Staying ahead in email marketing requires embracing innovation and being willing to try new approaches.

"You have to enjoy problem solving. Figuring out how to do things that haven't been done before... I'm excited. We've got some great stuff that we're going to be working on this year, expansion of some of our current programs... I feel like I have the funnest job in email."

Takeaway:

• Be open to experimenting with new email marketing techniques.
• Encourage a culture of innovation within your team.
• Continuously look for ways to improve and stay ahead of trends.

Send Time Optimization (STO) improves engagement by delivering emails at the optimal time for each recipient.

"We utilize send time optimization, which is, you know, capturing their engagement over time and understanding, um, when the best time is in order to get them the message... Send time optimization is basically, I mean, it's AI basically. It's understanding as they're engaging with it over time, what the highest propensity is for them..."

Takeaway:

• Use AI-powered tools to determine the best send times for each subscriber.
• Increase open and click-through rates by optimizing delivery times.
• Continuously monitor and adjust based on engagement patterns.

Utilizing customer data effectively allows for deeper personalization and more meaningful email campaigns.

"Email is... a much more personal channel than I see a Facebook ad or I see something else. It's very, like, you're in my email box. I let you into my email box. And so when you provide back stuff based off of what I told you, it feels like you're listening, and everybody, whether it's email or just life, you want to think that you've been listened to..."

Takeaway:

• Leverage customer data to create personalized and relevant email content.
• Make customers feel heard by reflecting their preferences in communications.
• Build stronger relationships through meaningful personalization.

Ensuring email content is timely and relevant strengthens customer trust and engagement.

"...a lot of times the personalization challenges can come from data points, but in other times it's just, it's not being quick enough to respond, get out there and make sure your messaging is relevant based off of how society is changing, you know, how things are changing around you."

Takeaway:

• Update messaging promptly to reflect current events and societal changes.
• Avoid sending irrelevant content that could alienate customers.
• Regularly review and adjust email campaigns to maintain relevance.

Building confidence in executing email campaigns is essential to avoid mistakes and improve performance.

"I think about your first job ever in email... and the fear of hitting send for the first time. Like, oh my God, what if there's a mistake?... So it's a challenge both on the strategic side and the executional... Building that confidence too, like, 'Hey, we're gonna do this. We're putting in stuff in place. We're gonna be able to test in QA. It's gonna be fine.'"

Takeaway:

• Implement thorough testing and QA processes to minimize errors.
• Provide support and reassurance to team members new to email marketing.
• Build confidence by fostering a culture of learning and growth.

Promoting innovation in email marketing requires building strong internal relationships across teams.

"Part of it is bringing everyone else on the journey. So, if you're really excited about something, it can be a little contagious. And there are people like, 'I'm excited. I don't really know what you're talking about, but I'm excited too.' I'll give you my secret sauce of business. It's the chocolate chip cookie concept."

Takeaway:

• Engage colleagues by sharing enthusiasm for new ideas.
• Build cross-departmental relationships to promote collaboration.
• Use creative approaches to connect and communicate with your team.

With recent changes in email privacy, marketers need to reassess the relevance of open rates as a primary metric.

"Do we even look at open rates anymore? Is open rate the right metric, which is probably a whole different conversation that we can get into but it's stuff that, you know, in a role where you're focused mainly on the email channel you've got to keep an eye on that stuff."

Takeaway:

• Consider moving beyond open rates to evaluate email performance.
• Focus on more reliable metrics like clicks and conversions.
• Stay informed about industry changes affecting email analytics.

Adapting to privacy changes like Apple iOS updates is crucial for accurate email metrics and campaign effectiveness.

"Now, you know, we look at Apple iOS too and all that, like, definitely skewed some of that and some of that technology. And so, you know, we were on it pretty quickly, reaching out to all of our partners and said, 'What are you doing about Apple iOS? How are you handling that?' ... Because, you know, some of the stuff that we had turned on that AI and it's around when they opened that message was a little bit in jeopardy..."

Takeaway:

• Stay proactive in responding to privacy changes impacting email metrics.
• Collaborate with partners to find solutions to new challenges.
• Adjust strategies to maintain accurate data for personalized marketing.

Collecting first-party data through live polling in emails allows for better personalization and engagement.

"We're able to take those data points and... we partner with Movable Ink, and I think one of the cool things we're also able to do is live polling. So we can actually send out an email and ask them a question, and get first-party data back. And then I can take that first-party data and not only use it in email but across any of those channels."

Takeaway:

• Use live polling in emails to collect valuable first-party data.
• Leverage collected data to personalize messaging across multiple channels.
• Enhance customer engagement by directly involving them in the conversation.

Personalizing emails with video can significantly enhance engagement and relevance, leading to better campaign performance.

"We're onboarding a new solution that allows us to do personalization through the personalized videos, but executed through our email channel. We're looking at taking those data signals and create a customized video that is rendered in real time based off of those data signals. So you open the email, click and watch the video, and that video... might say, 'Hey, here's the benefits of managing your account online, here's what you want to do, and here's the next steps with the link out to that.'"

Takeaway:

• Use real-time data signals to create personalized video content in emails.
• Enhance engagement by providing tailored messages for each customer.
• Incorporate direct calls to action that guide users to the next steps.