Shane Barker says, “Email continues to be considered the most effective marketing tactic. It’s also one of the least difficult to execute according to research conducted by Marketing Charts. However, like all other marketing channels, email marketing has its fair share of obstacles to overcome. The good news is that there’s always a solution to these email marketing challenges. Let’s take a closer look at the biggest issues plaguing marketers and the solutions for each. 1. Earning New Subscribers A recent report from Campaigner on the biggest email marketing challenges for 2016... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Mother’s Day email subject lines that elicit emotion have a 21.5% higher open rate than those that do not, according to recent research from Yesmail and Persado. The report was based on an analysis of 118,000 emails sent by Yesmail clients during the two weeks leading up to Mother’s Day in 2014 and 2015. More than 12,000 unique subject lines were included in the data set. Nearly two-thirds of all Mother’s Day-themed emails include subject lines the elicit at least one emotion, the analysis found. The average open rate for these emails is 10.3%, compared... [...]

Olivia Dello Buono says, “Creating consistent, high-quality content is the best way to keep your email subscribers happy and engaged. But not everyone is bursting at the seams with new content ideas, much less has the time to create neatly packaged emails to share those ideas. Now there’s a faster, easier way to keep in touch and share news with your subscribers: AWeber’s new mobile app, Curate. What is Curate? Curate is the email newsletter app that lets anyone send beautiful, curated newsletters. How does it work? Just save any content you want to share – articles, videos, links and... [...]

Selena Blue says, “Does your email audience prefer short or long emails? How about images versus GIFs? If you don’t know the answer to any of these questions, it’s OK. All you need is an A/B email test. Testing allows us to better understand our customers, and determine ways we can better engage them. Last week, we detailed nine experiment ideas for you to try on your next campaign. If those weren’t your style, we have seven more for you — for a total of 16 testing opportunities. Today, we’ll be reviewing opportunities in your body messaging, calls-to-action and design. Email... [...]

Brian Shilling says, “About 1 in 5 emails never reaches the intended inbox, according to Return Path’s 2015 Deliverability Benchmark Report. Yet email deliverability rate remains one of the most overlooked email marketing metrics. Though most email marketers focus on optimizing click-through rates and open rates—and for good reason—those popular metrics won’t add up to success if your emails don’t land in your contacts’ inboxes in the first place. If you feel as if you’ve tried everything to optimize your email campaigns but you’re still not seeing... [...]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “Whether or not business school is worth the investment is a hot topic these days. But regardless of where you stand, you don’t have to go to business school to gain a better understanding of how businesses work. “Business” is quite a versatile topic with many components. There’s a lot that goes into becoming more business-savvy, whether it’s learning the “softer” skills (like people management and public speaking) or mastering the “hard” skills (like accounting and finance). Aside from studying for a formal degree,... [...]

Erik Devaney says, “We’ve all heard how important it is to make a good first impression. Show up late for a job interview? That’s a bad first impression. Eat a ton of garlic and forget to brush your teeth right before a first date? Also a bad first impression. Go to meet your significant others’ parents for the first time dressed in Crocs and sweatpants? That might also result in a bad first impression (depending on prevailing fashion sensibilities). It turns out that the “make a good first impression” principle holds true not only in face-to-face encounters,... [...]

Brian Shilling says, “About 1 in 5 emails never reaches the intended inbox, according to Return Path’s 2015 Deliverability Benchmark Report. Yet email deliverability rate remains one of the most overlooked email marketing metrics. Though most email marketers focus on optimizing click-through rates and open rates—and for good reason—those popular metrics won’t add up to success if your emails don’t land in your contacts’ inboxes in the first place. If you feel as if you’ve tried everything to optimize your email campaigns but you’re still not seeing... [...]

Olivia Dello Buono says, “It’s not a new concept, but it’s getting a lot of hype lately amongst the email community. It’s even been coined the “next big thing” in email. We’re talking about interactive content. Interactive content brings a fresh approach to email, a channel often looked to as static and dated. (We know that’s not true.) Personalization, animation, segmentation; the possibilities are endless. And it’s not just about creating really, really, ridiculously good-looking emails. Interactive email can: – Make your content more compelling – Improve your... [...]

Parry Malm says, “Ah, the humble subject line. Gatekeeper of your offers. The crux of your campaigns. And the source of unrivalled consternation. Is the message on brand? Does it sound spammy? Will it drive sales? According to the vast majority of the N subject lines we analysed, the answers are no, yes, and probably not as much as you’d like. I’m in the subject line business. So, it makes sense that my company keeps track of subject lines that brands around the world are sending. We’ve built up one of the worlds’ largest databases of subject lines sent by B2C brands. It is all content... [...]