A fresh look at 50 ideas and insights that will help you refine and improve the performance of your email marketing campaigns and strategy.

1. EMAIL
2020
Slide deck

2. Dan Hare
Communications
Director
dan.hare@e-shot.net
@academyblog

3. The best email of 2020…

4. Phrasee
Welcome to 2019 🎆
Doh! Every frigging year…

5. STOP THE FLICK
You have two seconds
to make an impression
1

6. You have to grab the attention of your
subscribers amongst a crowded inbox

7. Phrasee
Welcome to 2019 🎆
Doh! Every frigging year…

8. SPLIT TEST
You can’t improve what you can’t measure
2

9. Split testing functionality is easy to use and
essential for improving campaign performance

10. MULTI-VARIANT TEST
Combine factors
3

11. Choose different times, dates, designs, subject
lines, preview text or senders for testing

12. KEEP IT SIMPLE AND STATISTICALLY VALID
Make sure you know what had an effect
4

13. Split testing
Single variable, > 2k audience
Multivariant testing
Multiple variables, > 5k audience

14. KEEP IT SHORT
You only have about 41 characters
to make an impression
5

15. Email client Character limit
iPhone and iPad 41
Gmail (Web Client) 70
Gmail (app) 34
Apple Mail 50-100
Outlook 2013 54
Outlook.com 60
Yahoo! Mail 46
SUBJECT LINE
LIMITS

16. Recent iOS updates have given the subject line
more prominence and space in the full email view

18. Open rate Click to open rate Click rate
4 words 18.2% 8.0% 1.46%
5 words 17.1% 7.9% 1.35%
6 words 15.3% 10.1% 1.54%
7 words 15.2% 10.8% 1.64%
8 words 12.2% 6.6% 0.80%
9 words 10.3% 10.6% 1.09%
10 words 13.7% 7.9% 1.08%

19. PREVIEW TEXT
Support the subject line
6

20. Radisson Rewards
Don’t miss out on our January Sale!
Save up to 30%. If you cannot see this
email, please click here Add to safe senders
Subject line
Preview text
The subject and preview work in tandem,
just like a headline and sub-headline

21. Email client Character limit
iPhone and iPad 64
Gmail (Web Client) 100
Gmail (app) 34
Apple Mail 50-100
Outlook 2013 60-100
Outlook.com 124-236
Yahoo! Mail 135-202
PREVIEW
LIMITS

22. DITCH THE HOUSEKEEPING
Do not waste the preview space
7

23. A newsletter
View this email in your browser
A mess
<img src=“logo.gif" alt=“Header logo”

24. <div style="display: none; max-
height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">
Insert hidden preheader text here
</div>
<!-- Insert &zwnj;&nbsp; hack
after hidden preview text -->
<div style="display: none; max-
height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">
&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zw
nj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;
&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nb
sp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;
&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;&zwnj;&nbsp;
</div>
FORCE PREVIEW
TO OVERFLOW

25. COMPETITION CONTEXT
Is your proposition unique?
Is your offer compelling?
8

27. reallygoodemails.com
mailcharts.com

29. Great insight into the email marketing practices
of major brands and competitors

31. The Mailchimp archive is often available via the
View in browser link for smaller competitors

32. ASK A QUESTION
Do you think that would get a better response?
9

33. 3.9%
7.6%
Software company
Breakfast briefing: GDPR
Software company
Breakfast?
Click to
open rates

34. FIRST vs SECOND
It’s not all about you
10

35. + 33.9%
Optimizely
Are you measuring your
tests accurately?
Optimizely
FAQ: How long should
my test run?
Uplift in
open rate

36. Optimizely
FAQ: How long should
your test run?
Optimizely
FAQ: How long should
my test run?

37. First person
I or My
Second person
You or Yours

38. DON’T SHOUT
ALL CAPS is consistent
with poor open rates
12

39. + 17%
Retail Brand
Sale must end Sunday
Retail Brand
SALE MUST END SUNDAY
Uplift in
Open rate

40. FEEL FREE
Try it, before you buy it
13

41. Aweber
It’s FREE. All the houses on…
Aweber
It features all the houses on… + 26%
Uplift in
Open rate

43. Recruitment
Free was a big deal
Retail
Free was less of a big deal

44. VALUE IS SUBJECTIVE
Price is a mere component of value
14

45. Optimizely
Get Optimizely Certified
for 50% Off
Optimizely
Get Optimizely Certified &
Advance Your Career
+ 13.3%

46. EMOJI EFFECT
Symbols in the subject line
15

47. Harriet Wooding
✪ Super Sub & Skills Starvation ✪
Harriet Wooding
Super Sub & Skills Starvation
10.4%
6.6%
Click to
open rates

48. Phrasee
Welcome to 2019 🎆
Doh! Every frigging year…
Are your emojis contextually relevant?

49. Royal Caribbean
Hurry – Offer ends in 3 days!
Royal Caribbean
Hurry – Offer ends in 3 days! 🕐 + 3%

50. DELIBERATE MISTAKES
Self-deprecation conveys
confidence and empathy
16

51. Phrasee
Welcome to 2019 🎆
Doh! Every frigging year…

52. 7.13%
2.02%
Industry Advisory Brand
Pubic Training Course
Industry Advisory Brand
Public Training Course
Click to
open rates

53. Subject line optimisation
will always be subjective

54. PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSUASION
The job of all marketing is to cause a change
in thinking and subsequent behaviour
17

55. Neuro linguistic programming
Neuromarketing
Marketing AI

56. Retail
20% off expires at midnight
Black Friday offer on all products.
Scarcity

57. e-shot
A Marketer’s Guide to the CCPA
Authority

58. The Sun
Freddie Starr ate my hamster
Liking

59. LogMeIn
92,916,627 remote sessions in 2019
1.2m new machines added this year
Social Proof

60. Retail
Thank you for choosing us
Your loyalty voucher code
Reciprocity

61. Retail
Thank you for subscribing
We look forward to sharing the latest
ideas and insights with you.
Commitment & Consistency

62. RELEVANT CONTENT
This is only for me
18

63. [AccountManagerName]
Your [VehicleMake] contract
Hi [Firstname], we wanted to let you know
that your [VehicleMake] contract finishes on
[ContractEndDate].
Dynamic Content

64. Jamie McCandlish
Your BMW contract
Hi Dan, we wanted to let you know that your
BMW contract finishes on 31st March.
Dynamic Content

65. Sadie Burgess
Your Audi contract
Hi Dan, we wanted to let you know that your
Audi contract finishes on 30th April.
Dynamic Content

66. SPLIT TEST CHALLENGE
Apply what you have learnt to your
next important email
19

67. CAFFEINE!
You’re only reading the slides, but still, why not
have a cuppa before reading the rest?
20

68. COMPLIANCE
Consent is king
21

69. GDPR 2018 ePrivacy Directive (EU)
California Consumer Privacy Act
Online Privacy Act (US)
Personal Data Protection Bill (India)
ISO 27701 - Security techniques for
privacy information management
Consent for marketing is a common theme
throughout data protection legislation

70. VERIFY YOUR SUBSCRIBERS
Double opt-in will become the standard
22

74. The ICO sign up process is absolutely done
by the book as you would expect

75. And yet, even their welcome emails
go straight to Spam

76. Spam Confidence Level: 5 (1-9)
Spam Flitering Verdict: SPM

78. MORE THAN VERIFICATION
Gated consent and content
23

79. LinkedIn present their verification as an activation -
emphasising importance

80. Mitigate unsubscribes and segment your date easily
with Preference Centre options

81. POSITIVE ACTIONS
Teach the Spam filter to trust you
24

82. There are both human and a technical aspects to
deciding how emails get delivered

83. What will hurt your deliverability
Bad Behaviours
Not Opened
Unsubscribe
Marked as Spam/Junk
What will improve your deliverability
Good Behaviours
Opens
Forwards
Marked as not Spam/Junk
Clicks (sometimes) Complaint

84. CLEAN HOUSE
If it is dead, bury it
25

85. Gmail turns unused Gmail addresses
into Spam traps after two years

86. MAKE UNSUBSCRIBING EASY
The alternative is worse
26

87. info@communigator.co.uk
Latest News
If you cannot read this email, click here to view it in your browser.
CommuniGator
Latest News
If you cannot read this email, click here to view it in your browser.
The header unsubscribe is forced in many email clients now.
It is important this resolves back to the ESP.

88. DELIVERABILITY CHECKS
Never send without checking first
27

89. FIVE GOLDEN RULES
Target - Segment your data
Test - Simulate your email send fully
Test Again - Things change frequently
Tidy Up - Deal with bounces and other bad data
Technical Support - Help is available

90. REVIEW YOUR ENGAGEMENT
e-shot makes this simple
28

91. Engagement scoring

92. RE-ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGNS
Do something different
29

93. Changing the email design does little to help
re-engagement if they are never reading the emails

94. RE-ENGAGE
Re-invent yourself
30

95. e-shotTM
Recognition
B2C tends to leverage a customer
relationship. Consistency.
Dan Hare
Relationships
B2B brands are harder to leverage.
Business is still personal.
Dan from e-shotTM
Reputation
Leverage both dynamics

96. e-shotTM
Recognition
B2C tends to leverage a customer
relationship. Consistency.
Dan Hare
Relationships
B2B brands are harder to leverage.
Business is still personal.
Dan from e-shotTM
Reputation
Leverage both dynamicsSimply change who your email appears to be from

97. REPLY TO
The easiest CTA for your subscribers
31

98. REPLY CTA
sales@
marketing@
donotreply@
Emily.anderson@
<accountmanager>@

99. For further information or to book a consultation,
please contact Rachel:
Rachel Thompson
New Business Consultant
rthompson@forfront.com
020 3320 8777
Update your profile
Forward to a friend
Connect with us on social
Personalise the footers of your emails with details
for the person responsible for each contact

100. For further information or to book a consultation,
please contact Nina:
Nina Jones
New Business Consultant
njones@forfront.com
020 3320 8778
Update your profile
Forward to a friend
Connect with us on social

101. WILDCARDS
You have missing and bad data. Fact.
32

102. For further information or to book a consultation,
please contact us:
Forfront Ltd
New Business Team
hello@forfront.com
020 3320 8000
Update your profile
Forward to a friend
Connect with us on social
Ensure wildcards/fallbacks are in place to contend
with missing data

103. SIMPLE PERSONALISATION
Relevant points in the customer journey
33

105. Personalised does not have to mean
complex dynamic content

106. DYNAMIC IMAGES
Personalisation + Creativity
34

107. You can dynamically include personal
detail in images

108. niftyimages.com

109. IMAGES IN EMAILS
Still the supporting act
35

111. Outlook still prioritises security over design and used
Word as it’s HTML rendering engine

112. Disabled images can ruin impact

115. LAYOUT
Proven techniques to
maximise response
36

116. We are all conditioned to know where
to click on this page

117. 85 billion searches per month
The Design Standard is set
Google realised the paid ads on the right
were not effective too

118. In Western society, we have a conditioned sub-consious that
makes us read left to right, top to bottom

119. F

122. THE “F” IN EMAIL
Detailed emails
with multiple offers
Recipients scan left to right,
top to bottom
Make headlines clickable
Images support
the message
Your first offer
Supporting copy.
Emphasise urgency.
Your second offer
Supporting copy.
Emphasise urgency.
Your third offer
Supporting copy.
Emphasise urgency.

125. Detailed
Newsletters
Lead generation
Simple
Offers
e-shots

126. THE “T” IN EMAIL
Introduce a proposition
Support with an image,
but do not rely on it
Clear and colourful bulletproof
button for Call to Action
Optimised for thumb clicks on
mobile
Button
YOUR OFFER
DETAILS
Supporting copy.
Emphasise urgency.

127. BUTTON TEXT
Why would I click here?
37

128. Search Find
Read more Full story
Buy now Shop now
Register Book now

129. BUTTON COLOUR
Psychology again
38

131. Bold
Subtle
Hiding

132. ANIMATION FOR ACTION
Faux Interactivity
39

134. The flashing search operator mimics cursor activity
and encourages interactivity. It is just a simple GIF.

135. DARK MODE
The next big email design challenge
40

137. Phrasee
Welcome to 2019 🎆
Doh! Every frigging year…

138. Phrasee
Welcome to 2019 🎆
Doh! Every frigging year…

140. Dark Mode
Some Emojis are 🔥
So hot right now in Dark Mode
Colourful emojis really stand out in Dark Mode

141. IMAGE CREATIVE
So Instagram right now
41

142. The square image format works
well on mobile and desktop.

143. RELATABLE CHARACTERS
People just like you or that you just like
42

144. Our subconscious
responds positively
to faces we can
relate to or find
attractive

145. VISUAL IMPACT
3D effects
43

146. 3D effects help lift otherwise flat images and messaging

147. B2B IMAGES
Identikit stock photos
44

150. An increasing number of B2B newsletters have
swapped bad stock photos for memes

151. Imagery without explanation prompt curiosity

152. Memes need to work in both
animated and static format

153. VIDEO IN EMAIL
Play it easy
45

154. Although you can embed video in email, it still
presents many technical challenges

155. A triangle laid on the image prompts the reader to
interact and link to the video

156. TIMING
What works well for your subscribers?
46

157. 73% of B2B decision-makers research
products during the evening and 51%
during weekends
Try sending emails at different times as part
of a split test or re-engagement campaign

158. RESEND TO NON-OPENERS
Change something if it makes you nervous
47

159. REMARKETING
Time sensitive and behavioural
47

161. What is
the logical
reaction to
a specific
behaviour?

162. Contact us
Shopping basket
Case Study
Pricing Page
Whitepaper
Newsletter signup
Event booking
Product specification
Immediate
Hours
Days
Subject line
Content
Call to action

165. Both brands send two remarketing emails within two
hours of website interaction

166. Contact us
Shopping basket
Case Study
Pricing Page
Whitepaper
Newsletter signup
Event booking
Product specification
Immediate
Hours
Days
Subject line
Content
Call to action

167. DATE DRIVEN
It’s about them, not you
48

169. Event
Birthday
Renewal
Purchase
Signup
User Created
Cancellation
Before
On
After
Subject line
Content
Call to action

170. SEGMENT YOUR AUDIENCE
You cannot be all things to all people
49

171. Behavioural Demographic Firmographic Dates
Purchases Age Location Past purchases
Email action Gender Industry Anniversaries
Website action Occupation Size Renewals
Event booking Marital Status Role Lost opportunities
Form fill Income Seniority Lapsed customers

172. SHARE THE WORK
Organisational alignment
50

173. ONE TRUTH
Make sure your whole
organisation is involved in
the health of your email
marketing database

174. MARKETING AUTOMATION
ACCELERATOR WORKSHOP
Visit our events page 🔥

175. SAFE. SECURE. SIMPLE.
E-shot is built by Forfront. Forfront is a Crown
Commercial Services supplier on G-Cloud 11 and listed
on the Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS4)
framework.
Whilst Cyber Essentials is only mandatory for working
with MOD, the government backed scheme is a public
demonstration of our commitment to security and
information governance.