Issue #149 All About Email

Hi, friend. 👋

Welcome to Issue #149 of All About Email!

Last week, Emily Ryan took over my newsletter as the second of my summer guest authors 😎 ⛱️.

This week, it’s back to me writing the emails as we look at Google Ads for email.

Let’s go! 👇

This is NOT Gmail Ads

⚠️ Let’s clarify: the announcement from Google is not the same as the usual ads Gmail users see.

No, no, this is something new.

We’ve had Ads (sponsors) in emails before. Heck, anyone can do this:

1. Add an image or a link.

2. Add some UTM values to that image or link.

3. Charge some money for placement.

4. Make $1 million 🤣

OK , it’s not that easy (especially that last bit). There are lots of tools out there that try to make this process easier:

• Beehiiv has an Ad Network for Publishers (newsletters) and Advertisers.

• Passionfroot is also a great choice.

Google Wants Some Action

In typical Google style (possibly because of the “forever” upcoming demise of 3rd-party cookies in Chrome), it’s getting harder for advertisers to generate revenue.

🍪 Cookie blocking doesn’t impact emails, so it makes sense to Google to get a slice of the action.

🍕 Tools like Beehiiv and Sparkloop have, in recent years, accelerated:

• Referral Networks

• Recommendations

• Ads

But this is where Google’s offering differs. 👇

Google Ad Manager Launches Programmatic Email Ads

Traditional Ads or Sponsorships in emails often lack targeting.

They can be:

• Hand-picked by the newsletter author

• Context-based (content-related)

• Non-context-based (not related to the content at all)

⚡️ This is where Google changes things up…Context matters.

What We Know

The program is in beta, so things can and probably will change.

• There are special notes for Apple MPP and Yahoo Geolocation 🍎 🍏

• Only images are allowed for now.

• Ads use native HTML so they won’t mess with your newsletter’s existing styles.

• Ads can be targeted to increase conversions (you need to set up an ad unit).

• You must include an “About this Ad” link. This Ad Badging link is automatically created for you.

🧠 These Ads will work with any ESP that allows you to insert HTML code into you emails.

However, Google specifically lists support for the following:

• Adobe Marketo

• Bloomreach

• HubSpot

• Mailchimp

• SailThru

• Salesforce Marketing Cloud

The above is not a complete list and you can reach out to your ESP for more information. (I can already confirm these Ads work in Beehiiv and Klaviyo.)

🙋‍♂️ So, friend will you be using Google Ads in your emails in the future? Reply to this email and let me know your thoughts.

That’s it for this week 👋

⏭️ Next week is about “Building your Customer Journey in 5 steps” from my next summer guest author, Elizabeth Jacobi.

🎉 🎉 Next week is Issue 150 of All About Email! That’s mind-blowing, when I think about it.

With an average issue coming in at 750 words, that’s 122,500 words I’ve written or “in other words” (pun intended) 🤭 an adult book.

Email Marketing News

This week's excellent and insightful Email News & Tips:

• Recognition - 🎉 My newsletter is featured as “one of the best newsletters for email marketers. 🎉 (Email Tooltester)
  - - - - - - - -

• Brilliant!!! - You never know what you are missing until you walk away. (Yotpo.email)

• Candy Kittens - Top Email Designs For June. (Action Rocket)

• New Tool! - Get a visual breakdown of how email servers communicate, giving you a better understanding of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC and how they work together. (DMARC Tester)

• Deliverability timelines - This shouldn’t take long or will it? (Alison Gootee)

• User Priority - Exploring using the ping attribute for click tracking. (EMC)

• Coding Quizzes - How Sinch for Email leveraged interactivity (and April Fools) to get a handle on their multi-segment audience ft. Megan Boshuyzen (Nikki Elbaz)

• Spotlight - Marcel Becker interview with Al Iversion. (Spam Resource)

• ESP Migration - How to Move to a New Email Platform. (Email Tooltester)

• Bluey - Wins email of the year! (BBC and Action Rocket)

If you have a question about this email or email marketing, reply, and I will answer you as soon as possible.

I hope you have a great week! 👋