Word to the Wise helps email marketers create more effective email messages, programs and infrastructures. We advise you how to skillfully navigate the constant business, technology, and policy challenges so your messages reach your customers.
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This morning I waded into a twitter discussion with a bunch of folks about some issues they were having with delivery to gmail. The discussion started with a blog post at detailed.com describing how some senders are seeing significant drops in open rates. I thought I’d take a look and see if I can help, because, hey, this is an interesting problem. I signed up for a bunch of the mail that...
Following on from my reading between the lines post I want to talk a little bit about using the channels. From my perspective the right way to deal with 99% of issues is through the front door. Last week I found myself talking to multiple folks in multiple fora (emailgeeks slack channel, mailop, IRC) about how to resolve blocking issues or questions. All too often, folks come into these spaces...
Reading between the lines an important skill in deliverability. Why? Over the last few years there’s been an increasing amount of collaboration between deliverability folks at ESPs and ISPs. This is great. It’s a vast improvement on how things were 10 years ago. However, there are still ongoing complaints from both sides. There probably always will be. And it’s not like a blog...
ATT used to have a webform to use to request delisting. I’ve heard reports over the last few months that the form isn’t working. This week, the website hosting the form disappeared. I don’t know for sure, but this looks like this is either deliberate or there’s just no one in charge of the site and it got lost. ATT provides an email address for delisting, too...
While trying to figure out what to write today, I checked Facebook. Where I saw a post on the Women of Email group asking for help with a Spamhaus listing. I answered the question. Then realized that was probably useable on the blog. So it’s an impromptu Ask Laura question. We’re listed on Spamhaus’ list, any advice on how to get off? Our email provider has a plan, just looking...
One of those $5.00 words I learned in the lab was gestalt. We were studying fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and, at the time, there were no consistent measurements or numbers that would drive a diagnosis of FAS. Diagnosis was by gestalt – that is by the patient looking like someone who had FAS. It’s a funny word to say, it’s a funny word to hear. But it’s a useful term to...
This week I attended a Data Visualization workshop presented by the Advanced Media Center at UC Berkeley. Every year I set at least one professional development goal; this year it’s learning how to better communicate visually. Part of the class included other resources, which led me to Nathan Yau’s website. One of the articles on the front page of his site is titled “Email...
The FTC (US Federal Trade Commission) is soliciting comments on CAN-SPAM legislation: A. General Issues 1. Is there a continuing need for the Rule? Why or why not? 2. What benefits has the Rule provided to consumers? What evidence supports the asserted benefits? 3. What modifications, if any, should be made to the Rule to increase its benefits to consumers? (a) What evidence supports the proposed...
Most companies and senders will tell you they follow all the best practices. My experience says they follow the easy best practices. They’ll comply with technical best practices, they’ll tick all the boxes for content and formatting, they’ll make a nod to permission. Then they’re surprised that their mail delivery isn’t great. Too many senders, ESPs and...
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