Issue #210 All About Email

Hi, {{first_name|friend}}. 👋

Welcome to Issue #210 of All About Email!

Last week was a thought piece (it’s been a while) about “Critical Thinking”, and I introduced a new newsletter feature.

This week, it’s about curiosity, and whilst it might have killed the cat, it does the opposite with your inbox.

Let’s go! 👇

We are into Q4 for many businesses, and if you’re a marketer like me, this could be your busiest time of the year.

😬 With BFCM (Black Friday and Cyber Monday) on the horizon, Amazon Prime Day(s) landing tomorrow, and Christmas/January sales rounding things off, our inboxes will be bracing themselves.

FOMO will be everywhere, with (not-so) “exclusive offers” and “last opportunities” as sellers swamp our inboxes faster than you can say “spam”.

Marketers will be walking the tightrope of annoyance and awareness as we prepare our customers long before each holiday offer drops, trying to warm our audiences, monitor deliverability, all whilst trying to avoid the spam folder. 🫠

In this week’s “News & Tips” section, there is a wonderful article from Growth In Reverse about a key newsletter metric to focus on…replies!

A famous marketing strategist once told me, “Talk to your customers” (he would die by this). Andi’s absolutely right, and the same applies to your subscribers.

You are probably aware of the phrase “Curiosity killed the cat”, ** but that couldn’t be further from the truth for the inbox. I don’t think you can ever ask too many questions.

** (or the band.)

🧠 Whether you are “talking to your customer” or your newsletter subscribers, you will inevitably ask questions, and questions are a great way to get replies, an important inbox metric.

These questions can take many forms depending on your industry and your email campaign’s purpose:

Asking questions is an excellent way to:

However, asking questions is great for more than just selling. 👇

Remember, I briefly mentioned the Growth in Reverse article, {{first_name|friend}}?

💡 One of the best ways to get “replies” is to ask questions!

These replies also have a positive impact on your inbox. A reply (or answer) is an engagement metric that mailbox providers love.

🎉 It shows your inbox provider that not only are your emails worth reading, but they are worth replying to.

Anyone can ask a question, even if you are not trying to sell something or get feedback on what you are selling.

🧪 That’s why I’ve been experimenting with polls in my newsletter over the last six months.

These polls provide two important engagement metrics:

✨ Not only that, but questions also provide me with an opportunity to build relationships and go deeper with those subscribers who engage, as well as provide valuable insights (data) on which topics to cover in future newsletters.

Since last week, “Curiosity Corner” has now become a regular part of my newsletter and an opportunity to ask questions.

Remember, {{first_name|friend}}, as Andi Jarvis says, “talk to your customers (subscribers)”.

That’s it for this week. 👋

Welcome to Curiosity Corner! Each week I throw one question your way…not always about email marketing, but always worth a reply.

This week’s question. 👇

In last week’s poll, I asked if you sent transactional emails, and here are the results. 👇

Want to know what I'm listening to while I write?

Every week, when the newsletter drops, I'll share the track of the moment, creating an unbelievably eclectic playlist just for your inbox.

🚨 If you’re interested in sponsoring the “All About Email” newsletter, you can find all the details in this Google Doc.

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

If you have any questions about this email or email marketing, please reply, and I will answer you as soon as possible.

I hope you have a great week! 👋