Should Color And Design Be Used In Emails?

Should color and design be used in emails

From conducting A/B Tests with your email audiences to a chance of designs causing lower reply rates, here are the 11 answers to the question, “Should color and design be used in email campaigns?”

  • Build A/B Tests 
  • Brand Colors and Design Evoke A Sense of Relatability
  • Prioritize a Relationship With Your Audience
  • Give Your Message An Eye-catching Look
  • Keep Graphics to a Minimum
  • Maintain Campaign Consistency
  • Use Colors to Attract and Hold Readers’ Attention
  • Intelligent Use of Colors Will Make the Right Info Pop
  • White is the Only Color All Email Campaigns Should Have
  • Colors Help Grab Attention
  • Colors and Designed Emails Have Smaller Reply Rates

Build A/B Tests 

The only way that you can know what will jive best for your unique audience is by testing things. Choose an email marketing platform that allows you to build A/B tests. If your current email platform offers this, don’t be afraid to experiment with this feature, which will have a campaign monitor in place to reveal the winning strategy. Performing A/B tests has informed pretty much every part of my brand’s email marketing strategy. The insights we’ve gained are priceless.

Michael Green, Co-Founder, Winona

Brand Colors and Design Evoke A Sense of Relatability

Sending a simple email for communication only is different from running an email campaign for your product, service, etc. As a result of our own study, we performed A/B testing for email subject lines and found that emails with relevant emoticons had a 50% higher open rate than emails without.

A brand’s colors and design evoke emotions and a sense of relatability. Some brands, like Nike and Adidas, use templates with very little text in their email campaigns. The heart of effective marketing is color and design. Color accounts for between 62 and 90% of the impression your product creates. It is therefore necessary to have a cohesive brand message across all marketing channels. The right choice of colors and design makes a difference because they trigger associations.

At our company, we have run a ton of email campaigns with and without the color and design element and I can confidently say that color and design performs way better than text-only emails.

Simon Dayne, Sales Associate, Designitic

Prioritize a Relationship With Your Audience

Marketing is changing fast. It’s harder and harder to break through the noise. The more you can establish a real relationship with your audience the better – and it’s easier to do that with a simple email than with an overly designed “newsletter”.

Because of this, we have seen great results when moving brands from an overly designed newsletter template to a simple email from the business owners.

Ultimately, whether you use color and design in your email campaigns will depend on your audience’s expectations. So experiment, and see what works for your business.

Frank Prendergast, Brand Strategist, Frank and Marci

Give Your Message An Eye-catching Look

Regarding email campaigns, color and design make a big difference. Not only do they help draw attention to your email, but they can also be used to convey the main message. Color can help add interest and emotion to an email that might otherwise seem dull or boring. Design elements like fonts and graphics can help further emphasize the message and give it an eye-catching look.

However, there are also some negatives to consider. If the colors and design elements are too bright or loud, it can distract readers and take away from the message. On the other hand, if the design is too basic or plain, it may not be enough to grab people’s attention. It is important to strike a good balance between eye-catching and appropriate when it comes to email campaign design.

Color and design can effectively make email campaigns more engaging and impactful. Used properly, they can create an email that is visually appealing and conveys the email’s main message in a clear and concise way.

Natalia Grajcar, Co-Founder, Natu.Care

Keep Graphics to a Minimum

Logos ought to be used in an email. Think of it as email stationery. Putting that banner or that logo at the top of an email and at the bottom where you state your name and company information is the very least you can do. In fact, if that’s all you do, that’s perfectly fine.

Try not to go overboard with color and graphics. Try not to use interactive emojis or memes or an overabundance of videos and photos to grab the email recipient’s attention. Too much of that can actually look unprofessional – or worse, desperate.

Less is more. Do just enough that it isn’t too bland, but err on the side of restraint. That’s a good rule of thumb when it comes to email marketing. You want to give off the impression that you’re a reputable, authoritative brand. You won’t achieve that if your emails are too reliant on visual gimmicks.

Emily Saunders, Chief Revenue Officer, eLuxury

Maintain Campaign Consistency

Color and design should certainly be used in email campaigns in order to be more aesthetically pleasing and attractive to your customers. However, use color and design according to your brand style and aesthetic to ensure consistency across your marketing efforts. Your email campaigns, social media, website, blog, etc., should all use similar colors and designs to maintain this consistency.

Nabiha Akhtar, CEO/Founder, Lil Deenies

Use Colors to Attract and Hold Readers’ Attention

The impact of colors has been a topic of academic research for decades. Color and design can be powerful when used in email campaigns, as they can help evoke certain emotions in recipients and encourage them to take action.

A study found that color can attract and hold readers’ attention. With the right color, an email campaign can drive more engagement, generate more leads and help the brand stand out from competitors. However, it’s important to remember that color should be used judiciously not to distract readers from the message. Too much color can be overwhelming and less effective.

Burak Özdemir, Founder, Online Alarm Kur

Intelligent Use of Colors Will Make the Right Info Pop

Using colors is a great idea to help make your emails pop, but selecting muted and complimentary colors is essential in creating balance and harmony within the visual aesthetic of your email. Using too many bright, contrasting colors can make it difficult to read and can diminish the effectiveness of your campaign. Additionally, if you are not careful with the color scheme you choose, it can come off as amateurish and unprofessional. All in all, color is a great way to add visual appeal to your emails when done in good taste.

Ryan Delk, CEO, Primer

White is The Only Color All Email Campaigns Should Have

The colors you use in your email campaign will depend on the demographics and interests of your audience. An email campaign marketed to a 40-year-old woman will be different than that of an 18-year-old male.

The one color that all emails will need is white. Why? Because it is easy to read. Putting black fonts on a white background or white fonts on any color background is what you need for people to read your content without straining their eyes.

Jason Vaught, Director of Content, SmashBrand

Colors Help Grab Attention

If your goal is to create an email campaign that stands out and gets noticed, then incorporating color and design is a must. People are bombarded with emails every day, so it’s essential to make yours stand out in their inboxes.

Adding a pop of color or an eye-catching design will help grab attention and ensure your message is seen. However, using color and design sparingly is important, as too much can be overwhelming and actually turn people off. When used sparingly and thoughtfully, color and design can be powerful tools for creating an email campaign that gets results.

Tom Hamilton-Stubber, Managing Director, Tutor Cruncher

Colored and Designed Emails Have Smaller Reply Rates

In my experience both colored and designed nurturing emails have a much smaller reply rate. Nowadays people are getting a bit tired of their mailboxes full of automated emails and appreciate personal communication. The reason for not using email templates with colors and designs is to make an automated nurturing email mimic an email from a real person.

Andrei Iunisov, Digital marketing expert, Iunisov.com

Adding a Button In An Image + Text Block in Mailchimp

How To Code a Button Into an Image Text Block In Mailchimp

There are some things that the Classic Builder in Mailchimp cannot do and this is one of them. When you use the Drag N Drop Builder to pull in an “Image + Text” block, there is no option to have a clickable button within that same block.

Well, this little html code does the trick. What’s cool is that you can edit the HEX code in here to create the exact type of button you’d like.

First, when you’re in your text block, you will want to click this button <> and paste the code Into this.

Insert code button Mailchimp

 

You should plan to edit the coding some below to whatever you need for your button. Make sure you update the link in the coding below to your own link and you can also change the “Learn More” text too.

Simply copy and paste this coding below into your text block:

 

<table align=”center” border=”0″ cellpadding=”0″ cellspacing=”0″ class=”mcnButtonContentContainer” style=”border-collapse: separate !important; border-radius: 0px; background-color:#2A2A2A;”>

<tbody>

<tr>

<td align=”center” class=”mcnButtonContent” style=”font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; padding: 20px;” valign=”middle”><a class=”mcnButton ” href=”YOUR LINK WILL GO HERE” style=”font-weight: bold; letter-spacing:2px; line-height: 100%; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; color:white;” target=”_blank” title=”Learn More”>LEARN MORE</a></td>

</tr>

</tbody>

</table>

 

That’s it! Have fun coding in this button! 🙂

Learn More

10 Best Practices To Write The Perfect Email Subject Line

10 Best Practices To Write The Perfect Email Subject Line

What is your top tip for creating engaging subject lines for email content?


To help you create engaging subject lines for your email content, we asked marketing experts and business leaders this question for their best tips. From appealing to consumers’ desires not to miss out to highlighting a solution with the subject line, there are several ideas that you may adopt as best practices to help perfect your email subject lines.


Here are 10 best practices to write the perfect email subject line:

  • Appeal To Consumers’ Desires Not To Miss Out
  • Ensure The Subject Line is Under 50 Characters Long
  • Make The Subject Line Bold and Daring
  • Create Action-Oriented Subject Lines
  • Add Numbers To Grab the Attention
  • Use Emojis To Help Your Email Stand Out
  • Avoid Anything Spammy
  • Entice Readers With Actionable Subject Lines
  • A/B-Test and Iterate on Your Subject Lines for Mastery
  • Highlight a Solution With The Subject Line

Appeal To Consumers’ Desires Not To Miss Out

By appealing to consumers’ desires not to miss out, you can create engaging subject lines for your email content. Use words and phrases like “Limited time,” “going fast, “while supplies last,” and “limited quantities.” Put these words and phrases in your subject lines. You’ll boost your Click-Through Rates.

Janice Wald, Mostly Blogging

Ensure The Subject Line is Under 50 Characters Long

Because most consumers read emails on mobile devices, try to utilize shorter email subject lines. In mobile view, longer lines aren’t as effective. You won’t be able to pique your readers’ interest in your product or services if you can’t keep their attention for at least a few seconds after they read the subject line of your email. Ensure the subject line is under 50 characters long. Make sure you choose terminology that is easy to understand.

Axel Hernborg, Tripplo.com

Make The Subject Line Bold and Daring

Be bold and concise. Email subject lines need to grab the reader immediately while also being clear about the content you are delivering. Standing out is half the battle, but even a bold subject line needs to be relevant to your content. Boil down the essence of your email in a way that your target audience will understand and be drawn to. Don’t be afraid to stand out, and use the clearest words to inform them what they are opening.

Michael Ayjian, 7 Wonders

Create Action-Oriented Subject Lines

The most engaging email subject lines are action-oriented. Email is a quick and convenient way to receive information, but it doesn’t offer users many ways to engage with your content. Therefore, you should use a subject line that urges readers to click through and read your email, rather than offering a quick one-liner that gives them a basic overview of its content. Email is a more intimate form of communication than social media. Therefore, you should use a subject line that reflects your personal connection with readers, rather than a generic statement about the topic of your email.

Farhan Advani, BHPH

Add Numbers To Grab Attention

Saying ‘discounts on products’ and ‘discounts on 100+ products’ has a vast difference. While discount on products is just telling that you’re offering discounts, you’re not giving any data on how many products, how much discount, the offer is valid for how many days etc. On the contrary, saying discounts on 100+ products seem more attractive because the recipient knows they have 100 products to choose from.

Adding numbers is a must if you want to increase the open rate. It makes the subject line much more informative and gives data, and customers love that. But make sure you’re not overdoing it. Adding one number whether it be days, discount percentage, a number of services etc. is great. Adding two to three looks too cluttered which can also make the audience overwhelmed.

Isaac Robertson, Total Shape

Use Emojis To Help Your Email Stand Out

Using emojis in your email subject lines can be effective in grabbing the attention of your recipient and increasing your email open rates in an age of overfull inboxes. Emojis can also imply friendliness or playfulness which can help to improve audience engagement.
Plus, one emoji is worth a thousand words. Well, maybe not quite a thousand but they can help convey a theme or emotion when subject line space is at a premium.
But, be careful, as overuse of emojis can seem spammy or childish. Try to stick to a maximum of 1 emoji where possible.

Josh Smith, Roll To

Avoid Anything Spammy

Get rid of anything spammy. People have developed an amazing radar for sales copy, and they know now better than ever when you are trying to sell them something.
Common phrases and words like “special offer” won’t work anymore. There are many online lists of words that are now considered spam. Before writing any part of your email, make sure you are not using any of the words listed there.

Soji James, 1AND1 Life

Entice Readers With Actionable Subject Lines

Actionable subject lines create the desire to click open. Without this the email is a failure. With so many a day coming in, make yours stand out by being attention-grabbing and fun or dramatic. “We Need 20 Volunteers THIS Saturday!” or “Make Your Weekend Memorable”  is more likely to get a click than “Volunteering.” Grab your reader’s attention with an engaging subject line that has a call to action.

Amy Keller, Climate Candy

A/B-Test and Iterate on Your Subject Lines for Mastery

Constantly A/B test and iterate on your subject lines.  Once a campaign has run for a few weeks, drop the lower-performing subject line, and test a new one. Over time, the most engaging subject lines will emerge.

Paul Chesterman, EthOS

Highlight a Solution With The Subject Line

When you are selling a product or service and highlight a solution that will make the life of the customer easier, you trigger the curiosity of the customer and increase the chances of them opening the email. And this solution that you’re offering to the customer is something you should highlight not just in the subject line but elaborate on throughout the body of the email too. This way, while the subject line acts as the hook that engages the customer, the content you include in the email and the CTA will justify what you offered and enable the customer to take the next step.

Dillon Hammond, Achieve TMS East


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10 Ways To Measure Success of Your Email Marketing Campaign

10 Ways To Measure Success of Your Email Marketing Campaign

What is the most effective way to measure the success of an email marketing campaign?


To help you best measure the success of your email marketing campaigns, we asked marketing professionals and business leaders this question for their best insights. From using the open rate to tracking how many subscribers reach your predefined goal, there are several ways you may adopt to effectively gauge the level of success your email marketing campaigns.


Here are 10 ways to measure the success of an email marketing campaign:

  • Use The Open Rate
  • Check The Average Click-through Rate
  • Consider The Spam Complaints and Forwarding Rates
  • Look at The Email Conversion Rates
  • Use The Outcomes of A/B Testing
  • Gauge Interest Levels by Unsubscribe Rates
  • Analyze Your Return On Investment
  • Track The Number of People Who Visit Your Website
  • Use The Bounce Rate
  • Track How Many Subscribers Reach Your Predefined Goal

Use The Open Rate

It’s my view that this is the best way to gauge the performance of an email marketing campaign because open rate is the most common metric to look at after running a campaign. Open rate is a metric that measures the percentage of your email recipients who clicked on the link in your message.

There are a lot of variables that go into what constitutes a “good open rate,” such as the industry and the quality of the email list. 18 percent is the average open rate forecast for 2021, according to Campaign Monitor’s recent benchmarks. However, open rates can be influenced by factors such as the sender’s name or subject line.

Gerrid Smith, Fortis Medical Billing

Check The Average Click-Through Rate (CTR)

This is, in my opinion, the most effective way to gauge the performance of an email marketing campaign, as the click-through rate (CTR), which measures the proportion of recipients who clicked on a link within your email, is widely used.

To get a high click-through rate, consider the industry, the topic of the material, the amount of links and calls to action just like you would with open rates. Similarly, a survey by Campaign Monitor found that last year’s average click-through rate was 2.6 per cent. Email campaigns that urge users to visit your website, such as a blog post or an online shop, necessitate a high click-through rate (CTR).

Edward Mellett, Wikijob

Consider The Spam Complaints and Forwarding Rates

Since there are so many possible activities recipients might do after receiving an email campaign, this is my preferred method of measuring its success. Keep an eye on a few of these to see if there are any abrupt spikes or trends. These activities include spam complaints, which measure how many individuals have reported your email as spam in their mail provider. Keep a watch on these metrics, even if you don’t expect any of your email campaigns to be flagged as spam.

You never know when a particular campaign or subject line can cause an increase in spam complaints. The forward rate is a metric indicating how many individuals forwarded or shared your email campaign with a recipient after they received it. By keeping an eye on this measure, you can determine whether or not a piece of content or a particular campaign has struck a chord with your audience and been forwarded to friends, family, or coworkers.

Sumit Bansal, TrumpExcel

Look at The Email Conversion Rates

Take a look at your email conversion rates. This is a great measure of a campaign’s success because it’ll let you know if your audience is interested in what you’re offering and how you’re offering it, but it will also provide some insight as to how your audience prefers to engage. For example, is your audience most likely to fill out a form for more information, or go straight to making a purchase? These considerations are crucial in measuring your email marketing campaigns and in determining what works best for your brand and product/service.

To determine your email conversion rate, divide the total number of completed actions by the total number of emails delivered, and then just multiply by 100! Track this metric, adjust your strategy accordingly, and watch your email marketing campaigns gain more traction over time.

Gigi Ji, KOKOLU

Use The Outcomes of A/B Testing

I believe this is the best way to measure the performance of an email marketing campaign since A/B testing or split testing is an excellent way to test certain components of your email campaign by sending two different versions of an email and comparing the results.

Sending the same email with two different subject lines or the same subject lines but with a different call-to-action (CTA) button works well when only one part of a campaign is being evaluated. With split testing an email campaign, you’ll have access to stats that you can compare directly against each other. Open rates for a specific subject line, for instance, might go up, but click-through rates for a specific CTA button might go up.

Kenny Kline, BarBend

Gauge Interest Levels by Unsubscribe Rates

As a consultant, my main method of measuring success for my email marketing campaigns is by monitoring unsubscribe rates in the 24 hours following a newsletter being sent. This is important for me because I’m speaking directly to a specific SEO audience of like-minded consultants and SEO’s, so unsubscribe rates keep me largely in check by outlining a direct correlation between whether the content is being seen positively or negatively by its target audience.

James Taylor, James Taylor SEO Consultancy

Analyze Your Return On Investment (ROI)

To measure the effectiveness of an email marketing campaign, analyze your return from investment (ROI). The profit (or loss) will tell you a lot about the efficiency and profitability of your actions and allow you to plan the next steps. So take a look at gained value and spend value and make calculations.

The basic formula for determining return is: ROI (%) = (Gained Value – Spent Value) / (Spent Value).

However, various online ROI calculators make your life easier. Depending on the score, you see what results your campaign is getting. Executing email marketing campaigns without knowing which strategy is profitable and which is not won’t make your actions successful. ROI is there to tell you whether campaigns generate revenue or deplete the budget.

Nina Paczka, MyPerfectResume

Track The Number of People Who Visit Your Website

This, in my opinion, is the best approach to gauge the performance of an email marketing campaign since it allows you to see exactly what percentage of your total website traffic is a result of your email campaigns. This measure must first be set up in your tracking platform before it can be accessed. All traffic that comes from email will be categorized as “direct” in Google Analytics (unless you help Google tell the difference between email traffic and direct traffic).

Max Whiteside, Breaking Muscle

Use The Bounce Rate

For me, this is the best method for measuring the performance of an email marketing campaign because if you want to analyze your emails’ ability to set goals, focus on the bounce rate of the landing pages connected to your emails. Bounce rates are a measure of how many emails you send but don’t receive any response from your intended audience. Soft bounces and harsh bounces are two different types of bounce rates.

The first can be caused by a fault with the recipient’s server or an overflowing mailbox. Emails can be resent in these situations, but it’s possible that the recipient will receive them after the issue is resolved on their end. A hard bounce occurs when an email is sent to an address that doesn’t exist, is closed, or is otherwise inactive. If you have a high number of hard bounces, your company may be perceived by internet service providers as a spammer.

David Janssen, VPNOverview

Track How Many Subscribers Reach Your Predefined Goal

Each email marketing campaign can have different objectives.
For example, an eCommerce sales email will want a goal around actual product sales. An email newsletter for a B2B company could simply be the amount of subscribers who clicked through to their website.

In some cases, organizations may focus on a vanity metric like open rates as well. Often this is misdirected, however if your email campaign is purely for branding then perhaps this would be a goal in itself.

Miles Burke, Australian Software Guide

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The Do’s and Don’ts of Email Marketing

The Do's and Don'ts of Email Marketing

What is the most common mistake brands make with their email marketing campaigns?


To help you identify common mistakes with email marketing campaigns, we asked marketing professionals and business leaders this question for their best advice. From not ignoring email personalization and data to including a strong call-to-action, there are several do’s and don’ts that may help you conduct effective email marketing campaigns for your business.


Here are 12 do’s and don’ts of email marketing:

  • Don’t Ignore Email Personalization and Data
  • Make Emails Natural and Avoid Branding
  • Don’t Neglect Mobile Users
  • Allow Users Control Over Their Subscriptions
  • Avoid Spelling and Grammar Mistakes
  • Don’t be Desperate for Engagement
  • Test Your Email Content for Effectiveness
  • Avoid Obnoxious Subject Lines
  • Do Not Use Black Hat Techniques
  • Make Your Emails Load Fast
  • Don’t Leave Out The Value When You Email
  • Include a Strong Call-To-Action

Don’t Ignore Email Personalization and Data

The most common mistake brands make with their email marketing campaigns is that they do not work on email personalization and don’t rely on data when setting up email campaigns. This results in low open rates, high unsubscribe rates, and high spam complaint rates. To avoid making this mistake, brands should focus on email personalization and use data to segment their email lists. This will help them send more relevant and targeted emails that are more likely to be opened and clicked on. Additionally, brands should also use data to track the performance of their email campaigns so they can continually optimize and improve them.

Iryna Kutnyak, Quoleady

Make Emails Natural and Avoid Excessive Branding 

The first step for a successful email campaign is that people open your email. Second, people need to start reading your content. This sounds easy, but in reality, companies fail on precisely these two steps. Why? Because the email is recognized as an advertisement right away. Email is the one channel where the brand does not help. 

People read emails from people. We consider emails from a company (especially if we do not know them well) as spammy. Therefore, do not brand your emails. Do not use HTML markups too much. Do not try to deliver a shiny brand experience. Instead, mimic how a natural person would write. Just plain text and probably an image. Keep it short. Do not include multiple topics. Just send out the one fact you want to convey without much background noise. People will appreciate reading information. Not an advert.

Stephan Wenger, B2B Marketing World

Don’t Neglect Mobile Users

One common mistake brands make with their email marketing campaigns is neglecting mobile users. If someone cannot read an email at a glance, they will likely simply not read it period. Having messy or warped content anywhere in the preview can put people off from reading an email out of fear it is spam or malware too. Always remember that text, graphics, etc. look different on a computer screen, versus a phone screen.

Tony Chan, CloudForecast

Allow Users Control Over Their Subscriptions

One of the worst email marketing mistakes your company can make is limiting the control users have over their settings. Let your users manage their subscriptions and give them the chance to choose the type of content they want to receive. Not assuming that all of your customers want to sign up for all your emails or newsletters shows them that you care about their preferences and helps you keep them interested. Your customers should feel excited when they get one of your emails, not annoyed.

John Cheng, Baotris

Avoid Spelling and Grammar Mistakes

Simple spelling and grammar mistakes. I just don’t trust a brand when they send me marketing emails and I catch easy spelling and grammatical errors. The company loses my trust immediately because it shows me they don’t respect their customers. If a company can’t put the time and effort into doing a simple spelling and grammar check, why should I expect them to put time and effort into their product, or customer satisfaction? If a company doesn’t respect their customers, why should customers respect them?

Karim Hachem, Sunshine79

Don’t be Desperate for Engagement

You know that feeling you get when you walk into a furniture store and a salesman rushes you before you’ve even had a chance to get your bearings? Don’t be that. There are few bigger turn-offs to email list subscribers than being bombarded with front loaded content. Lambasting consumers with emails right after they sign up for your email listing are surefire ways to get labeled as spam in their minds. And we all know where spam goes. Don’t be desperate for engagement. Design your email flow to be conscious of your readers’ time and personal agency. It’s always better to have one email over a six that got tossed in the trash bin.

Alex Chavarry, Cool Links

Test Your Email Content for Effectiveness

We see many brands fail to test how effective their content converts their users. Use split testing methods to make sure the emails you send to generate leads or convert sales are using effective content to do so. Each target audience reacts differently to branded content. The best way for your business to know what they’re using as marketing content is effective is to test the content against other variations until they have optimal results. When you don’t test your content, you make a shot in the dark. To get the best ROI for your business, invest in strategic marketing testing to ensure your business can do what it’s made to do.

Kevin Miller, kevinmiller.com

Avoid Obnoxious Subject Lines

Obnoxious subject lines will deflate any email marketing campaign. Even the best products and promotions don’t stand a chance with consumers if the marketing campaign does not get its foot in the door. Annoying subject lines will get that door shut in an instance. Effective subject lines should peak the curiosity of the target audience and avoid utilizing a salesy tone. Consumers do not want to be sold over email. Email sales pitches equal spam in their mind. A true value add that is visible from the subject will grab the attention of customers. Every effective marketer should also consider testing subject lines in order to see what resonates with their customer base.

Katy Carrigan, Goody

Do Not Use Black Hat Techniques

When talking about email marketing campaigns, most mistakes fall within the category of black hat techniques for improving visibility online. One common mistake that we have experienced is adding people to newsletters that they haven’t signed up for, as well as buying subscribers. These practices might seem like they increase the reach at first glance, but can be very dangerous and harm the authenticity and legitimacy of your email marketing campaigns. This is so due to the fact that as a result of this practice, your emails will be sent to the “spam” folder, and consequently place the connection between your brand and the spam folder for the people that receive those emails. Make sure you avoid that, and only use white hat techniques to improve web traffic and brand visibility, as there are many ways to promote a successful email campaign.

Marco Genaro Palma, Genaro Palma

Make Your Emails Load Fast

If you’re sending an email to a customer or potential customer, make it a priority to create one that loads within two seconds or less of clicking. If a customer has decided to open your email, you only have seconds to make an impression. This shouldn’t mean that you stuff your email with heavy visual content like stock images and videos to a point where it affects the loading speed., set a cap on the number of images used and compress the media as much as possible to get the best of both – a shorter load time and an attractive email. Furthermore, you can consider using impactful content that grabs and keeps the attention of the recipient instead.

Igal Rubinshtein, Home Essentials Direct

Don’t Leave Out The Value When You Email

Marketing campaigns often include promotions that are content-rich, as we wish to entice our target audience by offering value, but somehow, many businesses make the mistake of removing that element in their email marketing efforts. It is important to understand that your business has more than products to offer your customers, it has knowledge and expertise. By designing your email to offer value, whether it is answering questions, providing the latest industry information, or offering helpful tips, you will motivate your customers to open your email. Neglecting to do this, and limiting them solely to advertisement status, will have your quickly losing interest, and you will see your open rates decline, as well as your subscribers.

Anthony Puopolo, Rex MD

Include a Strong Call-To-Action

Many brands neglect to include a strong Call to Action in their email marketing campaigns. One of the necessary components of driving good conversions through email marketing is including a colorful, ‘loud’ request to users to progress through the sales funnel. The best CTA’s pop out from an email, usually in blue, red, or orange, to get users’ attention about a product’s value. When the next steps to buying or browsing a product get lost in the content of a marketing email, businesses lose out on conversions due to expecting users to work harder than they likely will. 

The key to driving the best conversions is to use obvious CTA’s that make progressing through the sales funnel as easy as possible for users. Focus on your emails’ visual appeal and plant strategic CTA’s that grab users’ attention.

Shawn Munoz, Pure Relief

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9 Mailchimp Image Size Recommendations For Email Campaigns

9 Mailchimp Image Size Recommendations For Email Campaigns

What size should images be for Mailchimp email campaigns? 


To help you know the right size of Image to use for Mailchimp email campaigns, we asked marketing professionals and business leaders this question for their best recommendations. From 72 pixels per inch at low resolution to ideally 600 x 421 pixels, there are several image sizes suggested that may give you the best quality of pictures for your Mailchimp email campaigns.


Here are nine recommended image sizes for Mailchimp email campaigns:

  • 72 Pixels Per Inch at Low Resolution
  • 600 Pixels Wide
  • 72 Pixels Per Inch at Low Resolution
  • Less Than 600 Pixels Wide
  • No Larger Than 719 Pixels Wide
  • 557 in Width
  • Less Than 1MB Or 72dpi
  • No Larger Than 1200px
  • Less Than 1MB Without Compression Or Cropping
  • Ideally 600 X 421 Pixels

600 Pixels Wide

If you’re talking about size in terms of dimensions, I will propose 600 pixels wide for a picture featured in a campaign and take up your email’s entire width. I’ve found 600pixels to be excellent in all conditions after years of using Mailchimp and other email marketing tools. Height gives you more options. Because people can scroll, even on smartphones, you can take photos quite tall. If you require a tall image, slicing it into slices/chunks and layering them one on top of the other is a frequent strategy. It will appear as if they are a single image if you don’t leave any margins or spacing. Suppose you were building a tall graphic for an e-commerce store where you showcased product categories, for example. In that case, you might create the image so that you could split it into slices, each slice referring to a different category or promotion. You may even build separate links for each slice pointing to those categories.

Oliver Andrews, OA Design Services

72 Pixels Per Inch at Low Resolution

Size the image at 72 pixels per inch. For print, it would need to be around 300 pixels per inch to come out crisp and clear, but on a screen it doesn’t need to be that large. Taking the resolution down makes the file considerably smaller, so it won’t bog down your email marketing platform.

Jae Pak, Jae Pak MD Medical

Less Than 600 Pixels Wide

Mailchimp’s email templates are 600 pixels wide, so your pixels maximum should be less than 600 to render correctly. I’d suggest 564 pixels for full-width images. You also don’t want your images to be too large to slow loading time for your email recipients. In order to make your email responsive, check out Mailchimp’s website for their recommended widths based on the type of email you’re sending.

Isaiah Henry, Seabreeze Management

No Larger Than 719 Pixels Wide

If you want to make sure people can see your images, you’ll want to make sure they are no larger than 719 pixels wide. This will make sure that people on any device can see them. You’ll also want to make sure your images are no larger than 5 MB so that people don’t see “loading” bars when they open the email. For best results, you’ll want to make sure that your images have an aspect ratio of 9:16 so that they look good when they are displayed in your emails. You’ll also want to make sure you have your images edited and optimized for email so that they download quickly.

Farhan Advani, BHPH

557 in Width

For Mailchimp images, resizing photos to a width of 557 and setting “keep proportions” for their heights ensures that your image will format properly across all platforms. Images larger than a width of 557 can displace your newsletter — 557 is the ideal size for all of your Mailchimp email campaigns.

Adam Shlomi, SoFlo Tutors

Less Than 1MB Or 72dpi

When using Mailchimp for email campaigns, it is of the utmost importance to be aware of the size limitations of images. In general, the image size should never be over 1MB and a pixel density of 72. However, there are other factors that need to be considered as well.  

One main consideration is the width of the image. You can have a 1MB image, but it can be too wide. Mailchimp will try to autosize the width, but this can lead to major distortion and formatting issues. So it’s best to insert the correct width image from the start. Here’s the breakdown: Full width image – 564px; column section images – 264px; column section images – 164px  These are just basic values. The more complex the campaign, the more considerations will be needed. But, if you stick with 1MB, 72dpi, and the widths above, your campaign should run without issues.

Devin Schumacher, SERP

No Larger Than 1200px

Mailchimp images shouldn’t be any larger than 1200px wide, but the height of the image can vary based on your templates, messaging, and goals. This is important for the folks receiving your emails because if your images are larger than 1200px, the email will take longer than it should to load, which could lead to dissatisfied customers or even people choosing to just delete your email rather than wait for the download. This can often be improved by compressing images a bit, though a good rule of thumb is to consistently keep Mailchimp email campaign images 1200px wide or smaller.

Gigi Ji, KOKOLU

Less Than 1MB Without Compression Or Cropping

Keep your images under 1MB as a maximum file size, but don’t distort them through compression or cropping. Sending smaller images in Mailchimp is important to reduce lag and potential data fees for your customers, but don’t just condense or compress your images without a proper assessment. A distorted image will give off a lack of professionality, and it can do more harm than good. For that reason, send images that were initially designed small, instead of artificially compressed or cropped ones.

Alex Wang, Ember Fund

Ideally 600 X 421 Pixels

600 x 421 is the ideal size for images in Mailchimp email campaigns. Larger images will be automatically resized. Additionally, Mailchimp recommends a resolution of 1200 x 842 pixels to maximize visibility on retina displays. You should also consider any margin styles or padding in the Campaign template before choosing an image. Still, 600 x 421 pixels are the optimal dimensions to fit well with any of Mailchimp’s templates.

Ray Leon, Pet Insurance Review

Terkel creates community-driven content featuring expert insights. Sign up at terkel.io to answer questions and get published. 

A Cool Mailchimp Hack for More Opens

photo of woman using her laptop

Here is a quick video showing you a really neat Mailchimp hack for the way your subject line and preview text line will appear in subscriber’s inboxes. It takes a small bit of code at the very top, but it’s super easy.

And below you’ll find the code to copy and paste! Enjoy and let me know if any questions. You can reach me at hello (at) westfield-creative (dot) com.

Copy and PASTE this exact code into a code block:

<div style=”display: none; max-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;”>&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;</div>

And that should give you a very pretty preview text line!

8 Email Marketers Share Their Biggest Email Frustrations

Email marketing challenges

Email marketing isn’t always easy and many of our clients come to us because they’re frustrated with the amount of time it takes to make a great email. We wanted to hear what the experts thought too! Below you’ll hear from 8 Mailchimp Partners and email marketers (including myself) on what frustrates us the most.

Email coding is still stuck in the 90s, and I doubt that will change. The biggest frustration is also the thing that excites me the most. I find as a creative person, when you have limited resources, the challenge to create something unique and fresh each time is what drives us to keep innovating and dreaming up new ways to work around these limitations. Obviously, Outlook is a pain, but hey.

-Doug Dennison, CEO & Co-founder, MailNinja

The lack of email standards has always been a huge barrier for email marketers and the teams that prepare the messages. The fact that your email can render differently in hundreds of different email clients means that you are never 100% sure that your email looks and works the way you want it to everywhere. And additionally, the differences in the display of fonts, backgrounds, animated GIFs, etc. means you have to prepare and test for a wide range of scenarios. This also prevents progress in our industry, as certain advancements like AMP have limited client support, so it’s less attractive for brands to pursue using it.

-Adam Holden-Bache, Dir. of Email Marketing, Enventys Partners

Email can be frustrating but the misinformation and lack of understanding of how email marketing actually works is probably our biggest pain point. We spend more time breaking down email marketing strategies, ESPs platforms, training and other general questions more than anything else.

-Sequoia Mulgrave, CEO & Founder, Daily Mode Studio

Well, Outlook of course, but there’s so much that goes into a perfect email that makes it challenging. Testing takes time – checking spelling, links, image loading speed, checking you have all alt text descriptions, testing on different devices (really formatting for mobile is one of the hardest things about email), getting into the Inbox, making sure your plain text version is set, checking recipients. So much! The most frustrating part is that there really is so much that needs to be tested before you hit that big send button.

How to solve this? Have a great process for testing your email, whether that’s a checklist or a program (like Litmus) that does the testing for you.

Emily Ryan, Co-founder & Mailchimp Strategist, Westfield Creative

As I work a lot with email automation, I’m continuously experimenting in Mailchimp with old Automated Workflows and new Customer Journeys Builder. I think I know by heart the limitations of the former, and time after time I’ve learned a lot of hacks to overcome them; as for the Customer Journey Builder, sometimes it drives me crazy because it still lacks some features, and every now and then something doesn’t work properly, which I report to the patient Customer Support folks. I’m aware that advanced features are probably used by a small fraction of users, but nonetheless, I wish to see them prioritized asap.

-Alessandra Farabegoli, Digital Strategist, Co-Founder, Digital Update

I’ve always found the tech to be the easy part of the job. It’s generally predictable and reliable. It either does or it does not (with Outlook, that’s usually a “does not”). When tech does not do what you need, you work around a solution.

The most variable factor in email is the human on either side of the communications. Clients who can’t make up or continuously change their minds, subscribers who are unpredictable, customer service management for campaign responses… those are the least controllable and predictable factors in email, and there is not a single thing I can do to control that.

-MaryAnne Pfeiffer, Digital Marketing Strategist, 108 Degrees Digital Marketing

…it would be really cool if you could reliably track opens…

…it would be good if all the email systems worked the same and you could develop better-looking emails without having to test them in 100 different systems.

…it would be great if Mailchimp could update some of the things at the more advanced end of things

…it would be good if there was a better understanding and explanation of data privacy over borders

…it would be good if Gmail would be a bit more transparent (never gonna happen!) of what’s good/bad and why emails end up in promo/spam

-Robin Adams, Founder, Chimp Answers

1000% Outlook. I don’t understand why Outlook needs to “translate” the email into a Word doc and then render the Word doc in HTML.

The second is Gmail not delivering emails to the inbox and dumping them into the archive never, neverland. So frustrating!

-Amy Hall, Email Marketing Strategist and Certified Mailchimp Partner, amyhall.biz

Want to connect with a Mailchimp Pro Partner? Check out the Mailchimp Experts Directory here.

She Who Mailchimps: 6 Takeaways

She Who Mailchimps Zoom Event

What happens when you get 6 Mailchimp Women Experts (and Mailchimp Partners) in one Zoom room for an hour? You get some awesome email marketing advice and also an hour of fun. I was thrilled to have 5 super-smart email marketing minds join me to answer some of the most asked Mailchimp and email questions we get – including “what’s the best time/day to send an email?” “what’s our favorite Mailchimp hidden egg?” and much more.

We recently asked a few Mailchimp Partners, including some from the live event about their top takeaways were from the session. Here’s a great rundown in case you missed it. Want to watch the replay? You can here.

I loved the relaxed format. The hosts were having an open conversation, which felt very honest and welcoming. There were loads of takeaways points, the honest discussion around the way these Mailchimp partners actually use Mailchimp themselves was enlightening and I made a lot of notes! You can watch the event right here: https://youtu.be/KJpAuJP-WAU

-Doug Dennison, CEO & Co-founder, MailNinja

The talent that was on display at the She Who Mailchimps event was ridiculously good. It was an interactive webinar with a live Q&A where the super-talented panel answered lots of questions about Mailchimp and email marketing in general. With their Mailchimp expertise, they were able to share a lot of great information.

Top takeaways included:

1) Use Mailchimp Partners to help you with any Mailchimp issues

2) Consider using ALL the Mailchimp features including landing pages, postcards, social posts, link-checker, and more.

3) Test, test, and test some more. Conduct subject line testing, content testing, send time optimization, etc. to learn what resonates best with your audience.

-Adam Holden-Bache, Dir. of Email Marketing, Enventys Partners

Holy moly, the brains! I didn’t add it up, but there were probably over 60 years of email marketing experience on that panel. And while for some questions, the answers were similar, everyone had their own spin and just a little different way of looking at things. It was great to get all the email philosophies together in one place and see how they’re similar and so utterly different at the same time. The nuances in the differences were the gold.

-Amy Hall, Email Marketing Strategist and Certified Mailchimp Partner, amyhall.biz

This was the very first time I did a workshop in English, and the days before I was pretty scared about it; but the other ladies were so nice and supportive that I thought oh, what the hell, I can do it! Apart from that, the idea was great and I think the whole formula worked very well: good timing, a balanced distribution of questions, and a bunch of super-expert ladies all willing to share their knowledge. Being part of this network, finding ways to collaborate and learn from each other, is one of the perks of Mailchimp & Co., and I value it immensely.

-Alessandra Farabegoli, Digital Strategist, www.alessandrafarabegoli.it

My office needs much better lighting, and Sequoia Mulgrave has a second career as a broadcaster if she ever opts for it! That said, the talent available in the Mailchimp Experts Directory is something anyone serious about their business or email marketing should tap into. I’m truly impressed with the knowledge of each of these women and would be happy to have them as part of my team, or my own marketing department! If you haven’t watched the recording, reach out to Emily Ryan to get access.

-MaryAnn Pfeiffer, Digital Marketing Strategist, 108 Degrees Digital Marketing

1. There are some very knowledgeable email experts out there… and if you don’t tap into that knowledge, you’re losing out.

2. Being a marketer, this is always at the forefront of my mind, but being clear on your who and how it impacts the best way to approach email marketing was worth reminding – anecdotally there are good times to send and bad times to send an email, but it all depends on the who – the who you are sending to.

-Robin Adams, Founder, Chimp Answers

Want to connect with a Mailchimp Pro Partner? Check out the Mailchimp Experts Directory here.

How often should you send an email? (Advice for B2Bs and B2C’s)

How often should you email?

This is, by far, one of the most-asked questions I hear about email marketing. And below you’ll hear some great advice from 8 Mailchimp Partners/Experts with actual, concrete answers that can really help your email strategy.

Weekly or fortnightly is a good frequency for most businesses. Some e-commerce business send more than that, and some companies we work with send every 2 months, which in my opinion is not as often. Of course, if you factor in sending to smaller segments, you could effectively be sending a few emails every week, just not to your entire audience.

-Doug Dennison, CEO & Co-founder, MailNinja

The companies reaping rewards from email marketing, email frequently. Weekly if you can (although there is no perfect answer for this). Once a month is simply not enough to move the needle. Most of our clients do at least one email per week and many e-commerce clients do 3-7 per week (to different targeted segments). If unsubscribes start increasing, pull back some and if you want to increase sales, consider emailing more. One of the biggest mistakes I see is companies not emailing enough. Many business owners worry they will bother their subscribers, but if you’re sending interesting, relevant content, people will open your emails.

Of course, it always depends on your business and your Audience. For e-commerce, weekly but for say, a lawyer, a lot less…

Emily Ryan, Co-founder & Mailchimp Strategist, Westfield Creative

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to email frequency. It will vary for senders based on many factors including their ability to create engaging content, the types of products and services they are selling, the frequency at which subscribers want to receive emails, and many other factors.

Through my experience I’ve found that recipients don’t mind receiving emails if they offer valuable, relevant content. So as long as you are sending something that subscribers WANT to receive, it seldom creates a negative experience. The problem is that many brands don’t have enough quality content to email at a high frequency.

If you do email frequently, want your metrics for a plateau or drop in positive metrics (opens, clicks, and conversions) along with a rise in negative metrics (non-opens, reduced click ratio, unsubscribes, etc). If you see that happen, dial back your frequency until you see things return to positive results

-Adam Holden-Bache, Dir. of Email Marketing, Enventys Partners

As a general rule, you should send an email whenever you’ve something interesting and useful to say; if you rarely have something relevant to say, you have a problem, and it is not an email marketing issue: you better reconsider what you’re doing and why.

This said, the key to finding the right frequency is the reasonable expectations of your audience: not exceedingly many, but also not so seldom that they forget having subscribed.

Once a month is a minimum, and it’s a risky one because if somebody misses one, they won’t hear from you for too long; a weekly newsletter with a fixed day and hour, instead, soon becomes a habit for the reader and builds expectation and loyalty.

-Alessandra Farabegoli, Digital Strategist, www.alessandrafarabegoli.it

This is a question I get asked a lot and I’ll split out B2B vs B2C below.

Email is great at two things: keeping you top of mind and prompting action. That applies to both B2B and B2C.

However, do I want to hear from my accountant every day? Probably not. Once a month is enough to use the Power of the BCC to create great content I will read. That applies to most B2B service businesses.

B2B businesses selling products, especially consumables, need to up their game and think like retailers. Sending less more often. To do that you need a Marketing Plan.

For B2C I believe the minimum is 3 times a week. That should be possible. For example, Monday send all the deals, Thursday a reminder of your top deals from Monday and Saturday last chance for the deals. This requires a good e-commerce platform, good deals and again a Marketing Plan.

-Glenn Edley, Director & Email Strategist, Spike

For an email program to be effective, your subscribers need to remember who you are and find your information relevant. Whether you have a B2B or B2C audience, the minimum number of campaigns to leverage brand recognition and relevance is once per month. As some of your audience is likely to miss some of those campaigns, anything less will render you irrelevant in just a few months.

From there, the frequency really depends on the relevance of your messaging and the responsiveness of your list. Journalistic emails and e-commerce coupons are sent daily by industry leaders, industry news and special offers can happen weekly… but some industries and lists will not tolerate more than twice per month before the unsubscribe rate starts to climb. At the end of the day, the frequency and cadence depend on what your audience will tolerate. The best way to know this is to TEST your list, and when possible, allow your subscribers to select their preferences for subscriptions, so you reach them as often as they want to hear from you.

-MaryAnne Pfeiffer, Digital Marketing Strategist, 108 Degrees Digital Marketing

Ask not how often you should send an email, rather ask, how often would my email list like to receive one! Like most of marketing, it’s never about you, and always about your customer/prospect and the nature of your relationship. It doesn’t matter if it’s B2B or B2C, every relationship is different, every product is different.

…and remember, not everyone on your list is the same, some want more emails, some less – so test, and give them the option.

-Robin Adams, Founder, Chimp Answers

I think how often you send your emails depends on your industry & business. Some businesses have so much going on in their business and industry that a daily update email works. Some businesses are slow-moving and a quarterly email is enough. My default is a once a month email.

-Amy Hall, Email Marketing Strategist and Certified Mailchimp Partner, amyhall.biz

Want to connect with a Mailchimp Pro Partner? Check out the Mailchimp Experts Directory here.

Mailchimp Socks + 11 Creative Swag Ideas For Email Campaigns

Mailchimp Socks and 11 Creative Swag Ideas

What is the best swag item you have ever given away or received?

To help your company decide on great swag items to give away, we asked PR experts and business leaders this question for their best items. From day planners to headphones, there are several items that may help you find the right swag items for your customers.

Here are 11 great swag items that your company should try: 

  • A Digital Detox Kit
  • Day Planner
  • Free Beer + Branded Growlette 
  • Reusable Water Bottles
  • Sunshade
  • Industry-related Swag
  • Company T-shirt
  • Hangover Kits
  • Everyday Items
  • Technology
  • Headphones

____

A Digital Detox Kit

Mailchimp really cares about their partners, and we’ve received some pretty amazing swag from them. Besides a new Freddie (which of course is the best swag, in my opinion), my favorite was a beautiful “digital detox” box that Partners received one year during the holidays, complete with everything you need to unplug (freelancers and agency owners probably need that more than anyone!). It was so thoughtful, and I actually used it!

Emily Ryan, Westfield Creative

Day Planner

Lash swag is the best swag! I am obsessed with organization, which is why our Lash Technician Planner is my top pick. It is literally a business in a book with social media planning templates, expense/inventory trackers, and everything in-between. It is much more than swag; it is an incredibly useful planning tool that can revolutionize how lash technicians run their business.

Vanessa Molica, The Lash Professional

Free Beer + Branded Growlette 

I’m not even sure if this is legal, but we’d give out free beer to people who visited our office. And not just any beer, but our company branded IPA (Markitors IPA, specially brewed by the creative geniuses at Barrel Brothers Brewing Company). To give away the beer, we’d conclude meetings and office tours with an inevitable question, “want some beer?” We’d take guests to the office keg, fill them up a Markitors branded growlette with our company core values, and pour up a 32 oz growlette to go. I’ve never seen people leave an office so happy. Today, many people tell me that they still have the Markitors growlette, which gives me a lot of satisfaction knowing that they get some enjoyment out of a swag item that costs us about $1. 

Nikitha Lokareddy, Markitors

Reusable Water Bottles

As a professional printer, I am in the business of making “swag items” for several of my clients!  I recently worked on a job where the client wanted us to make custom reusable water bottles to hand out to clients and prospects. I thought this was a great idea as water bottles are an item that everyone uses on a daily basis, and it is a great way to spread brand awareness organically. I liked the idea so much that I ended up doing them for my business as well.

Eric Blumenthal, The Print Authority

Sunshade

My favorite swag item I ever received was from my mechanic, and it was a branded sunshade for my car. As an Arizona native, summers can be brutal! I use that sunshade every time I park my car outside, and it keeps it super cool, and it always reminds me to call my mechanic to keep my wheels in tip-top shape.

Brian Greenberg, True Blue Life Insurance

Industry-related Swag

Since we work primarily with dentists, we also receive teeth-related swag at any event or convention we attend. Giving out swag that creatively represents your business or industry is always remembered and appreciated well after it is given out. We always love to receive tooth-shaped pens, note pads, erasers, and more! 

Henry Babichenko, DD, Stomadent Dental Lab 

Company T-shirt

The best swag item I have received is a company t-shirt from my marketing agency! Not only is the shirt super soft and comfortable, but it also came along with a handwritten letter that made me feel like they really care about my company and me. 

Blake Murphey, American Pipeline Solutions

Hangover Kits

For a small business client exhibiting at an event for bar and restaurant owners, we decided to create hangover kits. The night before the panels and floor show opened, attendees had a wild party which most certainly equals hangovers the next morning. We created a kit with the tagline printed on the front of “A Hangover Kit for What Ales Ya” playing on the theme of the event being for the bar and restaurant industry. Attendees flocked to the booth just to get the kits, which contained useful items to help their heads and contained useful marketing about our client. This was a highly influential swag piece and had little expenditure for high reward.

Hana Ruzsa Alanis, Graphic Designer & Marketing Specialist

Everyday Items

To answer this, I just looked at the items I still have, still use, and are well branded. The first is a stylish, high-quality pen that is always on my desk. Not cheap and plastic, and it works very well. The second is a nail file I keep beside my bed. It has the company name boldly printed on the back, so I see it every time I use it. The final item is an insulated tote I keep in my car for groceries. These aren’t fancy or high tech, but I see the company’s name on a regular basis.

Rick DeBruhl, Communication Consultant

Technology

We’re fortunate to work with companies across several industries, including insurance and finance. Outside of venture-based technology companies, some of the best swag comes from the insurance and finance industries. You’ll typically see big-ticket items like iPads, MacBook Pros, or actual tickets being given away by these companies. But one creative thing these companies do when giving away a big swag item is to make sure everyone wins. No one likes to go home a loser, so whatever big item is given away, make sure everyone can access the feeling of “winning” in some way.  

Eli Patashnik, iFax

Headphones

As crazy as it is to admit, my favorite swag item came from a box of Budweiser. Red Bluetooth headphones that fold up for easy travel and the battery last surprisingly long. From a marketing perspective, a genius at Budweiser added a little feature that makes me smile every time I hear it. When you turn the headphones on, it repeats its tagline, “This Buds for you.” Free headphones with basically unlimited marketability. Genius.

Colton De Vos, Resolute TS

Is there a way to ethically hack email list growth?

How to grow your email list, ethically

Below you’ll hear some of the best tips and advice from 8 Mailchimp Pro Partners (including myself) on how you can ethically grow your email list. Growing your email list should always be a priority when it comes to your email marketing, but there are creative ways to do it that are still in compliance with Mailchimp Best Practices.

One hack works above all else. Create high-value and relevant content such as a free course or an ebook to drive signups, rather than simply saying ‘signup to my newsletter’, then add multiple captures like popups on your website to do the heavy lifting for you.

-Doug Dennison, CEO & Co-founder, MailNinja

I always recommend aiming for quality over quantity when it comes to growing your email list. Capture data in as many places as possible, provide an appealing reason for someone to subscribe, and follow through on what you promise by delivering relevant content. Anything other than this can lead to less than desirable results from your email audience.

-Adam Holden-Bache, Dir. of Email Marketing, Enventys Partners

There are countless smart and ethical ways to grow your email list that don’t involve purchasing emails. Purchasing emails and then marketing to them is not only illegal but it’s simply a bad idea. As long as people are agreeing to opt-in, the sky’s the limit in terms of ways to gain subscribers.

Here are some ways you maybe haven’t thought of:

1. Contributing to a guest blog is a fantastic way to get people back to your own website and hopefully sign up (like the contributors on this post).

2. Offering a simple lead magnet/opt-in via Instagram (like a one-page PDF checklist) and asking people to click the link in your bio to sign up and get it.

As long as you’re asking for permission and people know they’re opting-in, you can dream up almost anything to get a new subscriber.

Emily Ryan, Co-founder & Mailchimp Strategist, Westfield Creative

For me, hacking means knowing very well from the inside how things work and to use this knowledge to reach your goals; there’s nothing inherently unethical in this, as long as the goals are correct and respectful. List growth happens through focusing on our target’s identity, needs and expectations, forging a message that resonates with them and putting that message in front of them, in the right place, at the right time; this requires a deep knowledge not only of email marketing but of CRO, UX, advertising and the rules of persuasion. Most importantly, I don’t believe in short term goals such as the mere quantity of new subscribers; I’d better work for quality subscribers, who not only enter the list but keep reading and maintain the engagement for a long period of time.

-Alessandra Farabegoli, Digital Strategist, Co-Founder, Digital Update and Freelancecamp Italia

List growth can definitely be hacked, by hard work. Every point of contact with your business is a marketing opportunity and an opportunity to get permission to send emails to someone. The question people should be asking before they go outside of their business is, “Are we using every single point of contact we have to get email addresses?”. They’re generally not.

Some other ways are:

1. Using google to get people to your website and asking them once they get there to sign up.

2. Using co-registration and working with other businesses to access their database.

3. Advertising on podcasts or being featured on a podcast.

There are endless ethical ways to hack list growth. They generally take more planning and work but will gain you a much higher value customer.

-Glenn Edley, Director & Email Strategist, Spike

If executed correctly and with precision, cold email campaigns can be used very effectively to build permission-based email lists. Cold email reaches out to a qualified list of potential customers or subscribers, tactfully introducing them to the brand in a way that is non-offensive. With the right lures and effective targeting, this method can provide a stream of traffic to your website or offer, which can then be converted into a permission-based email list.

-MaryAnne Pfeiffer, Digital Marketing Strategist, 108 Degrees Digital Marketing

Firstly, make sure you are ethical with your email list… please… if you’re not it’ll hurt both you AND everyone else so don’t send marketing emails to people who you shouldn’t. In terms of ethically hacking, well, if you take the fact that hacking implies some sort of shortcut or ‘easy path’, I’m not sure… Ultimately, you need to have a way of getting people onto an email list, and not just anyone, but people who want to engage with your business and brand – anyone can build an email list quickly – but is it actually worthwhile, or would you rather focus on emailing the RIGHT people? (but if you do want a short-cut, make sure it’s as easy as possible for the right people to sign up – I’ve seen too many bad forms and no automation to believe that just doing the basics is a good start for most!)

-Robin Adams, Founder, Chimp Answers

I’m not sure I would call this a hack… running ads on Facebook and LinkedIn for newsletter subscribers. Your list will grow quickly, but in my opinion, your list won’t be as engaged as organic subscribers.

-Amy Hall, Email Marketing Strategist and Certified Mailchimp Partner, amyhall.biz

Want to connect with a Mailchimp Pro Partner? Check out the Mailchimp Experts Directory here.

The 4 Most FAQs We Get About Email and Mailchimp

Email Marketing FAQs

When we decided to focus our agency on Mailchimp email marketing, we started getting a lot of the same questions. Many of these questions we hear several times a week from prospective and new clients. So we’re giving you the deets today.

I’m going to try to answer these for you in the easiest and shortest way possible.

But these are truly four of the most frequently asked we get OFTEN.

1. What’s the best time to send my email?

The answer: There is no perfect send time, except the time you determine after months of testing YOUR audience. Some experts will say Tues-Thurs at 10 am is the best and don’t send on Mondays, but there truly isn’t a perfect time and it’s super important to utilize A/B testing to test different send times to see which time performed better.

In this awesome Guide from Hunter on the best times to send an email, they analyzed 9 prominent case studies and came up with some interesting data – like Fridays being the best for open rates.

And with the pandemic, optimal send times have changed a ton. In the past, Saturdays used to not be so great for sending an email, but now I find that everyone is home and relaxing and this can be a great send time. So it’s important to test this over a period of weeks or months to see what works for your people. What works for an audience of realtors is going to be different than an audience of people who buy, say makeup.

2. Do I need to clean my email list?

The answer: Yes and no. “Cleaning your list” refers to removing or archiving any contacts that are no longer opening your emails or engaged. This is extremely important because it affects the deliverability of your emails. The cleaner your email list, the higher your open rates will be, which improves your sender reputation.

The good news is that Mailchimp helps you do this. Mailchimp automatically “cleans” emails that bounce. I still recommending periodically creating a segment of contacts that “have not opened” one of your last 10 or 20 emails – and then ARCHIVING them. OR creating a re-engagement email campaign to reach out to them and asking if they’re still interested in hearing from you. Anyone that does NOT open that email– archive them (don’t unsubscribe).

3. How do I grow my email list?

The answer: There are many ways, my friend. This is a long conversation, but this should always be one of your top priorities. Growing your email list is vital to having success with your email campaigns. So I always tell clients to focus on this before anything.

Here are some quick ways to start growing your email list:

  • Create a simple one-page PDF to use as a “freebie” or “lead magnet” and offer that people in exchange for signing up. You can offer through a popup on your website or creating a page on your site where people sign up. Create an automated email that sends to them, with the download, after they sign up.
  • Host a short webinar on a topic and ask people to sign up for it.
  • Post weekly on your social media channels about joining your list and the fun stuff they will receive if they subscribe (Ex: This Friday I am sending out the latest edition of my fun weekly email, full of the best email marketing tips…make sure you’re on the list!)
  • Talk about your email list in everything you do. If you’re on a podcast or speak on a webinar, remind me to subscribe to your list.
  • Post multiple opt-ins around your website. Your homepage should have several – a popup, a button at the top, and others weaved in.

There are many other ways, but start with these and it will grow quickly.

4. Do I need to use Tags or Groups or Segments? 

The answer: Yes. Using Mailchimp’s “Tags” or “Groups” and also creating “Segments” are some of the most powerful Mailchimp features you can utilize to personalize your email marketing and create campaigns that are sent to the right people at the right time. And I promise you, they’re not as confusing as you may think.

Tags are used to simply tag your contacts internally. Think of it as a little contact note. Tags could be “local contact” or “contest entry” or “attended Feb webinar” or “Subscription-Active” and the list goes on. A tag is is powerful because you can create campaigns JUST for a specific tag of people and then send them an email campaign. Read more on getting started with Tags here.

A segment is something that you can create in Mailchimp or you can use one of Mailchimp’s pre-built segments. Segments use data already in Mailchimp. For example, “did not open the last email campaign” would be a segment you can create. Or “Purchased an item in last month.” Or “Email contains nike.com” or even “Location is United States.” There are endless possibilities for segments you can create and they’re incredibly useful when sending targeted email campaigns. More on segments here.

Lastly, “Groups.” The important thing to note about “Groups” is that the contact can view these. You can set up a Group to ask your customer/contacts something like “Are you interested in:” “Emails only, webinar info, events, don’t want any emails” Those would be 4 responses within 1 group. Groups are useful for gathering contact’s interests. More here on getting started with Groups.

Example of a Group in Mailchimp

So while TAGS are something you do internally to tag a contact, a Group is something you setup so your contacts can choose. And a segment is what you create based on these tags and groups.

These are some quick answers to some of our most asked questions. Hope they were helpful!

This Canva/Mailchimp secret is my fave

Wanna see something real cool?

Canva has this super handy Mailchimp integration that most people don’t know about. It allows you to take any of your Canva graphics and with a click of a button, they go straight into your Mailchimp Content Studio. I thought it would be helpful to show you where it’s hidden, so I made ya video.

CLICK HERE to see a quick video of this awesome integration.


Also, did you know Mailchimp has 273 integrations?! That’s more than any other email provider out there. From Unsplash, to Photoshop to Salesforce and so many more.