still public's preferred marketing channel, even after GDPR.

According to Email Isn't Social Media, but It's Still Pretty Popular 50% of people prefer email as the contact method to receive an offer from brands.

46% of Consumers Want to Deal with Ecommerce Issues through Email.

Not only is email not dead, but Marketers Clearly See Email As The Best Content Distribution Channel.

How to use email marketing effectively.

A beginner's guide to email marketing automation.

I've included A love letter to direct mail and its breakable rules for two reasons. Firstly it gives you an idea of how to be a bit different - but also as it is an example of someone who is a 'creative'.

As the title of eight time-honoured tips for writing awesome email copy suggests, these tips are not new - but they may be to you :-)

Why I love Glossier's email marketing is interesting for a number of reasons. It shows how effective direct marketing emails can be … but also how it can be the opposite. Ultimately it is down to getting the message right for your target audience. Notice also how the case study organization [seems to] use the medium for income generation and branding – though note how some of the customers’ comments complained that the emails had no coupons. Within the article there is also a link to How Glossier Built a Beautiful New Product Email Campaign - which is worth a read if only to illustrate what is required for email campaigns such as those described. It ain’t cheap … never forget that ROI.

You could reverse the findings in Brands: Avoid These Email Pitfalls into 'examples of good practice'. Some might say common sense.

As my research takes me to a variety of websites beyond what a normal person might visit, the experiences of the author of How not to do sales emails (please stop stalking me) are similar to my own. And my reaction to iffy emails is the same. However, the message is the same to all email marketers.

Five dos and don’ts for capturing customer email addresses on retail websites.

5 Steps to a Successful Email Drip Campaign.

Take note how in What makes Airbnb an exceptional email marketer Airbnb manages to make its direct marketing emails [almost] seem like 'support' emails.

Don't be confused by the title of What Kinds of Post-Purchase Brand Emails Are Likely to Be Opened? and think it belongs in the next section. The emails talked about are actually direct marketing emails - but the title refers to the fact that when you've bought something the seller can - legally - send you sales emails without you giving direct permission [though any such emails must include the option to opt-out/unsubscribe from any further emails].

There is nothing new in Email Marketing: Optimizing ‘From’ Lines, Subject Lines, Pre-headers - but you might not have seen it before.

Attributing Sales to Email Marketing Is Not Always Easy.

I've included How to get more out of your email marketing in this section, but some of the tips could apply to all email marketing. Note that there is some author bias, but it's still worth a read.

Email as a medium for marketing messages

The boxes are ticked – but where is the fairy dust? is an example of an organization missing a marketing  opportunity ... and another What a waste.

7 Ways to Help Boost the Performance of Your Confirmation Emails.

Note how in 10 examples of welcome emails from retailers some are quite aggressive towards sales, whilst others have a focus on building the brand.

The State of Transactional Email.

In Unlocking the full potential of transactional emails the author refers to 'transactional' emails, which are not direct marketing - as he covers in the article.

6 examples of perfect proactive triggered emails from Amazon, Airbnb and Stitch Fix.

Email newsletters

Three UX Tips for Better Newsletters and Marketing Emails is a short video - it's about presenting content on emails.

In the book I associate newsletters with email as that is their method of transmission - but as is alluded to in The New Social Network That Isn’t New at All they could be classed as social media.