Issue #190 All About Email

Hi, friend. 👋

Welcome to Issue #190 of All About Email!

Last week, we started exploring “Engagement” and “List Cleaning” by first looking at a problem of my own making, and I had an update on my new email community, Campfire.

This week, we look at engagement in more detail, and there is a special highlight on accessibility.

Let’s go! 👇

My Engagement Mistake

🤦‍♂️ Last week, I described a mistake I made with engagement and the consequences it had with my list cleaning.

The problems with my segment were:

• My criteria for segmented bounced contacts were too broad.

• When I analysed the engagement metrics for each of these subscribers, I noticed that I had wrongly excluded a lot of these subscribers from receiving emails.

• Therefore, it had been too long since some subscribers received an email, so I decided they had to go for the sake of deliverability. 😭

🚨 Heads-up, whilst there is common ground, one industry/business’s engagement metrics might not be yours.

What Is Engagement For Me/You?

Engagement has changed dramatically since the arrival of Apple MPP almost four years ago and the rise of bots automating opens and clicks.

Klaviyo and other ESPs have developed Apple MPP filters to get more accurate engagement data, and others like Beehiiv have gone a step further to filter bot clicks as a whole.

Microsoft has a good article scratching the surface of “going beyond open rates”; the key points are data and diversification.

Engagement Data

💡 But, friend, these data points are going to be different for you and me depending on:

• Your industry (eCommerce or B2B, for example).

• Your marketing strategy and goals.

• Whether you’ve expanded into other connected marketing channels (that Microsoft article above).

• Your audience composition (do you have a lot of Apple subscribers, or maybe not?)

• How much data and what quality of data do you actually have?

📝 I won’t discuss engagement reporting in today’s newsletter, but it’s something to consider when choosing an ESP, as not all ESPs are created equal, and reporting can be lacking.

🧠 If your ESP has poor reporting and doesn’t offer third-party integrations, it might be time to look for a new provider.

💡 As we are now in an era of privacy-focused marketing, the first and zero-party data we can get has never been more important, and I talk about this in detail in Issue #166.

Changing Subscriber Habits, AI & Algorithms

🤔 With changing subscriber habits leading to an increased lack of engagement and reliance on AI summaries, how will they impact email?

Time will tell, but an easy target is legitimate emails from banks, which Al Iverson explains can be an easy target for the spam folder (even though in many countries some of these emails are legally required).

🚨 So even if you have the technical foundations of deliverability in place, you aren’t guaranteed inbox placement. That revelation won’t shock some of you, but it’s where engagement comes into play.

A regularly engaged audience will help send signals to mailbox providers to help keep those legitimate emails in the inbox.

A Complete Re-Think?

💡 Tyler Cook has proposed a re-engagement architecture based around a 30-day window and looking at your other channels (your email frequency will impact this).

Tyler explains his proposal in more detail in the “Winning the Email Deliverability Battle” podcast.

🤔 Beehiiv’s new automation templates still focus on a 90-day window, but Klaviyo has shifted its focus to a 30-day window in most of its updated documentation, but also suggests adjusting to 60 days depending on your email frequency (if you send fewer emails, you will need a larger window).

Before you have an existential crisis, friend, you might not have to rebuild your engagement metrics and reporting, it might be:

• A tweak here and there.

• Some new segments created.

• Perhaps some new automations can be created.

• Looking at changing or adding engagement metrics.

In an ideal world of infinite time, I recommend reading this newsletter and the resources a couple of times, but that’s not going to happen. 🤣

So, instead, remember this email engagement isn’t one-size-fits-all.

You must look at your context, determine the best way to improve your engagement, and make your list cleaning as accurate as possible.

I made the mistake, but this email is not about me, it’s about you, friend! 🎉

Before You Go - Accessibility

🚨 Last Thursday, May 15th, was Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

I wanted to highlight the Top 10 Accessibility Issues identified by the Email Markup Consortium (EMC).

These issues are based on the EMC’s full report, which is linked in the News & Tips section at the bottom of this email, where I also share some important accessibility links.

All About Email - Playlist 🎧

I listen to a lot of music, friend, especially when writing newsletters.

My tastes are eclectic, and when I hit the publish (schedule) button each week, I’ll share the track I’m listening to and build the craziest playlist you’ve probably ever heard.

This week is from a new artist I discovered with a modern retro banger! ⚡️

Sponsorship Opportunities

🚨 If you’re interested in sponsoring the “All About Email” newsletter, you can find all the details in this Google Doc. I currently have “Classified” slots and a Main Sponsor slot available.

That’s It For This Week 👋

🚨 It’s coming close to the 200th issue of my newsletter, over four years of writing (if you include holidays), and I want to celebrate with something special.

If anyone wants to provide a special offer for my readers, reply to this email and let me know how you can help.

It could be:

• A discounted product or service.

• A free product or service.

• An increased free trial period for your product or service.

• Products or services could be anything from software to consulting or physical products.

Issue #200 will drop in ten weeks, which is in the middle of the summer, so please get those offers in quickly; that time will disappear.

See you next week!

Email Marketing News & Tips

This week's excellent and insightful email news & tips:

• State of Email - Accessibility Report 2025. (Email Markup Consortium)

• Mood Swing - Inside April’s most-saved emails. (Really Good Emails)

• Newsletter Strategy - Email Marketing and GDPR - A Compliance Guide for Creators. (Beehiiv)

• Migration - From Mailchimp to Klaviyo: Why Ecommerce Brands Are Making the Switch. (Email Tooltester)

• Mailchimp Phishing - Passkeys for normal people. (Troy Hunt)

• Growing a Newsletter - The Community Signal Boost. (Lex Roman & Growth in Reverse)

• Beyond the Ask - How Alumni Magazine Writers Turn Engagement into Support (and What Newsletter Writers Can Learn From Them). (Inbox Collective)

• Thunderbird for Mobile - April 2025 Progress Report. (Thunderbird)

• Not Great - Gmail’s Email 'Upgrades' Are Actually a Step Backward. (Chad S. White & CMS Wire)

• Getting Better? - Email Accessibility in 2025. (Megan Boshuyzen)

• Compliance to connection - Why businesses must embrace email accessibility. (Litmus)

• 5 Million Subs - The Athletic just hit 5 million newsletter subscribers – here’s how (and why it matters). (The Drum)

• Important Webinar! - 2025 Disinformation and Malicious Email Report: Why DMARC Remains Pivotal. (Valimail)

• Getting Started - Coding Accessible Emails. (Jay Oram & Action Rocket)

• Gmail Compliance - Checking the basics and keep in mind! (Alison Gootee)

• Subscriber Onboarding - It’s 2025, not 2022. (Dylan Redekop)

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! 👋