Like many topics in the world of email marketing, one seems to be rearing its ugly head quite a bit lately: opt-out. A few months ago, I wrote a blog post disagreeing with the notion that opt-out was the best policy for B2B marketers. I followed that up with another post that flat out said the Harvard Business Review was dead wrong when it published a blog post arguing the same point. I still stand by my assertion that an opt-out policy is not the best option. The problem is simple: An opt-out strategy makes the assumption that the person …

While writing up a social media recommendation the other day for a client, it struck me that although the terminology might be slightly different in email marketing, the same set of rules apply to both disciplines. I wanted to share a few of our media core tenets because I believe they can positively impact how we view the names in our email customer database, and how we utilize the channel. Social media and email marketing may not be identical twins -- but could they be fraternal? See what you think!

As with many of you, I have been in the marketing technology space for a little while. During that time, I have heard (and certainly spoken) my share of buzzwords. In fact, I could probably throw together 500 words on email marketing buzzwords -- stay tuned for that blog post in the coming weeks! Anyway, two words I do not hear often enough in relation to email are "anticipated" and "appreciated." There are two interesting trends occurring in the email marketing space that make these particularly relevant: the flash sale and localized marketing.

Achieving high levels of deliverability requires the same sorts of diligence that improving your time on a 10K race does. Like improving a race time, it doesn't require genius, just diligence. The following is a list of tasks that someone in your organization should perform every day.

With summer well underway, now is a good time to take stock of this season's email program and look for last-minute opportunities to add more sun breaks.We consulted with some creative colleagues to collect tips on infusing your emails with summery feelings.

The summer season gives you the chance to achieve another objective besides working on your tan and a new strawberry mojito recipe. Now is a great time to take stock of your email-marketing program and look for opportunities to make both incremental and substantial leaps in performance before the holiday season kicks into gear. Here's quick checklist to assess your email program from end to end.