Introduction Imagine this: you're deep into the process of selecting a new ESP (Email Service Provider). You've nailed down the must-have features, reviewed all the shiny tools, and your comparison scorecard is nearly complete. But here’s the kicker—the biggest difference between platforms often doesn’t make it onto that list. It’s the...

AI is reshaping our industry, but not always in the way you might expect. As Apple Intelligence and the evolving inbox technology transform how billions of readers interact with email, we're seeing a surprising twist: these advances are driving us back to marketing fundamentals. Discover how to adapt your content strategy...

When most marketers hear the word "AI," they immediately think of content creation — blog posts, email sequences, social media captions. You know, the stuff we’ve all been churning out for years. But let me stop you right there. The real power of AI? It’s not just in cranking out content....

Well, folks, we made it to a new year again. I wasn't sure that we would. Not that we would face another earth-shattering kaboom or see the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding over the hills. But it seems as if we've been in survival mode for so long I wouldn't...

We are all familiar with the experience. Pick your favorite online application: Netflix. Facebook. Amazon, or my personal go-to app - Spotify. They all use recommendation systems to enhance your personalized experience. Undoubtedly, you’ve been left staring at what feels like an endless loop of redundant content. Clicked that video about...

And… now for part 2, the top 10 posts published last year on the Only Influencers blog! Be sure to circle back to read part 1 if you missed it. What makes it a top post? Earning more than 2,000 views! Fewer than 25% of the posts published met that threshold...

One of my favorite things to do at the start of the year is to look back at the most popular posts from last year on the Only Influencers blog! Any post that got more than 2,000 views qualifies! But this is about more than bragging rights – all of these...

Picture this: it’s the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, and I’m deep in the trenches, scheduling one of many emails set to go out between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. If you’re in email marketing, you know just how chaotic this time of year can be. The inbox is equally chaotic for consumers—a...

As email marketers, we’re focused on nurturing human relationships in our work. But sometimes we get so caught up in chasing trends and the latest AI model that we forget about the person in our strategies. In mid-October, my wife and I welcomed our second child into the world. Paternity leave...

As email marketing teams grow, their processes and flows become more complex and less efficient, and preparing email campaigns becomes more time-consuming. By expanding a team, one expects to have time to do more work—and not that the work will take longer. What are the ways to get better results in...

It’s that time of year again when we either look back at what happened over the past year or what’s coming in the year ahead. Looking back and writing about what happened is easy, so I figured I would try to tackle some predictions for the New Year. I promise to...

For the better part of the past two decades, email marketing’s return on investment has hovered around 40:1, according to a variety of sources. For instance, a recent Litmus survey of more than 2,000 marketers found that email marketing’s ROI is 36:1. That means the average brand can expect to earn...

The simple answer is that it should be both. But there is sometimes a gap between that combined vision and how marketers practice email marketing. Because of short-term business pressures, or simply a lack of understanding, many marketers prioritize sales over relationship-building. They assume that, or at least act as if,...

When Andy King asked me to curate a collection of noteworthy emails for Email Love and join him on his Email Love podcast, I knew right away my theme would be designing emails for images off, as this has always been something I’ve advocated for – ever since I performed my...

Headlines warn that AI is set to automate millions of jobs, potentially displacing entire segments of the workforce. They’re right. According to a report by Goldman Sachs, AI could affect 300 million jobs globally, with up to 25% of tasks in the U.S. and Europe being automated. Yet history tells us...

How can you stay a step ahead in the AI race? That's a great question, and there's no single definitive answer. In my opinion, the best approach is to commit to continuous learning and remain open to new information. What do I mean by that? Well, many people tend to compare...

"They basically all do the same thing". That’s a lot of marketers' views on ESPs, and if we take the basic purpose of sending and tracking a bunch of emails then yes, this is true. But those of you in the Only Influencers (OI) community know this isn’t really the case....

WARNING: What you’re about to read might challenge your beliefs, shake your complacency, and make you rethink everything you thought you knew about email marketing. Consider yourself warned. I’m not here to sugarcoat the truth or coddle fragile egos. My mission is clear: to cut through the noise, the endless chatter,...

Today, I’d like to share some insights into unsubscribes—an approach I’ve used for years and highly recommend, especially with the holiday season approaching. Unsubscribes can feel alarming; they’re often seen as a sign that something is wrong with your content, personalization, or offers. But unsubscribes shouldn't be viewed as a single...

I started thinking about this over-sunsetting while working with one of my clients. They are probably one of the strongest performing senders I’ve ever met. BUT they are struggling with list retention and growth. It kills me to see well-intentioned senders struggle with their business when they are doing all the...