Jim Barksdale, co-founder of Netscape, is credited with saying ‘there are only two ways to make money in business. One is by bundling. The other is by unbundling.’  That casual-sounding insight is like a high-powered X-ray view for the changing fortunes of businesses — especially, it seems, digital businesses.  You could...

Assuming your product or service lends itself to try-before-you-buy, a free trial can be an effective way to sell it. I’ve helped create and market a lot of free trials over the course of my career. I started my career in the publishing industry, and free trials can be a good...

For several years straight, we’ve been successfully setting up and launching email campaigns for our clients. But sometimes, we come face to face with unusual tasks where the most reasonable decision is to teach the client’s team all the required details. In November, the e-learning team of a large cosmetics brand...

Recently, the OI Metrics committee hosted a webinar on Using ChatGPT for Email Data Analysis. I must admit I was skeptical of it when we started. So far, my exposure had been subject line tools that used ChatGPT, which I consistently beat for one of my clients. I also thought that...

Since it’s been almost 6 years since I last offered advice on OI as to how to approach your RFP process, I thought it was time to revisit the topic in the OI blog. There have been a lot of changes during that time. So let’s get started! 1. Know when...

This is a story of unique and total clicks: how they are computed, what they mean, and how you can make the most of them. One morning recently, I started my day with a query from a client who was reviewing their engagement reports from our platform, and wondering why the...

If I said “Rizz”, “Drip”, or “NPC”, would you have any idea what that means? If the answer is “no”, then just search your contacts for your favorite 14-year-old and they will enlighten you. Generation Z, or those people born between 1997 and 2012 according to Pew Research Center, represent $360B...

Chad is quickly becoming a valuable member of my agency's team for our planning, creative development and optimization. You won't find his photo on our company website, however. That's because "Chad" is the name we've given to our private version of ChatGPT. Plus, he's still a work in progress. We're training...

Just this week I saw yet another of those consumer surveys about email marketing commissioned by a tech vendor. Inside there were lots of obvious things that come from leading questions (like ‘Would you like less or more marketing emails in 2024?’. Phrased like that how do you think they’d respond?...

One theme I've developed after 25 years in email is that it's important to give back to the industry, to contribute to our overall success by helping other people. Like you, I find myself talking with and advising marketers at conferences and on webinars, and when writing articles like these, working...

Over the past year of consulting, I've had two client cases that have caused me significant inner turmoil. Besides fixing flawed technical setups, most cases could be fixed with the sentiment, "send wanted content." And this most often was THE solution; often boiling things down to sending the content as it...

Excellent tools. Poor deliverability? Twice a year, the website EmailToolTester compares the deliverability of different email platforms. For example, according to their report from January 2024, HubSpot, one of the most commonly used email platforms among startups, ends up with an unappealing score: "poor deliverability". The method used to make the...

Email marketers are relying on AI more and more – but are your AI endeavors as successful as they could be? Some simple guidance on prompt engineering can help – here are some tips along with a few case studies from the email marketing industry. Prompt engineering is the art of...

I was recently asked to provide a keynote speech at a university. In preparing for this I started to think about the benefits of learning. Drawing on my own experience both sides of the lectern, I know and see how combining theory with real world practical experience, elevates any marketers game....

Four Truths for 2024 #1 - The Google Gauntlet and the Rise of Value Let’s talk about Google's HCU and manual penalties. It feels like every other day, there’s a new hoop to jump through. But here's the twist: This isn't about dodging penalties; it's about embracing the core of what...

In the world of digital marketing, one question often arises: “Does the length of email content affect conversion rates?” This question was recently posed to me by an email copywriter seeking advice about the relationship between content length, information density, and conversion rates, so I thought I would use this blog...

During our OI-members-only live discussion last week we ended up on a familiar topic: resends. But the discussion took a twist which has me rethinking my personal stance on them – and how I’ll recommend my clients handle them. I wanted to share it here because this may impact your thinking...

There has been a lot of interest and discussion in the OI-verse about the value of newsletters as an email communication channel. Advantages range from relationship-building to providing more in-depth and relevant content. In parallel, there has also been a lot of discussion on the importance of first-party data in a...

Back in 2021, I wrote an article for Only Influencers sharing data from OPTIZMO’s annual Email Opt-Out Infographic. That infographic covered data from 2018-2020, so it culminated with a look at how a year of the COVID-19 pandemic influenced email opt-out behavior. (Is it just me or is it hard to...

Generative AI today is quite a big trend that is rapidly gaining momentum and finding its place in the work processes of email marketers. Statistics confirm this, since: 43% of respondents rely heavily on GenAI in email creation processes 49% of email marketers believe GenAI helps them make their emails more...