DJ Waldow, co-author of The Rebel's Guide to Email Marketing, presents "7 Email Marketing Rules You Must Break" in Coralville, IOWA on October 18, 2012 - Social Brand Forum 2012

1. 7 Email Marketing
"Rules" You Must Break
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
Waldow Social
October 18, 2012

2. DJ Waldow
WaldowSocial.com
@djwaldow
waldowsocial.com/email

3. waldow
SOCIAL

8. slideshare.net/djwaldow

9. Isn’t email DEAD?

12. Most emailed article of the day

14. How many of you have...?

16. Download
Report

17. 91%

19. ü Email trending down (but still in the lead)
ü Text and social trending up

20. Download Report

21. 77%

22. Email is not dead. It’s THRIVING. -
@djwaldow #SocialBrand12

23. Good. Moving on …

25. !!!!!

26. Email Marketing Best Practices
You should ALWAYS…

27. Email Marketing Best Practices
You should NEVER…

28. Flickr: financialaidpodcast

29. Never use
1
“free” or ALL
CAPS in a
subject line

33. Gmail spam “false positives”

34. Gmail spam “false positives”
FREE?

39. Which subject line
was the winner?

43. It’s okay to use “free” or ALL CAPS in
a subject line - @djwaldow
#SocialBrand12

44. 2
Never send
an UGLY
email

45. A

46. B

47. A
B

48. A|B Test Methodology:
• Sent 20% old template (A); Sent
20% new template (B)
• Subject, From Name, content &
date/time of send the same
• Ran for 24 hours

49. Results:
• Old template (A): 25.7% open
rate; 4.2% click-through rate
• New template (B): 27.0% open
rate; 4.7% click-through rate
A VIRTUAL TIE!

52. YUCK!
right?

53. 99.2
40
87

54. 99.2%
inbox placement

55. 40%
open rate

56. 87%
click-to-open rate

57. Beauty is in the eye of the email
subscriber - @djwaldow
#SocialBrand12

58. Subject lines
3
should always
be between
30-50 characters

59. “Off-the-Court Gear in Tournament Colors”

61. Sesame Street Asks Obama Campaign To Take Ad
Down, Anderson Cooper vs. Star Jones, Die Hard
Obama Supporter Freaks Out

62. Sesame Street Asks Obama Campaign To Take Ad
Down, Anderson Cooper vs. Star Jones, Die Hard
Obama Supporter Freaks Out

63. Get up to 70% off children‘s fashion

64. Get up to 70% off children

65. An actual Groupon subject line
One Oil Change, Three Oil Changes with Inspections,
or a Four-Wheel Alignment (Up to 78% Off) | 10 or
20 Gym Passes (Up to 69% Off) | Salon Package with
Cut, Style, and Two-Color Highlights; Shellac Manicure;
or Acrylic Nails (Up to 51% Off)

66. An actual Groupon subject line
One Oil Change, Three Oil Changes with Inspections,
42 words
or a Four-Wheel Alignment (Up to 78% Off) | 10 or
20 Gym Passes (Up to 69% Off) | Salon Package with
421 characters
Cut, Style, and Two-Color Highlights; Shellac Manicure;
or Acrylic Nails (Up to 51% Off)

68. It’s okay to write long (or short) email
subject lines - @djwaldow
#SocialBrand12

69. Never used
4
a popup to
collect email
addresses

75. nooooooooooooooo.com

76. Pre-Popup: 80-100 new emails/month

77. Pre-Popup: 80-100 new emails/month
Once popup was installed:
• Aug – 388 new emails
• Sept – 478 (a 482% increase)

78. 83% list growth from
popups; zero complaints!

80. Popup accounts for 75-80% of list growth!
“To this day, after 4 years, I have not heard anything [negative] about it.”
- Patrick Starzan, VP of Marketing & Distribution

81. ChristopherSPenn.com

82. ChristopherSPenn.com
• 30 signups per month prior
to popup.
• Once installed, average shot
up to 133
• As of Feb ’11, trending at
250 per month.
733% increase in
subscribers.

84. It’s okay to use a popup to collect
email address! - @djwaldow
#SocialBrand12

85. Never send
5
an email with
one big image

90. It’s okay to send an email with one big
image, but get creative with alt text! -
@djwaldow #SocialBrand12

91. 6
Never make
your unsubscribe
link obvious

92. Can you find the unsubscribe?

93. Can you find the unsubscribe?

94. Huh?

99. Unsubscribe
OR
Mark as Spam

100. It’s okay to make your unsubscribe
button/link obvious! - @djwaldow
#SocialBrand12

101. Never
7
have fun

106. It’s okay to have some fun with your
email marketing campaigns! -
@djwaldow #SocialBrand12

107. 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1. Never use “free” or ALL CAPS in a subject line
2. Never send an UGLY email
3. Subject lines should always be between 30-50
characters
4. Never use a popup to collect email addresses
5. Never send an email with one big image
6. Never make your unsubscribe link obvious
7. Never have fun

108. http://waldowsocial.com/free-email-reviews/

109. ar.gy/rebelsguide

110. REMEMBER

111. Smile. Laugh. Dance. Have Fun.
[Read post & watch video]

112. DJ Waldow
WaldowSocial.com
@djwaldow
waldowsocial.com/email