Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson

In this episode, host Jay Schwedelson discusses how staying in tune with current trends, such as AI and the Super Bowl, can skyrocket your engagement rates. Jay also dives into the benefits of leveraging Pinterest Predicts, a trend predictor that helps marketers stay ahead of the game.

Main Discussion Points:

- Talking about current events and trends like AI can dramatically boost engagement

- Including "AI" in email subject lines has increased open rates 20% recently

- Using Super Bowl related words like "MVP" and "touchdown" in emails the week before the big game can increase open rates 30%

- Monitor Google Trends and sites like What's Trending to identify rising topics to discuss

- Check out Pinterest's "Pinterest Predicts" to get ahead of emerging trends

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

Welcome to another exciting episode of Ask Us ANTHING, where Jay Schwedelson answers burning work-related questions and indulges in some hilariously ridiculous ones. In this episode, we dive into the crucial topic of email signatures and how they can be a game-changer for your marketing efforts! Discover the key tactics and tips to maximize the impact of your email signatures, including adding call-to-actions and banner ads to generate higher click-through rates. Learn how to track performance and regularly update your signatures for optimal results.

Main Discussion Points:

- Email signatures have low tracking rates but high engagement when optimized

- Including calls-to-action and banner ads in email signatures can drastically increase clickthrough rates

- Changing email signatures 2-3 times per year is key to keeping engagement high

- Jay's top show to rewatch for the first time is Sons of Anarchy

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this week's "What's Up this Week" episode, host Jay Schwedelson provides updates on recent changes and trends in marketing platforms like Twitter (now Elon Musk's X), LinkedIn, and more. He discusses how shifts in one platform create ripple effects across other platforms, the decline in X's performance, LinkedIn's increasing ad costs, and the growth of AI-generated content.

Main Discussion Points:

- X (formerly Twitter) has seen drops in performance and major brands pulling back spend. They cut verification costs to attract small biz customers.

- The shifts with X have led to more ad dollars moving to LinkedIn. LinkedIn ad costs are up 30% in some cases.

- LinkedIn is prioritizing AI-generated "collaborative articles" as top traffic drivers. Interacting with these articles can boost reach/engagement.

- It's the time of year when most people bail on New Year's resolutions - 23% in the first week of January and 43% by end of January.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode of his podcast, host Jay Schwedelson shares some effective email marketing tips for increasing open and click-through rates. He provides specific advice around using hero stats in subject lines, optimizing email length, structuring paragraphs, and limiting form fields. Listeners can expect to learn data-driven best practices to improve email campaign performance.

Main Discussion Points:

- Using a compelling "hero stat" instead of promotional language in subject lines lifts open rates over 20% (00:00:34)

- Keep emails under 75 words for prospects and 100 words for customers for the best click-through rates on offers (00:04:29, 00:05:02)

- Shorter paragraphs perform better - 3 lines per paragraph boosts clicks 25% vs 5 lines (00:06:11)

- Every additional required form field reduces form completion rate by 8% (00:07:08)

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode, Jay interviews Alina Vandenberghe, the co-founder and CEO of Chili Piper, a unicorn startup that helps companies book more meetings and increase inbound conversion. They discuss entrepreneurship, marketing strategies, company culture, personal development tips, and more.

Main Discussion Points:

- Getting initial customer validation by having prospects sign up and pay for a product idea before it's built

- Taking on the role of CMO to better understand marketing even though her background was in engineering and product

- The power of customer marketing and customer advocacy

- Building a community and culture focused on helping others

- Consistency being key in content creation and social media

- Constantly seeking customer feedback to improve

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this week's Ask Us Anything episode, Jay tackles a work question about the biggest marketing mistake marketers make and a fun question asking which coffee chain has the best coffee - Starbucks, Dunkin' or McDonald's.

Main Discussion Points:

- The biggest marketing mistake is related to speed - not getting back to leads and customers fast enough (around 24 hours for business, 5 minutes for consumers)

- For business leads, follow up within 24 hours or open and response rates drop 30%+

- For consumers getting discounts and promo codes, send within 5 minutes or usage drops 40%

- Abandoned shopping carts - send email around 6 hours later for best re-engagement

- Jay drinks too much coffee and doesn't want to hear about it

- Dunkin' coffee tastes better but Starbucks pulls you in more

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this week's "What's Up This Week" episode, Jay discusses key insights from a recent study on optimal platforms for short-form video content. He also shares updates on the latest season of The Bachelor.

Main Discussion Points:

- A study by Amplify analyzing 1300 brands on TikTok and Instagram found Instagram Reels delivers significantly higher reach and engagement for short-form video compared to other platforms.

- Instagram Reels delivers 6x the reach compared to Instagram Stories, yet brands are posting 5x more Stories.

- Business brands should lean more into Instagram Reels for short-form video instead of assuming it's only for consumer audiences.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

Description:

In this special edition episode, host Jay Schwedelson and director of Guru Events, Stania Antoine, recap behind-the-scenes details from Guru Conference 2023. They discuss highlights like having Martha Stewart as a keynote speaker, challenges with not offering on-demand access, and ideas for improving the event in 2024. Tune in for industry insights and behind-the-scenes stories from the minds behind Guru Conference!

Key Discussion Points:

- Having Martha Stewart as a big name keynote was a major highlight. Her session featured her miniature donkeys in the background.

- They got backlash for not offering on-demand access to sessions after the live event. Trying to find a middle ground approach for 2024.

- Tried innovations like a "Hot Ones" chicken wing challenge and surprise reality TV guests. Some hits and some misses.

- Email marketing is critical for driving registrations and attendance. Sent many reminder emails.

- Social media efforts were weak overall. Will focus more on Instagram and LinkedIn moving forward.

- Fun swag giveaways like hoodies were more popular than expected. Shipment delayed but coming soon.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode of 'Do This, Not That', Jay Schwedelson reveals the latest subject line trends to maximize email open rates. As an email marketer, boosting your open rate is crucial for success. Join Jay as he shares actionable tips and real-life examples on crafting compelling subject lines that grab attention and drive engagement. From pain point marketing to leveraging the power of comparison, learn how to optimize your subject lines for the highest email open rates in the new year. Don't miss out on this valuable insight that will supercharge your email marketing campaigns!

Key Discussion Points:

- Pain point marketing in subject lines lifts open rates by 25% on average

- Comparison subject lines asking "how do you measure up" boosts open rates by 30%

- Using 1-3 word subject lines increases open rates by over 25%

- "Secrets of" subject lines also lift rates over 20%

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode of "Ask Us Anything", host Jay and Kristin Nagel tackle listener questions - one about work and one more lighthearted. Jay shares his approach to consistently posting on LinkedIn over time to grow his network. They also debate whether it's appropriate for families to send out holiday cards once the kids are grown.

Main Discussion Points:

- Jay spends 15 minutes a day, 3-4 days a week, posting on LinkedIn to consistently grow his network over time

- Key to success on LinkedIn is consistency over time - "Just don't stop" - and not overthinking what you post

- Debate whether holiday cards from families should stop once kids are older or is that "old school"?

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this short Tuesday episode, Jay and Kristin Nagel discuss some of the interesting things going on this week, including a new EU AI law, their thoughts on the hit Netflix movie "Leave the World Behind", and more.

Main Discussion Points:

- The EU has reached a deal on a sweeping AI law called the AI Act. It will require companies to label AI-generated content and design systems so AI content can be detected. This could have major implications as EU laws often make their way to the US.

-The current #1 Netflix movie in the US is "Leave the World Behind" starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, and Ethan Hawke. Jay did not like the movie but Kristin gave it an 8/10. There seems to be two camps - people who liked it and people who think it absolutely sucked.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this wide-ranging episode, Jay discusses key marketing trends and strategies for 2024. He talks about what to expect in the first few weeks of January when marketing performance tends to dip, how to account for depressed performance during the 2024 election year, and shares some chaotic personal stories.

Main Discussion Points:

- First 2 weeks of January see low marketing performance; don't expect much from webinars or high-number lists

- Back in stock and massive discounts work in early January

- Unsubscribes remain high in early January

- Good tactic: Email existing contacts about new hires and request adding them to your lists

- 2024 is a presidential election year which brings high noise levels and depressed marketing performance

- Jay's events company moved its November event earlier to avoid proximity to election

- Chaotic personal story about awkward dinner conversations

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this short holiday episode of "Ask Us Anything", Jay and Kristin Nagel tackle a work question about proving the effectiveness of email marketing and a lighthearted question about whether there's anything Jay doesn't like about the holidays. Listeners can expect tips on using "holdout groups" to quantify email marketing performance and a funny discussion about Jay's inability to properly wrap presents.

Main Discussion Points:

- Using a "holdout group" to prove email marketing effectiveness by isolating a segment of your list and not sending any emails to them, allowing you to clearly see the incremental lift generated by the emails.

- Jay shouts out Houston and recalls an odd experience ice skating at a mall there.

- The podcast is sponsored by Marigold, an email marketing and loyalty platform.

- Jay reminisces about growing up near the Long Island town Sayasset.

- Jay admits he's terrible at wrapping holiday gifts, no matter how hard he tries. He uses too much tape and paper but is oblivious to his lack of skill.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this short episode, Jay and  Kristin discuss some interesting news and happenings from the past week, including SmileDirectClub going out of business, Meta's Threads app expanding into the EU, and the never-ending barrage of holiday sales.

Key Discussion Points:

- SmileDirectClub abruptly shutting down despite huge marketing campaigns and leaving customers on payment plans responsible for finishing payments

- Meta's Threads app launching in the EU and why it's an opportunity to get in early on a platform that could grow substantially

- The constant sales after Black Friday making Jay feel like he bought too early

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode of his podcast, host Jay Schwedelson discusses the importance of email preheaders. He defines what preheaders are, common mistakes marketers make with them, and best practices for leveraging preheaders to improve email open and click-through rates.

Main Discussion Points:

- What is an email preheader and why it's important

- Common mistake - only testing emails on desktop and not phones, resulting in preheader code issues

- Tips for effective preheaders

- Using continuation preheaders starting with "and", "but", or "plus"

- Testing no preheader at all

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this short midweek podcast episode, host Jay Schwedelson tackles a work question about deciding when to redo your company's email newsletter program. Tune in to find out if it's time for a redo of your company's newsletter program and learn tips and tricks to make it more engaging. Jay shares his own experiences, including variations in delivery, subject lines, and content, to help you rethink and revamp your email newsletter strategy. He also addresses a ridiculous question about what to do with holiday gifts you don't like from someone close to you.

Key Discussion Points:

- Deciding when your email newsletter needs rethinking

- Keeping ugly holiday gifts to avoid offending the gift giver

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode, host Jay Schwedelson explores the significant impact of time in the marketing sphere. Discover how the value people place on their time influences their decision-making process and learn key strategies to optimize engagement. Jay shares fascinating studies that reveal the power of time indicators in promotional materials, including webinars, email newsletters, subject lines, and pre-headers. Tune into this episode to boost your marketing efforts and to learn where to have the best steak knife-buying experience!

Key Discussion Points:

- A study found promoting a 30-minute webinar instead of a 60-minute one on the same topic led to a 35% higher registration rate. Telling people something will take less of their time makes them more likely to commit.

- Putting "3 min read" or "4 min read" after blurbs in newsletters vastly improves clickthrough rate, by over 30%. Again, this convinces readers they won't have to invest much time.

- The trend applies to on-demand videos too. Boldly stating a short length upfront leads to more views.

- This podcast keeps segments short since people are drawn to quick hits of content.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode of Do This Not That, Jay chats with Ashley Faus, Head of Lifecycle Marketing at Atlassian, about the importance of capturing intent and using explicit CTAs in B2B marketing. They discuss common misconceptions around intent, how to design content and CTAs that attract high-intent leads, and why relying on marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) can hurt both marketing and sales teams.

Key Discussion Points

- The difference between inferred intent and explicit, stated intent

- Titling and promoting content in a way that attracts the right intent levels

- Why number-based lead targets can result in low-quality leads

- Being explicit and prominent with sales CTAs instead of hiding them

- Why "learn more" is a harmful CTA

- Tips for creating CTAs that drive the desired action

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this short episode of "Do This, NOT That", host Jay Schwedelson first answers a work-related question. He shares valuable advice on enhancing your LinkedIn feed experience. Discover how to avoid repetitive content and stay updated with the latest posts from people you find interesting.  He then shares an embarrassing reveal of the music artists and songs that showed up in his annual Spotify Wrapped.

Key Discussion Points:

How to make your LinkedIn feed more relevant by changing the default "Top" posts to "Recent" posts

Using the notification "bell" feature on LinkedIn to follow specific people whose content you find valuable

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode of "Do This, NOT That.", host Jay Schwedelson talks about how to grow your email list using contact capture forms (also known as popups). He makes the argument that while some people find popups annoying, they are a highly effective tactic for capturing leads and growing your list at no additional cost. Jay also shares stats on the high conversion rates of popups. Plus, get ready to discuss holiday films as Jay shares his favorite picks, including the ultimate holiday classic, 'Elf.'

Main Discussion Points:

- Why you should use popups/contact capture forms even if some people find them annoying

- How easy it is to set up popups

- Stats on high conversion rates of popups: 7-9% for first-time site visitors, up to 14% for return visitors

- Why popups work especially well this time of year with increased site traffic

- Getting internal buy-in can be the biggest obstacle

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this short episode of "Do This, Not That", host Jay Schwedelson and producer Kristen Nagle answer one work-related question and one ridiculous question submitted by listeners. They discuss when you should give up on a business idea or product, and Jay shares the last thing he searched on YouTube.

Main Discussion Points:

- Don't set a strict timeline for when you'll give up on a new business idea or product - be flexible based on traction and progress

- Consider offering your product or service for free initially to test demand - if no one wants it free, they likely won't buy it

- Be careful searching random things online - algorithms will continue showing related content for a long time after

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this podcast episode, Jay discusses key marketing strategies and trends for December, including changes coming to Gmail that marketers need to be aware of. He also shares best practices for B2B and consumer email campaigns this time of year, as well as the content that tends to perform well.

Discussion Points:

- On December 1st, Google is deleting inactive Gmail accounts that haven't been logged into for 2+ years. This will likely lead to an increase in bounce rates.

- For B2B, letter format emails to directors and above see a 28% higher reply rate Dec 1-15 since executives have more availability. Also promote any 2024 planning content.

- For consumers, specifically call out "Free Shipping Day" on Dec 14th to lift open rates 24%. List-focused content also works very well.

- Jay encourages viewing the flood of holiday marketing as an opportunity to gather creative ideas and inspiration.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode of the Do This, Not That marketing podcast, Jay interviews Courtney Bagby, founder of Little Red Management, an influencer talent management agency. They discuss how the influencer marketing industry works, how much influencers charge for branded content, FTC disclosure guidelines, and predictions for the upcoming finale of "The Golden Bachelor." Listeners can expect to learn insider tips about the influencer business.

Key Discussion Points:

- How Courtney got into talent management for reality stars and influencers

- Typical rates influencers charge brands per social media post based on followers

- Legal requirements around disclosing sponsored posts as ads

- Whether reality show contestants plan to become full-time influencers

- The job-like hustle required for influencers to earn a living

- Courtney's thoughts on "The Golden Bachelor" and predictions for the finale

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this short midweek episode of the "Do This, Not That" podcast, host Jay Schwedelson and producer Kristen Nagle answer one work-related question and one ridiculous question submitted by listeners. They discuss whether selfies are appropriate for LinkedIn and what they plan to buy themselves this holiday season.

Main Discussion Points:

- Non-formatted, authentic social media content (like selfies) gets more engagement than slick, polished posts

- Overcoming feeling awkward publicly posting about yourself is necessary in modern marketing

- What silly or practical things Jay and Kristen plan to buy themselves for the holidays

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

This podcast is all about using emojis effectively in marketing emails and other digital content. Jay provides data and convincing examples of how emojis can help grab attention and boost engagement, even in professional business-to-business communications. Listeners can expect to learn best practices for utilizing emojis in subject lines, preheaders, social media, and more to stand out and connect with their audience.

Key Discussion Points:

- Over 95% of email recipients can view emojis, so technical display issues are not a concern.

- Emojis in subject lines can increase open rates by over 20% for business emails and 25% for consumer emails versus the same subject without an emoji.

- Conservatively branded companies like Goldman Sachs, ISACA, and AARP use emojis successfully in their email marketing.

- For business emails, use emojis like the calendar, clock, and checkmark that act as graphical symbols rather than emotional icons.

- Emojis that convey urgency like the hourglass perform best, increasing subject line open rates.

- Always put the emoji as the first character of the subject line for maximum impact.

- Despite increased use around holidays, under 5% of emails actually use emojis currently so they still stand out.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this short episode of the "Do This, Not That" podcast, hosts Jay Schwedelson and Kristin Nagel tackle one business question and one fun question related to Thanksgiving. Listeners can expect tips on re-engaging dormant email subscribers and a lively debate on classic Thanksgiving dishes.

Main Discussion Points:

- Strategies for re-engaging dormant email subscribers through "verification" style subject lines (e.g. "Are you still with [company]?"). This leads to high open and click rates.

- Ideas for effective verification emails for both B2B (focused on company or role) and consumer (focused on discounts/VIP status).

- Debate over whether mac and cheese counts as a Thanksgiving dish (yes), and hosts' thoughts on best (cornbread) and worst (candied yams) Thanksgiving foods.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode of 'Do This, Not That', Jay delves into the power of multi-identities and testing various from names, drawing inspiration from big players like Apple. Don't miss out on leveraging this overlooked aspect of email marketing to enhance engagement without annoying your recipients. Discover how adding specific offers in the 'From Name' section can increase opens by up to 25% and why certain names outperform brand names.

Main Discussion Points:

- The “from name” is what shows up for the recipient, while the email address remains the same. You can customize it on any email platform.

- Including your offer in the from name (e.g. “Acme 20% Off”) boosts open rates 25%+ over just having your brand name.

- “Person from Brand” (e.g. “Jen from Acme”) improves open rates 20% over just the brand name.

- Testing different from names allows you to send more emails without seeming repetitive.

- Apple sends 5-6 emails in a day by using different from names for each product/service.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode, Jay interviews Kris Rudeegraap, Co-Founder and CEO of Sendoso, about using gifting and direct mail to stand out in sales and marketing. They discuss the power of sending physical gifts versus just relying on digital outreach, how Sendoso automates and scales gifting for companies of all sizes, creative ways to select meaningful gifts, and how gifting ultimately boosts sales by building stronger connections.

Main Discussion Points:

- Kris founded Sendoso 7 years ago after realizing physical gifts help sales reps stand out from constant email outreach. Sendoso handles sourcing, packing, shipping, and tracking to automate gifting at scale.

- Tangible gifts in the mail grab more attention than digital messages in our saturated world. The creativity and surprise of an unexpected gift can really engage prospects.

- Sendoso works for companies both big and small. Low cost gifts or offers can work if timed right and personalized based on the recipient's interests.

- The key is using gifts to demonstrate understanding your customers and prospects as humans, not just targets. Sendoso can even automatically pull in interests from social media to suggest relevant gifts.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode of the Do This, NOT That podcast, Jay Schwedelson answers two questions: one work question, and one ridiculous question.

Jay shares valuable tips and advice for email marketers looking to enhance their strategies for the holiday season. From doubling down on promotional emails to leveraging auto-responses for indirect networking opportunities, Jay reveals tactics and quick wins that can make a significant impact on your marketing efforts.

Main discussion points:

- For consumer marketing, send your offer emails twice in one day as you approach offer expiration dates. This can increase response rates by over 20%.

- For B2B, have salespeople send emails right around Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's. This will trigger a flood of auto-reply "out of office" messages that provide contact info for others to reach out to. Follow up with those contacts.

- Jay argues that Mean Girls and Die Hard are absolutely holiday movies, since they have central holiday themes and components.

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this episode of Do This, NOT That, Jay discusses the value of email tracking metrics like open and clickthrough rates. He explains why open rates are still important directional metrics, despite claims they are inflated by bots. Jay also provides a tip for detecting bot clicks in your email campaigns.

Main Discussion Points:

- Open rates are still valuable as directional metrics, even though absolute numbers may be inflated by bots

- You can compare open rates between A/B test email campaigns to see which performs better

- Sending a test email campaign at 3 AM can help identify bot click activity in the first 30 minutes

- Forget industry benchmark averages - track your own email-type averages over time as a benchmark

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

In this short episode of "Do This, NOT That- Ask Us ANYTHING", host Jay talks with producer Kristen Nagel about improving webinar registration and who they would want to play themselves in a movie about their lives.

Main Discussion Points:

- Why continuously pushing for internal changes to improve webinar registration is not always the right approach

- Key things to consider before trying to optimize conversion rates

- Who Jay would want to play himself in a hypothetical biopic and why it's kind of depressing

- Who Kristen would want to play her in a biopic

And MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!

Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don’t take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!

Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!

Get this podcast EXCLUSIVE offer today!

https://jayschwedelson.com/marigold/

In this episode, Jay talks about the importance of not ignoring your best prospects in email marketing. He shares data showing that a significant percentage of clicks happen after an offer expires, and that those late responders have much higher lifetime value. Jay stresses the need to provide relevant follow-up content to these late responders instead of just showing a generic "offer expired" page.

Main Discussion Points

- 22% of click through traffic happens after an offer expires

- Lifetime value of late responders is about 200% higher than those who respond during the offer window

- Late responders are more engaged since they are consciously going back to the email later

- Don't just show a boring "sorry you missed it" page to these valuable prospects

- Provide other relevant offers or content that would interest them

- This valuable traffic lasts for up to 150 days after offer expires

In this episode of Do This Not That, Jay is joined by pop culture & marketing expert Brianne Fleming. They discuss how brands and marketers can leverage trending pop culture topics and effectively tie them into content marketing and social media efforts. Listeners will learn creative strategies for capitalizing on pop culture moments to engage audiences.

Key Discussion Points:

- Pop culture can make unfamiliar topics feel familiar and accessible for audiences by tying them to trending moments people already know about

- Choose pop culture topics that fit your brand voice and industry; forced associations don't work

- Personal brands can benefit from sharing pop culture loves to build deeper connections

- Twitter’s real-time nature makes it great for initial pop culture commentary

- Get creative about subtle associations between pop culture and your content goals

This week's podcast episode features advice from Jay on how companies can better position their offerings when pitching to prospects. Jay discusses why trying to showcase all of your services and capabilities at once can actually hurt your chances of closing deals.

Main discussion points:

- Leading with too many offerings can overwhelm prospects and make it hard for them to understand what your company really does.

- Successful brands are known for one core thing - like Bombas for socks or Ring for video doorbells.

- Trying to be known for everything means you end up being known for nothing.

- Lead with your most recognizable offering when pitching prospects. Once you establish expertise there, you can cross-sell additional services.

- Even if only a fraction of your revenue comes from your leading product or service, it gives prospects a clear understanding of your core competency.

- After winning business with your primary offering, you can showcase your other capabilities and expand the relationship.

Introduction:

This podcast episode is hosted by Jay, who discusses the importance of the first email you send to new subscribers or customers. He explains why this initial email is so critical for establishing a relationship and getting your future emails delivered to the inbox. Jay also shares tips on crafting compelling subject lines and content to get high open and click rates.

Main Points:

- The first email you send when acquiring a new subscriber establishes a technical relationship between you and the recipient's email provider. If they open and click, future emails are 80% more likely to go to the inbox.

- Thank you emails get low engagement. Craft compelling subject lines like "VIP gift inside" to increase opens.

- Include awesome content in the first email to get them to click and fully engage - this "closes the loop".

- Send the first email within 15 minutes or open rates drop 50%. People check to see if it went through.

This short episode of Ask Us ANYTHING features Jay answering two listener questions - one about getting a promotion at work in marketing, and one asking for fantasy football advice. Listeners can expect tips from Jay on making the most of work software subscriptions to stand out at work, as well as a humorous take on Jay's own lack of fantasy football knowledge.

Main Discussion Points:

- Many companies use only 10% of the capabilities of the expensive software they subscribe to. Doing a deep dive demo into these platforms and reporting back on unused features can help you get a promotion or improve productivity.

- Fantasy football advice - both Jay and the listener have struggling teams. Jay suggests having fun and embracing the losing team rather than getting frustrated.

In this episode of the Do This, NOT That podcast, Jay busts some common email marketing myths that he believes are holding marketers back. Jay tackles misconceptions around Gmail's promotions tab, using the word "free" in subject lines, and more. Listeners can expect to learn the truth behind these email marketing myths and walk away with tips to improve their marketing performance.

- Jay explains the myth that you want to avoid having your emails go to Gmail's promotions tab. He shares stats showing that only 15% of Gmail users have tabs enabled and 50% of those users read their promotions tab daily. His takeaway - the promotions tab is good, not bad.

- Jay busts the biggest email myth - that using "free" in subject lines will cause you to go to the spam folder. He explains how years ago this was true due to content filtering, but now sending reputation is determined mostly by technical factors.

- Jay emphasizes paying attention to small details in email, sharing a test where title casing subject lines lifted open rates by 10%.

Lastly, Jay talks about the free virtual Email Guru Conference, coming up on November 8-9 featuring speakers like Martha Stewart!

In this episode of Do This, NOT That, Jay interviews email marketing expert Andrew Kordek from iPost. They discuss best practices for email engagement, including sending more targeted emails instead of just more emails, watching for drops in engagement sooner rather than later, and "secret shopping" your own email signup flows. 

Main Discussion Points

- Sending more targeted, personalized emails instead of just sending more emails in general

- Watching for drops in engagement within the first few weeks, rather than months

- Having someone unfamiliar with your emails/site go through your signup process to uncover issues

In this episode, Jay delves into the powerful concept of social proofing and how it can be effectively incorporated into marketing strategies. Discover how the collective societal brain influences consumer decisions and learn tips for leveraging the word 'most' and customer testimonials to drive higher engagement. Listeners will learn specific tactics to use social proof in emails, landing pages, ads, and more to boost engagement and conversions. Tune in and gain valuable insights that will enhance your marketing efforts!

Main Discussion Points:

- The power of social proof and why we rely on others' opinions for decision-making

- Using "most" and other superlative words in email subject lines

- Putting a testimonial near the call-to-action button in emails to increase click-through rate

- Adding a testimonial next to the submission button on landing pages

- Implementing social proof across every stage of the marketing funnel

In this episode of Do This, NOT That, Jay discusses how your marketing strategy and messaging should shift once October hits to maximize engagement and performance. He provides tips on optimizing content, email marketing, and promotions for the busy Q4 period through tactics like focusing on the upcoming year, leveraging seasonal and holiday-related keywords, and creating 2024 calendars.

As we enter October, Jay explains that consumers and business professionals become focused on Q4 and the new year ahead. Their interests and responsiveness shift away from the current year. Jay provides data showing how simply adding "2024" to your content and campaigns lead to a 25-30% boost in engagement. He outlines specific ways to update your marketing assets and messaging to capitalize on this seasonal change.

Main Discussion Points:

• Don't rely on content and campaigns highlighting "2023" after October 1st - it will drag down engagement. Either remove the year entirely or shift to "2024."
• For email subject lines, holiday and Christmas-related keywords see a 30% higher open rate when used in Q4.
• Calendars are the top performing content type starting in October through January - consider creating one tailored to your industry or audience.
• Some examples: local event calendars, industry conference calendars, small business tip calendars, email marketing best practice calendars.
• Calendars see 40% higher engagement over other content types during Q4.

In this episode of Do This, NOT That Jay chats with Pierce Ujjainwalla, co-founder and CEO of email design platform Knak, about email marketing. They bust myths around embedding videos in emails and discuss how animated GIFs can increase engagement. Listeners will learn tips for creating effective animated GIFs, as well as when and how to use them in emails for both B2B and B2C audiences.

Main Discussion Points:

• Animated GIFs can increase clickthrough rates by over 20% in emails
• You cannot embed videos directly in emails, but animated GIFs create a similar effect
• Subtle animated GIFs can work for any brand to grab attention
• Keep animated GIF file size under 2MB to ensure quick load times
• Use a service like EzGIF.com to create properly sized GIFs

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In this episode of Do This, NOT That, Jay discusses the power of LinkedIn newsletters and why every marketer should be taking advantage of this feature. Jay explains how LinkedIn newsletters work, their benefits, and tips for getting started.

Key Points:

- LinkedIn allows you to publish a newsletter directly on their platform if you have over 150 connections. This gives you instant access to your network.

- When you publish your first newsletter, LinkedIn will automatically invite all of your connections to subscribe. This gives you a built-in audience.

- On average, 10% will subscribe instantly, growing to 20% over 30 days. With 1,000 connections, you could gain 100-200 subscribers without any extra work.

- Every new connection gets the invite, helping you build your subscriber list passively over time.

- There are under 100k newsletters on LinkedIn so far, giving you a huge opportunity.

- Each newsletter you publish will be emailed directly to your subscribers' inboxes, bypassing algorithms.

- Click-through rates tend to be 20% higher than regular email newsletters.

- It's completely free and only takes copying and pasting your existing newsletter.

In this episode of Do This Not That, Jay dives into the importance of call-to-action (CTA) buttons in marketing campaigns. He explains why the specific wording you use on CTA buttons can greatly impact performance, and shares tips for optimizing your buttons to drive more clicks and conversions. Listeners can expect to learn easy ways to improve their CTAs.

Main Discussion Points:

- Using words that focus on the benefit to the recipient rather than words about the action itself can increase CTA click-through rates by over 20%

- CTAs should highlight what's in it for the prospect or customer by clearly stating the offer or benefit

- Avoid generic verbs like "submit", "download", "register" - these are overused and don't compel action

- Restate the offer in your CTA language to reinforce the benefit

- CTAs can be full sentences or phrases, not just single words

- Use AI tools like ChatGPT to easily generate new CTA language

In this episode of Do This, NOT That, Jay shares simple yet impactful marketing tips that can help increase engagement and performance for email, social media, and other campaigns. Listeners can expect to learn quick hacks to try in their own marketing efforts.

Jay shares proven tips for optimizing your email campaigns, including changing the sent time, adding a powerful PS at the end of your emails, and mindfully omitting social sharing links that don't align with your campaign goals. These simple tweaks can lead to higher engagement and better results for your marketing efforts.

Key Takeaways:

• Send email logo clicks to offer page, not just homepage (19% go to logo)
• Avoid sending email on the hour when inboxes are crowded (open rates up 15% when off-hour)
• Add a PS line with offer link to boost clicks in email (14% lift)
• Every email element should work towards your goal, remove anything unnecessary
• Small tweaks can have a big impact overall

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In this episode, Jay dives into the world of content marketing and the power of repurposing. 

Learn why you don't need to constantly come up with new ideas and how to make the most of your best-performing posts. 

Jay introduces the game-changing strategy of operating on a 60-day cycle for repurposing successful LinkedIn content. 

Plus, get ready for some fascinating discussions on pop culture! From movie recommendations to superhero movie frustrations, teen romance surprises, and even impactful food documentaries that shape our choices – this episode has it all!

• Marketers only need 5-10 core topic ideas that resonate with their target audience. They can go in-depth on those topics continuously over time.
• Content that performs well on social media or email can be recycled and repurposed every 60 days by making small tweaks. Very little of your audience will see the same content twice.
• Take existing content like newsletters or social posts and use ChatGPT to instantly spin it into long or short-form content optimized for different channels.

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In this episode of Do This Not That, host Jay provides tips and strategies for creating more engaging email newsletters. He first advocates for the importance of having a newsletter, even if you don't have a large following, as it helps build your skills as a writer and content creator. Jay then offers specific tactics to increase open and click rates, including sending your newsletter twice, changing the subject line and send time for the second version, making it more personal by having it come from an individual rather than a brand, and creating compelling subject lines focused on the content itself rather than meta information. Listeners can expect to learn easy ways to optimize their email newsletters for higher engagement.

Key Points:

• Start a newsletter even if your following is small - it will improve with practice and serves as a content engine
• Send your newsletter twice - first on Tuesday, then Thursday to non-openers with a new subject line like "Oops, you missed it!"
• Have the newsletter come from a person, not just your brand - open rates are 30% higher!
• Avoid boring subject lines like newsletter name, number or date - use a compelling stat or question from the content

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In this episode of the Do This Not That podcast, host Jay Schwedelson speaks with Brian Minick, COO of Zero Bounce, about email validation and ways to improve email marketing performance. They discuss the importance of validating email lists, tips for maintaining good sending reputation, and segmentation strategies. Listeners can expect to learn best practices for ensuring email deliverability.

Brian Minick is the COO of Zero Bounce, an email validation and verification service. Brian has extensive experience in technology, marketing, integrations, and leading customer-facing teams.

In this episode, Jay unveils his approach to elevating LinkedIn engagement, promising real-time and measurable improvements.

His approach includes unconventional advice like "Nobody cares about whatever greatness your company is doing. Nobody cares whatever greatness you're doing."

Offering actionable steps, Jay prioritizes providing value before promoting, while also leveraging the LinkedIn algorithm. He critiques the common self-promotion strategies and offers a valuable 'give, give, give, then ask' marketing methodology.

He also reveals how having a few friends on LinkedIn to help you out can be a game-changing strategy.

Tune into this episode if you're wondering:

- How can you increase your visibility on LinkedIn?

- What are the common mistakes to avoid on this platform?

- How can you provide value to your LinkedIn audience?

- How does the LinkedIn algorithm really work?

- How to steer clear from overused self-promotion strategies?

- What strategies can you adopt from influencers for better engagement on LinkedIn?

- And why is Jay confused by The Bachelorette?

Jay's insights are sure to provide you with an actionable approach to enhance your LinkedIn game, while also delivering a good laugh!

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Join us on this week's episode as Jay discusses the essential need for marketers to adapt to changing consumer behaviors and preferences.

"Sometimes marketers be like, oh, this channel doesn't work. Search doesn't work for us, or social or email doesn't work for us, when in fact it's the offer they're promoting,"

Jay explains, emphasizing the importance of identifying what truly works in the contemporary marketing landscape.

In this episode, Jay dives into:

- The least effective marketing offers and why they’ve lost traction?

- What type of content is working now compared to before?

- Is the power of using 'most read', 'most liked', or 'most popular' just a myth or reality?

- What is the importance of properly managing expectations in marketing?

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In this enlightening episode of 'Do This, Not That,' host Jay chats with best-selling author and marketing leader Ann Handley in a podcast that's brimming with wisdom on content marketing, writing strategies, and the increasing role of AI in the modern marketing world.

Prepare to contemplate crucial questions such as:

- How does Artificial Intelligence serve as a tool for faster and more effective content creation?

- How can newsletters be launched from scratch and made successful even without a large existing audience?

- What travel hacks does Ann recommend, based on her global speaking schedules?

- What is the significance of the upcoming B2B Forum for those in B2B marketing?

Get an insightful peek into an exciting discussion, where Ann changes the perspective on AI from being a potential writing replacement to "efficiency accelerators."

Let's dive in!

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