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Jordan Cohen

Member since August 2012Contact Jordan

CMO of Fluent, Inc.

Articles by Jordan All articles by Jordan

  • Time To Retire The Click-Through Rate? in Email Insider on 06/18/2014

    The pace of change when it comes to consumer technology adoption almost never ceases to amaze. Just four short years ago, only 9% of email marketing messages were opened on mobile devices -- and "mobile" at that time meant smartphones; the iPad was first released in April of 2010. Fast-forward to Q1 of 2014, and now 66% of email marketing messages are opened on mobile (47% smartphone, 19% tablet). We've all known this sea change has been coming -- and yet, so many marketers still seem to struggle (or maybe not even care) about optimizing their campaigns for mobile.

  • Coping With The New Gmail Inbox in Email Insider on 07/24/2013

    Well, they're at it again: email marketing is going to get killed -- this time, by Google, according to a provocatively titled article recently published by The Motley Fool.

  • Video In Email, Take Three in Email Insider on 03/20/2013

    If you ask the email marketing industry's founding fathers about video in email, they'll hark back to a time in the late '90s when sending email with embedded video was no problem. There may not have been too many marketers producing video at the time, but if they did, and wanted to deliver it via email, they had nothing to worry about. By the early 2000s, everything had changed. The rapid rise of email-borne security threats like spam, phishing, and malicious code got ISPs nervous about allowing images to be displayed in email -- let alone more complex content like video. And so, for almost a decade, email was resigned to static images, even as video on the Web was exploding with the advent of popular services like Hulu.com and YouTube.

  • Show Email's Impact By The Magic in Email Insider on 10/22/2012

    A few weeks ago Loren McDonald contributed an article here titled "Show Email's Impact by the Numbers." The article went on to list of a series of stats that prove the power of the channel -- from its outstanding ROI, to its higher click-through rates compared to other modes of online advertising, to the consistent growth in the number of email accounts opened by people across the globe. As powerful as the numbers and business impacts Loren listed truly are, I couldn't help but feeling that all those "whys" and "hows" still left me (and, more importan, brand marketing executives) yearning for more. Sure, reducing call center calls and driving traffic to stores are great, but do they give email more sex appeal? Does shining the light on them capture hearts and minds? Where's the fun factor?

  • Last-Minute Shopping For Your Holiday Email Program in Email Insider on 10/08/2012

    By now, the ever-earlier holiday selling season is already in full swing. According to Chad White's recently released 2012 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season study, last year, 60% of major retailers mentioned the holiday season at least once in their promotional emails before the end of October -- and you can assume that even more retailers are getting a head start this year.

  • More New Metrics You'll Be Using In 2013 in Email Insider on 10/02/2012

    In a recent article, my fellow MediaPost Email Insider columnist George Bilbrey took a look into the future of email marketing analytics and described three new metrics that he thinks practitioners will use in 2013. While I agree that a sea change in email measurement is coming, I believe there are far more than three new metrics that marketers will find invaluable in the months ahead. These include:

  • Is Your Mobile-First Strategy Putting Your Customers Last?  in Email Insider on 09/24/2012

    Two weeks ago I contributed an article here examining the pros and cons of three emerging approaches to mobile email optimization: prefab content, responsive design, and live content. But I omitted a fourth, important approach that's worthy of its own discussion: mobile-first email.Two weeks ago I contributed an article here examining the pros and cons of three emerging approaches to mobile email optimization: prefab content, responsive design, and live content. But I omitted a fourth, important approach that's worthy of its own discussion: mobile-first email.

  • If An Email Is Opened On Android Without Images Turned On, Does it Exist? in Email Insider on 09/17/2012

    No surprises here: In its latest Mobile Email Opens Report, data management firm Knotice revealed that the share of mobile email opens continues growing by leaps and bounds, up 32% in the first half of 2012 compared to the second half of 2011. 36% of all email opens are now occurring on mobile devices (25% smartphones, 11% tablets), with the remaining 64% of email opens occurring on desktops. But something strange is brewing when you dig deeper into the numbers. According to Knotice's report, nearly four times as many emails are being opened on iPhones than on Android smartphones. Meanwhile, about twice as many people around the world have purchased Android-based smartphones than iPhones, and the gap is only expected to widen (source: IHS Research).

  • Go Mobile, Or Go Home in Email Insider on 09/10/2012

    With consumer adoption of smartphones continuing to grow at an unprecedented speed, by now most email marketers will agree that optimizing campaigns for mobile devices is a key priority. But what is the best way to do this? Here are pros and cons of the emerging approaches to mobile email optimization: prefab content, responsive design, and live content.

Comments by Jordan All comments by Jordan

  • Time To Retire The Click-Through Rate? by Jordan Cohen (Email Insider on 06/18/2014)

    Hi all thanks for commenting... @george & @andrew - as I mentioned at the conclusion of the article, "of course it's not literally time to retire CTR"... my main point is that marketers should compare CTR on their mobile opens separate from desktop -- many will find their mobile CTR is lower b/c they're simply not optimizing for it, which is a mistake (as noted by Kevin). Language IS powerful though, and I think that getting email marketers into a "tap-through" mindset will help move the process of mobile optimization forward, faster.

  • Gmail Tabs: Don't Panic Or Cheat, Just Focus On Engaged User Base by George Bilbrey (Email Insider on 08/28/2013)

    George, love this "The “economic return” from mailing to generally unengaged subscribers is less than it once was." The question is, what should marketers do re: the 88% of consumers who you guys say are sitting in the middle of the engagement bell curve? With an almost 10 pct decline in read rates amongst those users, marketers need to step of their games. Easier said than done, of course. Good read, but digging deeper into the findings, there may be cause for at least some reaction. Panic may be extreme, but concern would be fair and reasonable.

  • Cliche -- Or Result? by David Baker (Email Insider on 08/19/2013)

    I disagree that there needs to be some sort of sequential approach to adopting email marketing technology and practices. (ie, that real-time email only should come into play after a marketer has graduated from their dynamic assembly class). I have seen many instances where real-time email technology freed up marketers' from the tediousness of pre-send segmentation and planning, and were able to do things that would simply be impossible without it. I guess I just don't really understand what you're trying to say in this post... "think different?" Like Al said, that advice is timeless. I just am trying to wrap my head around why you think real-time is a cliche - it is new and oftentimes downright cool -- and it allows marketers to think differently about the channel and what they can do with it, while at the same time adding new excitement to the conversation around email that can help us get to that coveted adult dinner table.

  • Cliche -- Or Result? by David Baker (Email Insider on 08/19/2013)

    David... Per your comment - "Apply “real time” and “mobile first” and you have a business challenge that doesn’t seem scalable to the vast majority of the “optimize”- oriented brands." Well, the reality is that adoption of real-time email technology has skyrocketed over the past 12 months. Content "delivered at the point of consumption... and data in real time" are already here, and are already shifting the industry. Sometimes even the most basic point of consumption changes can yield substantial lifts in campaign performance by increasing relevancy (per Al's great note above)... I know of at least one platform out there that makes real-time email marketing easy. I wonder who that may be? ;-)

  • Why You Shouldn't Ask Your Gmail Subscribers To Re-Tab Your Emails by Chad White (Email Insider on 08/13/2013)

    This statement is not accurate: "And Gmail’s new inbox only affects the shrinking number of desktop users, not the growing number of mobile users." -- The tabs are in full effect on the Gmail app for Android, which is the most popular mail app on Android devices (recent Brightwave study put it at around 70 pct of all Android opens)... so, total penetration of the tabs is probably 7 - 9 pct for most marketers in Litmus's dataset, which is still big. I also mention Litmus's dataset because it is enormous and includes a mix of B2B w. B2C and SMB w F500... so, within F500 B2C only I'd expect the Gmail numbers to be even larger. My main point above is that I wouldn't underestimate the "impact" of tabs in terms of total # of consumers seeing them just because of rising smartphone adoption. Rising smartphone adoption only minimizes their reach on iOS and 30% of Android opens. That said, the point about "closing your store at the mall" in favor of being an interruptive "door to door salesman" is a good one and the most important thing for marketers to consider. This is the #1 transformation being driven by Google with the tabbed inbox, and is something that marketers need to consider and adjust for: moving from an interruptive model to a consumer control model. And that, in my opinion, does merit marketer attention and discussion (in addition to their regularly scheduled holiday season planning). Respectfully, Jordan

  • The Trends Guiding Great Email Design by Chad White (Email Insider on 06/18/2013)

    Re: "worthwhile tactics that aren't getting much attention right now," -- we're working on it Chad ;0) Also, we are seeing more and more market leaders incorpoate live content and HTML5 video into their emails. Some examples are available on our own "Swipe File" at www.pinterest.com/movableink (I hope you'll consider swipping some of these for your next edition!) Best, Jordan

  • Video In Email, Take Three by Jordan Cohen (Email Insider on 03/20/2013)

    @andrew - Thanks for leaving a comment. Per the questions you've raised: 1) "haven't consumers have been programmed to click on an image of a video and go to a website?"-->my answer is, does that mean they cannot be trained to do something even simpler, i.e., just watch the video in the email itself? Just because TV viewers originally had to get off the couch and turn a dial to change the channel didn't mean they weren't ready (and wanting) to use a remote control, right? In general, I'd say eliminating additional clicks is pro-consumer, and better for the marketer too. Re: q 2) "Video in email is uber cool, but it is or should it be a part of long term strategy for organizations who are still struggling with this whole relevancy thing everyone keeps talking about? " - I'd say that using video-in-email and striving to be relevant are not mutually exclusive. You don't have to sacrifice one for the other. Smart marketers are finding ways to make it work. And I'm seeing SMBs use video in clever ways as well, not just the F500 types that my company works with.

  • Six Email Marketing Predictions For 2013 by Chad White (Email Insider on 01/02/2013)

    Great article Chad. Re: video-in-email - hizzah! HTML5 -- combined with Apple's raging market share (as defined by % of email opens) -- is the game changer the industry needed! Attention please, anyone reading this at Google & Yahoo: We need you guys to get on board! Let's make full video in email support ubiquitous in 2013. Why let Apple and Microsoft customers have all the fun? :-)

  • The Rise Of 0-to-1 Email Communications by Mike May (Email Insider on 11/14/2012)

    Great article Mike. I completely agree that the machines are coming. But I would add another hedge to your bets and speculate that some (maybe many) brands will adopt a hybrid approach, with some components or content blocks of their messaging being one-to-many, while other blocks become entirely automated. The split of prefab/automated content will also vary by vertical based on factors such as sensitivity to brand, scope of products/inventory, and frequency of website content updates.

  • Preference Center Or Subscription Center by David Baker (Email Insider on 09/18/2012)

    Nice article Dave. "Fun" and "Interactive" is definitely the way to go when it comes to asking users to self-report preference. And, I agree, that it's more productive to get subscribers to tell you more about their personas than to report very specific product/category/channel preferences, which will change over time (what we like will change over time, who we are, is, um, pretty much who we are and are going to be). The Container Store does a great job of this. They ask for very specific pieces of information, like your birthday, in order to send you personalized deals, but also ask "what are your interests?" "how would you describe yourself" and emphasize that "it'll take just a minute" to complete the survey. See slide 16 in my EEC prez from last year for the sample creative: http://www.slideshare.net/vivastream/driving-conversions-in-a-multichannel-world-jordan-cohen-11748611?from=ss_embed

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